Strong women don’t just “happen.” They’re built over time!
And more often than not, it starts much earlier than you might realize.
If you’re honest, you can probably remember a season when you questioned your body…felt self-conscious…or wished you felt more confident in your own skin.
Most women can.
Which is exactly why this matters.
Women’s training isn’t one-size-fits-all — and it never has been.
From young girls, to adult women, to pregnancy, menopause, and beyond — your body evolves, and so should your training.
This blog is the first in a 3-part series on women’s strength training across every major life stage, and how training at each stage directly shapes your strength, confidence and the way you feel in your body.
Because exercise isn’t just about fitness. It’s one of the earliest — and most powerful — builders of self-confidence!
Part 1 starts at the beginning: why ages 6–13 are some of the most important years for young girls to build strength, coordination, confidence, and healthy habits.
And while we don’t train young girls at Results Fitness — we train YOU.
- Her mom and dad.
- Her grandma and grandpa.
- Her aunt and uncle.
- Her role model.
When you understand how early movement shapes confidence — how it teaches a girl what her body can do, not just how it looks — you can help her build a foundation that lasts a lifetime. In this blog, you’re learning:
- Why strength training is safe & powerful for young girls
- How exercise builds real, lasting confidence
- Why early habits lead to lifelong health and happiness
Safe & Powerful Training for Young Girls
Strength Training: When you think about youth sports and exercise, you may picture teenagers or competitive athletes. But the truth is, girls benefit tremendously from regular physical activity well before their teenage years.
In fact, ages 6–13 are some of the most crucial years for developing strength, coordination, confidence, and social skills!
The habits, confidence and body awareness young girls develops now influence how they see themselves for decades. And, exercise at this age isn’t just safe. It’s one of the most powerful investments you can help the young girls in your life make in their lifelong health and well-being!
One of the biggest misconceptions is children shouldn’t lift weights. Many parents worry strength training will “stunt growth” or be too stressful for a young body. Fortunately, research consistently shows properly supervised strength training is not only safe for children — it’s incredibly beneficial!
Before puberty, girls are developing neuromuscular pathways. That means their brains and muscles are learning how to communicate efficiently. Light weightlifting, bodyweight exercises and resistance training improve this communication.
The goal at this age is not building big muscles — it’s developing balance, coordination, and control.
When young girls practice movements like squats, lunges, rows, and presses (with appropriate weights or resistance bands), they strengthen these neuromuscular connections, which helps them:
• Move more efficiently
• Improve stability and balance
• Reduce the risk of injury
• Build foundational strength for future sports and activities
Just like learning a language or playing an instrument, learning movement skills early on makes everything later in life much easier. The earlier these patterns are established, the more confident and capable a girl feels in her own body.
Agility & Plyometric Training: Becasue young girls experience coordination changes as they grow, agility and plyometric training is crucial for improving and developing coordination:
- Agility training: activities involving quick direction changes improve reaction time and footwork in childhood development.
- Plyometric training: explosive, fast movements like jumping, hopping and bouncing help the body learn to produce force quickly.
These are perfectly safe training styles when done through age-appropriate drills like cone patterns, ladder drills, jump drills, tag games, and obstacle courses.
Working on agility early helps form motor patterns that make these transitions smoother. Agility and plyometric training provides benefits such as:
- Improved reaction time: helps with sports, playground activities and everyday movement.
- Better balance and body control: important for preventing falls and injuries when trying new sports or new skills.
- Increased speed and quickness: helps girls feel athletic and competent.
- Enhanced cognitive processing: agility drills strengthen the mind-body connection and improve decision-making skills.
Plus, these training styles are fun!
It keeps kids engaged and active without feeling like “exercise.” Many girls at this age don’t care about formal workouts, but love games, challenges and creative movement! Agility and plyometric drills blend structure with play, making it the perfect way to build fitness naturally.
Boosting Confidence Through Movement
Physical activity offers more than physical health as it has a powerful impact on emotional well-being.
Young girls today face increasing pressures from school, social media, friendships, and self-image. Surveys reveal girls as young as 8 years old have considered dieting to lose weight in response to all of these external and societal pressure.
The good news? Movement can be a protective factor, helping girls develop confidence and resilience early in a body that is strong and healthy!
Exercise boosts confidence because it teaches:
- Mastery: learning a new skill -box jumps, push-up’s or new footwork patterns – and practicing these skills shows girls they are capable of progress!
- Body awareness: learning what their bodies can do, not just how they look.
- Consistency: training helps girls understand that improvement comes with practice and constructive criticism, not perfection.
- Strength: feeling physically strong translates into emotional strength.
- Community: training at this age usually involves a group/team and introduces like-minded girls where friendships develop.
When young girls see themselves succeed physically, they often begin to see themselves as more capable in other areas of life as well. They learn to take risks, face challenges and set goals; all lifelong skills that will be carried and used forever!
Building Lifelong, Healthy Habits
Encouraging young girls to exercise sets the tone for adulthood. When exposed to fitness early, young girls learn movement is a normal, enjoyable part of life, NOT a punishment or chore. This foundation helps:
- Promote a healthy relationship with physical activity.
- Reduce the risk of sedentary habits later in life.
- Support mental health and stress-management skills.
- Build overall resilience and self-esteem.
These healthy habits follow them into middle school, high school, college, work, and beyond!
Remember, exercise for young girls isn’t about burning calories or training for competition. It’s about building neuromuscular strength, developing agility, boosting confidence, forming friendships, and planting lifelong habits of movement.
With proper guidance, age-appropriate training, and a fun, supportive environment, girls 13 and younger can thrive physically and emotionally. Early movement isn’t just safe—it’s one of the most powerful tools you have to help the young girls in your life you love grow into strong, confident and connected women!
