‘If you can see it, you can believe it, right? ’: adapting the Resistance Training for Teens programme for Muslim girls in Islamic school settings

Although resistance training is increasingly promoted for adolescent health, it remains unevenly embedded in everyday physical education practice, and little is known about how school-based resistance training is positioned within Islamic secondary school contexts. Using the Resistance Training for Teens (RT4T) programme as a reference point, this study asked: How is resistance training understood and legitimised within Islamic secondary school settings, and what adaptations are needed to align RT4T with the values, needs, and experiences of Muslim adolescent girls? We employed a multi-stage interpretive qualitative design involving focus groups with female Health and Physical Education (HPE) teachers (n = 7), two in-class workshops with Year 9 and 10 Muslim girls (n = 18), and individual interviews with Muslim community leaders (n = 5). The first author analysed the dataset using reflexive thematic analysis. Participants legitimised resistance training by positioning physical strength, knowledge, bodily care, and self-discipline as compatible with Islamic values and as potential sources of confidence and lifelong capability. Despite this, participants emphasised that participation was shaped by cultural expectations, socioeconomic circumstances, gender organisation, modesty requirements, family trust, and the institutional practices of Islamic schools. Three interconnected themes captured these interpretations: intersections of faith, culture, and empowerment; representation, voice, and authenticity; and pedagogical alignment and facilitation climate. Participants identified the need for female-only delivery, modest and diverse representation, culturally familiar examples, sensitivity to religious observance, family communication, and supportive, autonomy-oriented teaching that resonated with Islamic pedagogical traditions. These findings informed a new programme iteration, RT4T StrongHER, and demonstrate that culturally adapting school-based resistance training involves more than changing imagery or language; it requires aligning programme framing, content, delivery, and institutional conditions with participants’ religious, cultural, and educational contexts while retaining the programme’s core components.