What Fat Friendly Workout Do You Love? (Don't Say Peloton.)
And what do we even call a more inclusive approach to fitness, anyway?
Friday Thread: What’s Your Favorite Weight Inclusive Workout?
Today’s thread prompt comes from reader Carynne, who writes:
I just found out that my go-to YouTube workout site—which isn't explicitly body positive but does integrate some good body positive concepts—is doing a weight loss promotion program in January, with a huge banner on their page! I'm really frustrated and now trying to find some alternatives to support. I’d love to know what body positive exercise content folks recommend?
So we’re going to get into your recs for Carynne. But let’s first define some terms—so we’re all on the same page about what we mean, when we talk about fitness content that’s safe and welcoming for all bodies.
To me, no body shaming or weight loss talk is the bare minimum requirement in a fitness space. And yet, as Carynne discovered, so hard to guarantee! But beyond that, I don’t want to feel like my body is merely tolerated in a fitness space. I want the instructor or program designers to have really thought about what bodies of different sizes, abilities, and ages need and want in a workout, and to have built their space with us in mind. And yet, we haven’t really nailed down an official term for fitness folks doing that kind of work. I like how Jessie Diaz-Herrera calls this body-inclusive fitness; my other favorite, Lauren Leavell, also uses the term “inclusive fitness,” and describes herself as “weight neutral.”
The question of what to call it may sound like semantics, but: A main reason why it’s so hard to find the kind of workout we want is because we’re still calling it “body positive.” (Or as Peloton tried last fall, “body appreciation.”) And when we do that, we erase fat people from fitness spaces.