Decolonizing Fitness — GNC

I grew up reading Men's Health Magazine. I remember scouring the pages of that magazine on my lunch breaks while working at a grocery store. I was so excited when finally able purchase the magazine once my employee discount kicked in. I also recall turning page after page and seeing nothing but toned, tall, white cis male physiques. I felt both admiration for their bodies and deep hurt that I would never look like that. I would often wonder what was wrong with my body that I wanted to change it to look like them? I used to follow the workouts...

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,...

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...