'We're not doing anything different than any other person who's working out.'
. Throughout my career as a personal trainer, an important highlight has been to coach women to the 5k and 10k finish line.
The other day I went out for a run with my friend who is also a plus-size runner. We were running up a trail alongside a beautiful river. I was loving the surroundings but staying focused on the run because the trail was inclining. As we passed two thinner runners, they yelled out to us, “Good for you guys!” At first, I blew it off but then I thought,Would he have said that to two thin people?
In so many fitness environments—at the gym, in a race, in group fitness classes—people with larger bodies can feel isolated, like we don’t belong. This is, of course, the result of so many different factors, from weight bias that’s endemic to our culture to the ways body shaming shows up in wellness culture specifically.
Things to say or do instead: If you’re watching a race and you feel compelled to cheer beyond “woooo!,” say something that you’d say to anyone on the course. Or use it as an opportunity to say nothing and reflect on your own thin or body-related privilege.
It's tiring and takes the wind out of our sails. It’s no wonder larger-bodied people find it difficult to overcome fitness barriers when they face subtle and not-so-subtle stigma. A call from a car or a slow clap on the trail, although intended as encouraging, can drain one’s will to be out there. Make sure you are being supportive in a palatable way.
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