She’s A Beast

is a weekly newsletter of links, analysis, and commentary on getting and being strong (emotionally, mentally, physically). Send business inquiries to business@shesabeast.co.

But first, more about this situation.

Who is “A Swole Woman”/Casey/the “Beast”?

Well, the Beast is in all of us. But I’m a writer and editor 14 years in the game who used to have a terrible relationship with my body; I ran too much, ate too little, thought about food constantly, and thought that was all just part of the beautiful experience of “being a woman.”

In 2014, I found a Reddit post that credibly revealed that actually, lifting weights did not make women bulky. My desire to be hot piqued, I looked into this lifting thing further: I could work out less, eat more, and look essentially the same? Why was no one talking about this???

As I got into lifting, it began to dissolve the thick connective tissue in my brain between “working out” and “being as attractive and tiny as possible.” I realized that my body was for so much more than “punishing it with salad scraps and ‘tempo’ runs”; it could grow and get strong much more easily and quickly that I ever could have imagined; and that lifting weights could be the most fun and validating form of exercise I’d ever tried, that it was easier to me than cardio (yes, it’s true; I would never tell a lie about the dreaded cardio).

I began yelling nonstop about the incredible experience I was having, how I finally was starting to understand what life and living were about, because I was crushing my squat PRs and perfecting my deadlift form. And now here I am.

 

Why subscribe with your dollars?

  • You get access to the Beasties Discord, a place for people who are ready for growth (physical, emotional) to help each other understand lifting programs, share the latest snacks, and more. This includes a form-check channel for workshopping your progress, and a place to talk to others who are following, or who have completed, LIFTOFF: Couch to Barbell!

  • You’ll get a 50% off code for a copy of LIFTOFF

  • You’ll receive two additional newsletters in the form of a biweekly Sunday edition of the beloved advice column that started it all, Ask A Swole Woman, with in-depth, evidence-based, yet empathetic guidance on the rewarding process of growing stronger, as a lifter and as a human (see here for what I mean!)

  • You’ll get 20% off She’s A Beast/Couch to Barbell merch

  • You’ll get access to the entire archive of paid posts

  • You will have the ability to comment on posts, and access to open discussion threads

  • Early access to top-secret/semi-secret/badly-kept-secret She’s A Beast ventures, such as LIFTOFF and the Pull-up Protocol

  • You will be supporting the free Friday newsletter that covers the health and fitness landscape

You can send advice column questions to aasw@shesabeast.co.

And sign up below!