Women are not small men. At bbb, that idea connects with warmth, strength and personal attention.
Stacy Sims: strength, heat and training for women
Who is Dr. Stacy Sims?
Dr. Stacy Sims is an exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist. Her work focuses on training and nutrition for women across different life stages. Her well-known message, “Women are not small men”, encourages us to start with female physiology. Explore Dr. Stacy Sims’ website.
Where does her approach overlap with bbb health boutique?
At bbb, your healthy journey starts with you: your body, your experience and what you need. We see three clear connections with Sims’ work: attention to heat, strength training for women and an environment where women feel understood. Our holistic approach connects body, food & mind. Here is what Sims says and how we put these themes into practice at bbb.
Warmth for women
1. Heat for women: what does Stacy Sims say?
In Sweltering Sauna or Cold Plunge?, Sims discusses sauna use and heat training. She describes how women may respond differently to heat than men, and how the menstrual cycle can play a role. Her message is to consider female physiology and the goal when choosing an approach.
What benefits can warmth offer women?
Warmth may feel comfortable when your muscles feel stiff and can help you relax. Sims also describes how targeted sauna use and heat training may improve heat tolerance and temperature regulation. This matters because responses to heat can change across the cycle and around menopause. These are specific applications; women do not all respond in the same way.
How we use warmth at bbb
Warmth has been part of bbb for years. In our hot cabins, you exercise at around 40°C with your head outside the cabin. You can choose a personal workout or a group class, such as Hot Pilates. Your coach helps you choose suitable exercises and guides your technique. Explore our workouts.
The connection is our attention to warmth and individual guidance. A bbb hot cabin is a different application from the sauna Sims discusses. Results from sauna research cannot be transferred directly to our workouts. During your intake, we discuss whether the warmth and workout suit your situation.
What about ice baths for women?
Sims challenges the idea that colder is always better. In Cold Plunging for Women: Why Colder Isn’t Always Better, she distinguishes between goals and applications. She does not reject all cold exposure, but advises women against copying extreme cold protocols designed for men and cautions against cold immersion immediately after strength training.
At bbb, we focus on a manageable routine: movement, recovery and attention to how you feel. You do not need an extreme wellness routine to begin your healthy journey.
Read more in our article Why warmth works for women (and why ice baths often don’t).
Strength at your level
2. Strength training for women: build from your level
In Women Need Strength for Life, Sims emphasises strength and power, including with ageing and after menopause. She encourages women to prioritise strength training and continue challenging their muscles.
Why bbb is a welcoming place to build strength
At bbb, StrongHer offers strength training in a group. For more individual guidance, choose a personal workout or personal training. Your coach helps you learn the movement and choose appropriate resistance. You can build gradually from that foundation.
You do not need experience with weights. We look beyond the feeling of a muscle burn: which exercise are you doing, how are you performing it and when is more challenge appropriate? Read about starting strength training after 50. The offer varies by boutique.
By women, for women
3. By women, for women: an environment that suits you
In her Financial Feminist conversation, Sims discusses the importance of the gym environment. She encourages women to find a place where they feel comfortable and have access to strength training and good coaching. Her focus is female-centred training; she does not prescribe a women-only gym for every woman.
At bbb, we make a concrete choice: a boutique gym founded by women, for women. Sisters Esther and Inge de Brouwer built bbb around attention to the female body and a holistic healthy journey. Women of all ages and fitness levels are welcome. You can ask about your cycle, pregnancy, recovery after childbirth or menopause and explore a suitable approach with your coach.
Personal attention, small groups and tailored workouts bring that choice to life. We consider your goals, energy, experience and recovery. Want to learn more about our approach? Discover us.
This comparison is our own interpretation of the linked sources. It is not a collaboration with or endorsement by Dr. Stacy Sims.
Experience bbb for yourself
Recovery and exercise with physical complaints
bbb also supports recovery and rehabilitation and exercise with physical complaints, such as a herniated disc, rheumatism or a frozen shoulder. Your coach adapts exercises to your needs and takes advice from your physiotherapist or treating clinician into account where needed.
Start with a free 45-minute trial
A personal trial includes a holistic intake, a tailored workout and a conversation afterwards. We discuss your goals, experience, energy and any physical complaints. You can experience the hot cabin and discover which workouts and coaching suit you. Prefer a group class? Each hot cabin group class has one trial place, allowing time for your personal intake and outtake.
Explore our Amsterdam boutiques, bbb Utrecht or all locations. Read more on Discover us or book your free trial.