Decolonizing Fitness — Fitness Industry

Check out the definition of Toxic Fitness Culture  if you aren't familiar.   Some Example of Toxic Fitness Culture: The promotion of fitness the sole purpose of weight loss. The belief that fit has a look. Personal trainers unwilling or unable to modify exercises that support your unique body. The belief that you’re not working hard enough if you haven’t achieved thinness. Personal trainers who aren’t registered dietitians giving diet advice. Personal trainers who don’t believe you when you need to stop and encourage you to push through pain. The belief that beating your body up makes for a good workout....

So a couple of years ago I coined the term: "Toxic Fitness Culture". It is important for me to name this, as often the work of Black and Trans folks gets co-opted, erased and whitewashed within paradigm shifting movements as the movements begin to grow. In this current moment the world of Inclusive Fitness/Wellness is beginning to gain momentum and it's very important for me to make sure I carve space and let folks know that I am one of the pioneers of this movement. I firmly believe that we need to celebrate the lives and work of Black Trans...

Radically Fit Oakland As a queer woman of color who was adopted by a white couple in the 80’s I have grown up feeling out of place in most spaces. It’s hard to make your way through the world, as most people of color do, searching to find a space to safely take up. It took me many years to get to the point where I started demanding that space. Fitness was a huge catalyst for how I approached walking through life as a bigger bodied queer woman of color. I first fell in love with fitness ten years ago,...

The first magical skill I learned was how to change a flat tire on a bicycle. I was twenty years-old and had recently obtained my first queer haircut. Loitering on the lawn of the college bike collective, I watched as groups of two to three intimidating-looking dykes hovered around upside down bicycles holding wrenches and greasy rags. I was desperate to pick up some mechanical skills to bolster my baby butch ego, but the shame of not even knowing where to start forced me to keep on walking. I spent the following summer learning bike mechanics from a local nonprofit...

When I’m upset, energy rises inside me. I clench my fists.  I feel rage. I used to head to the gym and run until I couldn’t or lifted heavy weights until my arms shook. I thought this was healthier than throwing things, drinking, or other self-destructive behaviors but, sometimes, I did those things too. Dealing with unpleasant feelings for masculine folks is a complicated process and unfortunately, emotional processing skills in masc communities aren’t often talked about.   However, Ilya’s “Fitness Can Be Used As A Healing Modality” post has really saved me. The post taught me to understand fitness...