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One of my favorite things about the studio I go to is how little the instructors seem to care about what I look likeâ€"what any of us in those classes look like. What really excites them isn’t an inch lost off of a waistline, it’s watching us get good articulation in our lumbar spine or increased range of motion in our shoulders. (Seriously, those things’ll get you a shout-out and high five.)
This type of weight-neutral, body positive approach to fitness is gaining steam in the industry, but it's sadly still the exception rather than the rule.
Alex van Frank is a yoga therapist and instructor based in San Diego, CA. "In the 'typical' world of fitness right now there is an excessive emphasis on weight-loss and being 'cut' and 'ripped,' which to me sounds pretty scary in a dark-alley sort of way," she says. Tori Rodriguez, MA, LPC, a psychotherapist and fitness expert, agrees. "I've been in countless fitness classes where the instructor says something like, 'Let's scorch those Thanksgiving calories!' or 'This will get your body bikini-ready!' And I'm thinking, I don't want to scorch calories or get bikini-readyâ€"I just want a good workout! Not to mention those types of statements have lots of other implications that can make people feel like sh*t." What's more, those sort of shame-based, extrinsic motivators for exercising and eating well don't often stick.
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Anne Poirier, program director at Green Mountain at Fox Run, a non-diet mind/body wellness center in Ludlow, VT, was a fitness trainer for 30 years until she became convinced that the fitness industry was making many people less healthy, not more. "I would help people lose weight through diet and exercise, only for them to gain it back and end up feeling frustrated, depressed, and like a failure. Time and time again the same people would seek me out to help them again. It was especially heartbreaking for me, I think, because this same cycle was happening to me as well. The only time I really felt at peace with my body was when I was pregnant. As a fitness professional, you are expected to look a certain way, eat only 'good' foods, and exercise harder than others."
She also noticed that the workouts trainers were giving their clients were getting harder and harder, setting the average person up for either injury or failure. "Who wants to live like that? That all exercise has to be hard and painful and that we have to do it in order to stay healthy. What about what we want to do? We have to start thinking about sustainability and enjoyment."
Body-Positive Workouts
I feel so lucky to have found an inspiring, kick-ass studio to call my exercise home. In the spirit of spreading some of that sweet body-love around, I've gathered a list of body-positive fitness studios and resources to help you find your own workout happy place.
In addition to the ones listed below, you can also check out Body Positive Fitness Alliance. The network was started by a gym owner in Southern California who's trying to make fitness more inclusive, less image obsessed, and less intimidating for all. On its website you can find a list of trainers and facilities that have completed body-positive fitness training and pledged to be a safe fitness space.
Sunny Sea Gold is Greatist’s body image columnist and the author of Food: The Good Girl’s Drugâ€"How to Stop Using Food to Control Your Feelings (Berkley Books, 2011). The views expressed herein are hers. A health journalist by trade and training and a mom of two little girls, she’s also an advocate and educator focused on reducing the rates childhood obesity and eating disorders by building Body-Positive Families. Reach out to her @sunnyseagold.
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