“You can’t be what you can’t see” is a phrase I use a lot, mostly when I’m getting frustrated with the range of body types promoted by the health and fitness industry. For example, when searching for the photo above, this was genuinely one of the only photos I could find to demonstrate my point. It’s a sea of mostly white athletes with 6-pack abs - which doesn’t exactly represent the people I see in my local gym.

When I look at health and fitness social media accounts, magazines or advertising, I often feel excluded by the images they choose to represent. This feeling of exclusion can perpetuate the myth that exercise is only for certain people and creates a barrier to exercise for a lot of people who are worried about judgement.

When I was training to be a personal trainer, I was worried that I would be judged by my body. I am a size 14/16 and I worried whether people would take my advice on fitness as I wasn’t in the perfect fitness body-type. I needn’t have worried, everyone has a unique perspective on health and fitness. We can all offer an insight to our clients, regardless of how we look.

I went on to learn more about the Health At Every Size movement and started following lots of wonderful people on social media who kick-ass as coaches but are in varying body types. I also unfollowed any accounts that made me feel ‘less-than’ - those coaches who I was comparing myself to. If we choose to use social media then we should follow those who lift us up, expand our world view, make us laugh or teach us something helpful - use social media as a tool to build your confidence.

Once I actually started coaching women, I realised that they liked that I had struggled with diet culture, failed on diets, lost weight, regained weight and generally understood how they were feeling. By using that understanding I can help create a space where women feel safe to explore these health-promoting behaviours in their own way.

As an industry, we should strive to end weight-stigma and promote that everybody has ‘fitness’ and they can demonstrate that in their own way. By only showing people with this ‘ideal’ body type exercising, it perpetuates the idea that exercise is solely for those people or those who are striving to look like them.

In fact, exercise has a huge range of other benefits - both mental and physical. Once we disconnect from the need to look a certain way, either by shrinking ourselves or bulking up - we can actually feel those benefits!

In order to help re-frame your perspective on exercise, take a look at the following Instagram accounts. These people are so knowledgeable about health and fitness, they also demonstrate that their expertise doesn’t necessarily come with a certain look.

Tasheon Chillous - a personal trainer who loves being outdoors.

Lauren Leavell - a personal trainer, HIIT and Barre teacher.

Meg Boggs - self-described athlete, she has a book coming out about fitness for every body.

Soph Butler - works on empowering women and representing disability unapologetically.

Mirna Valerio - an amazing runner, cyclist and all-round athlete.

Shira Rose - a body positive eating disorder therapist with a Health At Every Size perspective.

Shana Minei Spence - an anti-diet dietitian with a new perspective on food and diet

Jessi Haggerty - a dietitian and personal trainer

Dr Joshua Wolrich - an NHS surgical doctor fighting against weight stigma

Rebecca Kennedy - a body positive personal trainer

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