NEWS

Buckeye BarBELLES builds women's strength and confidence in the gym

By A Mystery Man Writer

Buckeye BarBELLES, a seven-week training program with the Department of Recreational Sports for women that builds strength and confidence through weekly lectures and personal training sessions. She said she hopes to empower other women who might feel intimidated to take on the gym. Krista Talstein, group fitness coordinator with Recreational Sports and Buckeye BarBELLES supervisor, said the program is more than lifting weights — it is about promoting body positivity. “It’s the whole perspective of overall wellness for a female body, or an identifying female body, and thinking about ways to be proud, and excited, and embracing the body that you have,” Talstein said. Buckeye BarBELLES began in 2014 but Talstein said she took control of the program in 2019 along with Mitch Miceli, a personal training coordinator at the RPAC. The program has changed and reshaped over the years to best empower the participants, and this year is no exception.