Bryony Kimmings: ‘Weightlifting Helped Me Feel In Control Of My Destiny’

The confidence Kimmings has developed in the gym has transferred to almost every aspect of her life.

“I can go into a meeting now and think, ‘I couldn’t give a fuck about any of you lot, I’m going to win this meeting, I’m going to get what I want’,” she says.  

“It makes me walk down the street and I think: ’If you touch me, I’ll kick your head in.′ It’s given me such confidence and it makes me feel so powerful that it’s insane – I didn’t know it would ever make me feel like that.”

She credits other enthusiasts in the first bodybuilder gym she went to with helping her find her stride in the sport and inspiring her to keep going. 

“There was only a handful of women there and they were fucking ripped. It was great because there was never any sexism in that place because it was very clear women could do the same as men – they were doing the same exercises, it was just a different gender,” she says.

“They were all really supportive which really helped me. It was never a case of ‘what are you doing in here?’ If you ever needed any help, everyone was super helpful because everyone in there loved it.”

For any women intimidated but tempted to try weightlifting, Kimmings suggests booking onto a powerlifting session with a female instructor. It doesn’t matter if you don’t fit in with the stereotypical bodybuilder aesthetic, she adds. 

“When I tell people I weight-lift, often they say ‘well, you don’t look like you do’, because I’m really skinny, I’ve got quite a slight frame. But that’s not really the point – I’m not trying to be the Hulk. I’m just trying to have a healthy relationship with myself,” she says. 

“I’ve got bigger shoulders now and more muscle definition than I ever had before… but it’s along that problematic ‘thigh gap mentality’ to listen when people say ‘you don’t look very big’. Any kind of obsession around what you look like is the wrong kind of obsession for me.

“Fitness should be about how you feel, and if I feel strong, mentally and physically, then I must be doing fine.”

Bryony Kimmings performs ‘I’m a Phoenix, Bitch’ at Battersea Arts Centre from 20 Feb to 9 March, then Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts from 3 to 7 May. For tickets and more info please visit bac.org.uk and attenboroughcentre.com