Barbel and Balance: Why More Filipinas Are Choosing Strength Training for Hormonal Health

For years, wellness for women in the Philippines followed a familiar script: be slim, be soft, do cardio. From mall Zumba classes to running clubs, cardio-first culture has long dominated the local fitness scene. The treadmill was our temple, while the barbell was left to the boys. 

But step into any fitness space today and the story looks very different. Women are picking up barbells in boutique gyms, CrossFit boxes, and even in their own sala with dumbbells ordered online. More Filipinas are trading long, sweaty runs for deliberate sets and reps; not to bulk up, but to balance hormones, rebuild confidence, and reclaim strength on their own terms.

The hormone-strength connection

As women age, muscle mass naturally declines through sarcopenia. This often comes with slower metabolism, fluctuating estrogen, and insulin resistance—factors that can trigger fatigue, mood swings, weight gain, and greater risk of metabolic conditions. Strength training offers a way to push back.

“Lifting weights helps regulate hormones like insulin and cortisol,” explains Mitch Felipe Mendoza, PTRP, a licensed physical therapist and an American Council on Exercise-certified personal trainer. She has trained women since the early 2000s, not shying from incorporating weights in her personal training approach or through group classes. “When those [hormones] are in balance, you sleep better, have more energy, experience fewer mood swings, and carry less belly fat.”

Science agrees. Research found that postmenopausal women in a 16-week resistance training program gained lean muscle and improved insulin sensitivity, while reducing fat mass and bone loss. These benefits extend well beyond aesthetics, directly targeting the hormonal shifts many Filipinas face in midlife and beyond.

Irish Kathryn Olaguer, MD, a board-certified OB-GYN who practices in The Medical City clinics, notes that strength training works both acutely and over time. Immediately after exercise, it improves fat metabolism and lean mass. Consistently, it can rebalance stress and reproductive hormones while lowering cortisol. 

“For PCOS, thyroid issues, or even PMS, resistance training helps manage weight, improves energy, and reduces bloating and mood swings,” she explains. “It’s a natural, accessible way to support hormone health.”

Finding strength with PCOS

For Honey Reyes, the shift toward strength training was life-changing. She first noticed symptoms of PCOS in 2020, when unexplained weight gain and painful cystic acne began to erode her self-esteem. Baggy clothes and heavy makeup became armor. She avoided cameras, skipped social events, and withdrew from friends.

“The hardest part wasn’t just the physical symptoms,” she reflects. “It was feeling like I had to hide from people and even from myself.”

At first, Reyes turned to medication. The pills offered temporary relief, but stopping them led to deeper struggles: hypothyroidism, water retention, and more weight gain. It wasn’t until 2023 that she decided to change course. She focused on stabilizing her thyroid, eating protein-rich meals, and moving her body in sustainable ways. Strength training, four times a week, became central to her new routine.

Within nine months, she no longer needed thyroid medication. By 2025, her skin had cleared, her energy returned, and her confidence resurfaced. “Strength training completely changed my perspective,” she says. “It reminded me that my body is capable of so much more than I gave it credit for.”

For Reyes, strength is no longer defined by a number on the scale. It means showing up for herself even on days she’d rather hide, nurturing her gut health, and honoring her body through movement. “Real strength is balance—loving your body in every stage, and appreciating what it can do, not just how it looks.”

Goodbye “cardio first” culture

Despite its benefits, strength training often takes a backseat to cardio, which many still view as the quickest route to weight loss. But as Felipe Mendoza points out, cardio alone can’t reshape body composition. “Strength training builds lean muscle, which burns more calories at rest and supports long-term fat loss,” she says.

Dr. Olaguer echoes this, adding that while cardio supports cardiovascular health, too much of it—especially in midlife—can elevate cortisol and leave women drained. Resistance training, on the other hand, delivers greater metabolic payoff in shorter, more manageable sessions.

Beyond the bulking myth

One barrier remains persistent: the fear of “getting bulky.” And this fear didn’t come from nowhere. For generations, Filipinas have been conditioned—by colonial ideals, patriarchal messaging, and media portrayals—to equate beauty with softness, delicacy, and smallness. Muscles were seen as masculine, and strength, unfeminine. The fear of being ‘too bulky’ isn’t rooted in muscle—it’s rooted in the messaging we’ve absorbed about how women should look, move, and take up space.

Both Dr. Olaguer and Felipe Mendozaa also stress that “getting bulky” is largely a myth. Women’s lower testosterone levels make significant hypertrophy unlikely without specific diets and advanced training. What most Filipinas experience instead is improved tone, strength, and confidence.

“Bulking requires serious intention,” says Felipe Mendoza. “What strength training usually does is help women look more defined, not bigger.”

The ripple effect

The benefits of lifting extend far beyond the gym. Reyes describes how strength training reshaped her lifestyle, influencing how she eats, rests, and even sets boundaries. Dr. Olaguer highlights its role in mental health: by boosting serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins, strength training acts as a natural antidepressant, easing anxiety and mood swings.

The ripple effect is clear: better posture, steadier moods, stronger bones, and a renewed sense of self. Strength training becomes not just a workout, but a way of living.

How to start, safely and sustainably

The good news: you don’t need a gym membership to begin. Felipe Mendoza recommends starting with bodyweight movements like squats, lunges, push-ups, and planks, twice or thrice weekly. As strength builds, add resistance bands, dumbbells, or gym machines under supervision.

For postpartum women, Dr. Olaguer stresses the importance of pelvic stability and gradual progression. For women in their 40s and beyond, joint-friendly exercises and recovery are key. “Rest is just as important as the workout,” she reminds. “Without it, cortisol stays elevated, which disrupts hormone balance.”

Strength as the new standard

Ultimately, the rise of strength training among Filipinas signals more than a fitness trend. It’s a cultural reset, moving from shrinking to strengthening, from hiding to showing up. “I wish more Filipinas knew how much they’re capable of,” says Felipe Mendoza. “You don’t need to be in the gym every day. Just a few consistent sessions a week can completely change how you feel.”

Reyes’ advice for others navigating PCOS echoes that spirit: progress doesn’t need to be perfect, only consistent. “Your body is worth caring for, your health is worth the effort, and you deserve to love yourself in every part of the process,” she says.

Strength, in the end, is not just physical. It’s a way of reclaiming your body, your hormones, and your life.