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Quick Lift: How Strength Training Rebuilds Confidence After Trauma · Loud & Lifted

• 0:00
  Welcome to a loud and lifted quick lift, the
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  shorter episode where we take a few of the biggest
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  takeaways from the full loud and lifted conversation
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  and make them a little bit more practical. And
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  today we're talking about my conversation from
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  Rachel Druckenmiller. Rachel is known for helping
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  people get unmuted, which obviously is very aligned
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  with loud and lifted. We love a woman who wants
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  people to stop holding back. But this conversation
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  took a different, more personal direction than
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  what she normally talks about. Rachel shared
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  the story of being hit by a truck six years ago
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  while she was out for a run. She suffered a spinal
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  fracture and recovery was not just physical,
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  it was emotional, mental, and it changed how
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  she trusted her body. It changed how she moved
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  through the world. What really stuck with me
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  is that Rachel just didn't think her way back
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  to confidence. She literally built her way back
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  through lifting, through movement, through showing
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  up when she was scared. Through working with
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  people who helped her believe she could do more
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  than she thought. And I think that's such an
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  important lesson because we talk about confidence
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  a lot, like all the time, and it's not something
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  you can just magically have. Like, just be confident.
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  Okay, great. Super helpful. But we all know that's
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  not how it works. Confidence is built. And in
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  Rachel's case, it was built one rep at a time.
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  So here are the three big takeaways from that
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  conversation. Takeaway number one confidence
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  is really self -trust Rachel shared something
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  in the episode that I loved she said confidence
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  comes from this idea of Trusting fully and that
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  makes so much sense Because confidence is not
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  just walking into room with great posture and
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  a good outfit. Although let's be clear those
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  things help But real confidence it's deeper than
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  that. It's asking. Do I trust myself? Do I trust
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  myself to keep going when something is hard?
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  Do I trust myself to recover if something does
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  not go perfectly? Do I trust myself to do what
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  I said I was going to do? After Rachel's accident,
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  she did not trust her body the same way. And
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  of course she didn't. She had been through something
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  traumatic. She was scared to move, scared to
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  hurt again, and scared to push too hard. So when
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  she started lifting, it was not glamorous. It
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  was not some dramatic comeback montage. It was
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  small weights, shaky arms. tears and training
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  sessions and a lot of fear. But then she kept
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  showing up anyway. And that is where confidence
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  started to be rebuilt. Not because she felt amazing
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  right away, but because she kept proving to herself,
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  I can do this. And that applies to all of us.
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  Hopefully your thing is not lifting after an
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  accident, but maybe it's speaking up in a meeting.
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  or setting a boundary or applying for the job,
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  starting the business. Maybe it's walking into
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  a room where you felt completely out of place.
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  We want confidence first, but usually confidence
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  comes after the proof. Action item, pick one
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  small promise you can keep to yourself this week.
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  One, not a full personality transplant, not like
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  I'm changing my whole life by Monday. Just pick
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  something simple. a 10 minute walk, a one workout,
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  going to bed 30 minutes earlier, sending the
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  email, making the appointment, asking for help.
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  The point is not that the action has to be huge.
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  The point is that you do what you said you were
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  going to do. That is how self -trust gets built.
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  Takeaway number two, strength changes how you
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  show up. One of my favorite parts of the conversation
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  was when Rachel talked about how getting physically
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  stronger changed how she carried herself. And
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  I mean literally. She talked about a stronger
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  core, stronger back, stronger glutes, and how
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  that changed the way she walked into a room.
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  It's making me change how I'm sitting here right
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  now actually thinking about it. But I love this
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  because sometimes we get a little weird about
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  women caring about fitness, clothes, hair, appearance,
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  all of it. There's this tension of, well, it
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  shouldn't matter how you look. And sure, that's
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  fine. In a perfect little world with no mirrors
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  and no social media photos, maybe. But the real
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  point, it's not vanity. The point is how you
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  feel. When you feel stronger, you show up differently.
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  When you feel good in your body, you speak differently.
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  When you are proud of yourself, you carry that
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  into the room. Rachel even shared that someone
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  once told her she had main character energy,
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  which I love because that's exactly what we're
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  talking about. It's not arrogance. It's just
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  presence. The difference between walking in a
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  room apologetically and walking in like, you
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  know, you have something to offer for women that
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  matters because a lot of us have been taught
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  to shrink. And then, of course, there's the whole
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  be confident, but not too confident, be polished,
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  but not intimidating, be strong, but not difficult.
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  Have opinions, but maybe soften them with six
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  exclamation points and adjust checking. It's
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  exhausting, truly. Rachel's story is such a good
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  reminder that strength does not stay in the gym.
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  It follows you to work conversations, leadership
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  into the way you ask for what you need. Action
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  item, this week, notice how you're physically
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  showing up. Not in a judgmental way, not in a
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  go critique yourself in every window reflection
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  assignment. Please don't. Just notice. Do you
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  walk into rooms like you belong there? Do you
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  sit like you have something to contribute? Do
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  you rush when you speak? Do you apologize before
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  you even make the point? Do you make yourself
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  smaller without even realizing it? Evaluate that
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  and then pick one small physical cue. Maybe it's
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  planting your feet before you speak, sitting
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  up a little taller, sitting at the table, taking
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  a breath before you answer. Stop starting every
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  sentence with sorry. Sometimes your body has
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  to lean before your brain catches up. Takeaway
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  number three, you don't rebuild alone. This was
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  probably the part of the conversation I loved
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  most. Rachel talked about her trainer, her husband,
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  her vocal coach, her producer, her friends, all
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  these people who played a role in helping her
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  rebuild. And she used the phrase borrowing belief.
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  This is really good because sometimes you don't
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  have enough of belief in yourself. You are not
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  there. You cannot fake it. Sometimes you need
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  someone else to say, yes, you can, until you
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  believe it too. Rachel's trainer did just that
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  for her. She helped create a safe place for Rachel
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  to try her things again. And Rachel trusted her
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  enough to borrow that belief. That is not weakness.
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  That is wisdom. And this connects to something
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  we talk about all the time on Loud and Lifted.
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  No one is doing this alone. No one. Not the strongest
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  woman you know. not the most successful woman
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  you follow, not the person who looks like she
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  has everything figured out. And Rachel said something
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  that really hit me. Earlier in her life, she
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  had to practice asking for help. She used to
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  believe asking for help would make people think
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  she was weak or incapable. And I think so many
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  women can understand that. We are great at helping.
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  We will organize the thing, we will send the
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  text, we will bring the food, and check on everyone
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  while carrying the invisible load. And somehow,
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  we remember someone else's kid needs a white
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  shirt by Thursday. But asking for help ourselves,
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  suddenly we're all, no, I'm fine. Are we though?
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  Rachel's point was that people who love you want
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  to help you, but they cannot support what they
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  do not know. Action item, ask yourself this,
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  whose belief do I need to borrow right now? Maybe
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  it's a coach, trainer, friend, mentor, therapist.
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  Maybe it's a group of women who will let you
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  talk yourself out of that thing you said you
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  wanted. Then do one thing. Send the text, book
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  the session, ask the question, say it out loud,
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  and tell someone when you're stuck. You do not
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  have to make a dramatic announcement. This does
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  not have to be a TED Talk in your group chat.
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  Just let one person in. This is how support starts.
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  So to recap, Rachel's story gave us three big
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  reminders. First, confidence is self -trust.
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  It is built by keeping promises to yourself,
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  even small ones. Second, strength changes how
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  you show up. When you feel strong, capable, and
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  grounded, the energy goes with you in every room.
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  And third, you do not rebuild alone. Borrow belief,
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  ask for help, let someone support you before
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  you hit the wall. And here's the line I keep
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  coming back to, you don't have to wait for confidence,
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  you have to build it. One rep, one walk, one
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  conversation, one promise, one ask for help,
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  one small step back to yourself. Rachel's story
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  started with something traumatic, but the lesson
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  is not only for people who have been through
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  a major accident, it's for anyone who feels stuck.
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  Anyone who feels disconnected from herself or
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  anyone who's been waiting to feel ready. Anyone
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  who needs to stop thinking about the comeback
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  and start taking the first step. And that is
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  what loud and lifted is all about. Getting louder,
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  getting stronger, getting lifted and not doing
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  it alone. If this resonated with you, go listen
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  to the full conversation with Rachel. It's a
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  powerful personal and such a good reminder that
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  confidence is not something we say. It is something
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  we build. Thanks for listening to this quick
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  lift. Until next time, stay loud and stay lifted.