Fitness Is Growing More Inclusive Than Ever. Here’s Why That Matters (Forbes Health)

Posted: Aug 16, 2023 in In the News

This article originally appeared in Forbes Health on August 16, 2023.

 

Fitness Is Growing More Inclusive Than Ever. Here’s Why That Matters

By Lauren Silva

Amanda Gay, a marketing manager in Queens, New York, always knew she was athletic and strong, and she put in the hours to maintain her fitness. But one day, a group of men walking by her gym noticed her while she was working out. They proceeded to bang on her gym’s windows, pointing at her and laughing as she exercised, all while an aware employee stood nearby and did nothing about it.

“It kept me out of the gym for years,” shares Gay. “It made me second guess myself.”

The ability to feel safe and welcome in the place in which a person chooses to exercise is a key component of the inclusive fitness movement. By definition, inclusive fitness spaces are gyms and studios with staff and trainers who welcome, respect and represent members of all body shapes and sizes, ability levels, ages, identities and socioeconomic backgrounds. They allow everyone access to a safe environment in which they can work toward and reach their exercise goals—especially at the start of their fitness journey, says Morit Summers, a certified personal trainer, co-owner of FORM Fitness in Brooklyn, New York, and author of Big & Bold: Strength Training for the Plus-Size Woman.

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