By prioritizing mental health, physical health and reducing the risk of physical injury for female athletes, Relentless Athletics uses science in order to train and fuel ‘like a girl’.
“I was getting my PHD and I realized we weren’t really implementing a lot of the stuff that we knew for female athletes,” gym owner Emily Pappas said. “Specifically when it comes to reducing the risk of injury.”
Relentless Athletics was founded on the idea of improving the female athletes’ game through science, Pappas said.
“My back pain has gone down. I feel more energized and stronger than before,” field hockey player Kate Waldman said.
Waldman attributes these changes to the practicality of training to reducing risk of injury using science.
“It’s very friendly [at Relentless Athletics] , everyone cheers each other on and victories are celebrated no matter how small they are,” Waldman said. Fostering an environment where athletes feel encouraged and safe is something that owner Emily Papas wants to bring to the training framework for athletes.
“We want to make a healthy relationship with the gym a reality for our girls,” trainer Liz Trace said. “We want to show them they are strong and just because they are a girl and might train differently, they aren’t weak.” Comfort level in a training environment is very important to feeling safe and supported according to Trace.
“I listen to all their sob stories about boys and all their stress with school, and we help them through it,” Trace said. “It feels like you are working out with friends here. We all support each other.”
“Our mission is to bring the female athlete their best performance through science,” Pappas said.
The gym not only provides the service of strength training and conditioning but also provides athletes with education that they can carry with them throughout their lives, according to Pappas.
Trace wants athletes to carry “confidence, positivity and a happy healthy mindset” with them out of the gym and into their lives as well.
These values not only support individuals while training, but also in careers and in schooling according to Trace.
“I started [Relentless Athletics] seven years ago by myself,” Pappas said. Since then, the gym has grown to employ multiple trainers and dozens of athletes.
According to Waldman the gym upholds an environment where young female athletes feel safe to train. Relentless Athletics’ priority is to keep their members safe from injury and safe from other dangers that would come along with commercial gyms for young girls.