Jenna Topham - Strong Like a Woman

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Jenna Topham - Strong Like a Woman

I help women to harness their strength; working with you to improve fitness doing exercise you enjoy

30/07/2026

Hills I will DIE on 💀

1) Every woman should be strength training - it doesn't have to look the same for everybody, it doesn't have to be in a gym, but we need to lift heavy stuff relative to our current strength.

2) When it comes to nutrition (especially in relation to weight loss for women) calories in vs. calories out does not tell the full story. I've lived this reality, I've worked with women in the hundreds and I've seen it enough times to know - we can't disregard the role of other factors such as hormones, stress, and chronic dieting.

3) Most of us need to improve our body image more than we need to improve our bodies (myself included). We exist in a culture where weight loss and leanness seems to be glorified above all else - so no big bloody shock so many of us think we need to lose weight or that our bodies are a problem to be fixed. But WHAT IF we actually liked our bodies and learned to approach our health and fitness from a place of love and respect? What a revelation it would be to realise our "dream bodies" were right there all along, and we're simply using food and exercise as ways to care for those bodies and keep them healthy for years to come.

✨

27/07/2026

When do we stop seeing movement the way children do? 💭

Having children has been a beautiful reminder that exercising our bodies was, before anyone or anything in the world made us believe any different, was intuitive and joyful. On the school run my two will burst into a run just for the hell of it, race each other up hills, jump on the trampoline for what seems like hours on end, dance even when there's no music to dance to and sometimes lift things in the gym with Mummy.

All simply because it's fun and it feels good.

They do it when they feel like it and they don't when they don't. Nothing to do with trying to change the way their bodies look, or punishment or justification for what they ate, or following the latest fitness trend.

As someone that was infiltrated with diet culture and body image concerns and feeling like my body was 'wrong' since as young as 10, I love and admire their freedom so much. And it lights the fire in me even more fiercely to do what I can to help others (including my children obvs) nurture a positive relationship with exercise and their bodies, because we really bloody deserve it.

Do you remember when your relationship with exercise changed? I'd love to hear your experiences ✨

23/07/2026

Over the last 10 years, I've learnt a thing or two about what helps women improve health and fitness...and what doesn't. 👀

Sooorrry but if you're a trainer and your entire shteez is 6 week transformation promises and a feed full of pictures of people in their pants ...you're on my s**t list.

Because even though it sells, the means employed to achieve the dramatic weight loss these types of images promise, are hardly ever sustainable or in the interest of a woman's true health. Our number one priority in supporting women in this industry has GOT TO BE women's health.

If you're a trainer yourself, I promise you that you don't need progress pictures to build a successful business. Genuinely supporting women to make positive and sustainable life changes, creating a standout experience that makes them want to stick with you and tell their friends...that's the best marketing tool at your disposal.

If you do want to start building a standout women's coaching biz (and stop relying on s**tcan marketing methods like progress pics) I've created something for you!

Get my 3 Step Guide to Building a Standout Women's Coaching Biz FOR FREEEEEE using the link in my bio. Because the fitness industry needs more trainers properly supporting women in their fitness journey and I'd love you to be one of them . ✨

21/07/2026

Strength training & HIIT are the best forms of training for women...so why tf am I spending my Saturday mornings running like a chump? 🏃🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

I spend my life advocating for the benefits of strength training for women. There is an ever-growing body of research that supports the notion that, if we want to extend our health span, strength training IS WHERE IT'S AT. There's also good evidence to suggest that when it comes to cardiovascular exercise, short bursts of high intensity work poses the most benefit.

So, if I know all this and won't stop banging on about it, WHAT AM I DOING spending my Saturday mornings doing long runs?

Well, whilst I'm an advocate for the types of exercise that help us become the strongest, fittest, healthiest versions of ourselves, I'm as much an advocate for modes of moving our bodies in ways that bring us joy!

Living out in the sticks with the beautiful Mendips on my doorstep, I have loved getting out on Saturday mornings when it feels like the rest of the world is still sleeping and enjoying the beauty of the trails. I'm not a natural at running, I'm certainly not fast, but I really bloody love being outside.

I absolutely 100% implore you to incorporate strength training into your weekly routine, but if you have a means of movement that you love that sits outside of the "strength training + HIIT" model, don't forsake it! Our bodies are our biggest blessing and I think it's just as important to use them in ways that make us happy, as it is to use them in ways that keep them strong (and fingers crossed you fall in love with being a bad bitch who lifts and those two wonderful things intertwine)

All my love,

Jenna x ✨

20/07/2026

Why 'eating less and doing more' has stopped working for you.

Many of women I work with have dieted for years, someone without breaks. They hit their steps and cut calories, but the scale doesn't move. Please hear me when I say it's not about a lack of willpower. I can't and won't buy “calories in > calories out” as the whole story — long-term calorie restriction can push your metabolism into scarcity mode.

It's proven that when you cut calories, resting metabolic rate can fall and your body burns less through exercise, daily movement and digestion. That’s why eating very little often stops working.

If you are one of these women, this is what I suggest: figure out your basal metabolic rate and do NOT eat below it. Allow your body the fuel it deserves. Give your body enough energy so your metabolism can repair. Start by slowly rebuilding calories, prioritise protein and strength training (and fuel your workouts!), sleep well and manage stress — metabolic recovery takes time. BUT it's possible and worthwhile, you'll be so much happier and healthier for it! ✨

17/07/2026

Women don't need a drill sergeant for a personal trainer - they need a human!

I've had a surprising number of clients start training with me who have absolute horror stories about previous trainers they work with. Coaches who have shouted at them or made them cry in the name of "motivation".

THIS is how women can experience exercise when you provide a positive, empowering environment. And best of all, exercise becomes something they actually want to keep doing.

If you're a coach or a trainer and you want to make your business better, approaching your work with compassion and care is a really great place to start. And if you are serious about becoming a standout women's coach with a thriving business, I've made a little something for you. Your 3 step guide to becoming a standout women's coach is available here: https://jenna-topham.mykajabi.com/standout-coach-guide

Let's build an army of epic female personal trainers, building our own armies of strong badass women everywhere! 💪🏼✨

14/07/2026

Should we exercise to be good at exercise, or to be good at living our actual real lives? 💭

I enjoy the gym and what it offers, but it's easy to get sucked into comparing ourselves to others, punishing ourselves for things we ate or what our bodies do or do not look like. If we want to be truly healthy, happy people, that cannot be the point. The gym is there to facilitate us moving through our actual lives without limits.

I don't know about you, but right now I want to work out so I can keep up with my little tornadoes. I'll keep working out so even when they're too big to chuck over my shoulder, I can still go on adventures with them - and maybe one day my grandchildren - as a strong and contented old lady. 👵💪🏼

12/07/2026

My joyful things from June & July 🌞
1) our first duck race! 🦆
2) a weekend with beautiful sis Chloe Cooper
3) spontaneous park hangs
4) selfies from Pappa 🥲
5) dinner at our favourite The Pony Chew Valley
6 & 7) allotment boys!
8) sauna to myself The Mendip Sauna
9) BURRATA 🤤
10) sunrise meditations 🌅
11) trail run gorgeousness
12) Thea’s foraged floristry 🌷

09/07/2026

I wasn’t planning on writing about this, but it turned into something that felt worth sharing.

The rest is on Substack if you fancy a read. Link on stories and bio 😘

09/06/2026

What a time at 🚀

I don’t do many formal events (the time eludes me 😮‍💨) but, despite biblical weather conditions, some of the steepest climbs I’ve faced and lugging a weighted ruck around… this was a lush day.

At the top of each gruelling climb was a view that made it worthwhile, and I loved having little chats with the other runners on the way round and egging each other on. For me it was a reminder that ultimately movement should be like this was for me - joyful (I appreciate this is absolutely not everyone’s idea of joyful movement but I guess I’m a sucker for organised type 2 fun - look how happy I am!! 😂)

Thank you so much to all the organisers and people that braved the wind and rain on Saturday to cheer us on and make it such a great experience. I’m sure I’ll be back 🧡

Address

Brislington

Website

http://www.jennatopham.com/contact

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