Overcoming Body Bias in Fitness: How to Create Safe Spaces for ALL People

Today our IDEA colleague and event programming director Ryan Halvorson guest hosts an incredibly interesting panel.

The fitness industry has long presented a homogenized picture of what true health and fitness looks like. However, that image applies to a very small portion of the population. When people don’t see themselves reflected in the marketing, messages and spaces that are presented to them, they don’t feel they belong and are unlikely to engage. What’s worse, this can have a significant negative emotional and mental impact on the very folks we aim to help. In this enlightening episode, three inspiring fit pros whose mission is to dismantle the current body biased structure, share what they’re doing to rebuild an industry that is inclusive, safe and reflective of the diverse population. They also share how fitness professionals may unwittingly be turning people off and what they can do to truly Inspire the World to Fitness.

Panelist Bios

Tasha Edwards, MS, is a certified personal trainer with two health coaching certifications and a Master’s degree in counseling. She has several fitness certifications including Pilates (500 hr), yoga (250 hr) and serves as a Master Trainer for Piloxing. She is interested and involved in creating diverse and inclusive spaces (race, age and size) within the fitness and wellness communities.

IG: @hiphealthychick; @seeherhealthy
FB: @tashaedw
LI: tasha-martinear-edwards
Websites: hiphealthychick.com

Molly Galbraith is an NSCA-certified strength and conditioning specialist, and co-founder and owner of Girls Gone Strong, a global movement dedicated to empowering women and improving their health, strength and confidence through industry-leading education materials, certification programs and coaching, all focused on women. Molly is also the creator of the Girls Gone Strong Academy, the world’s first online academy housing multiple evidence-based, interdisciplinary, women-specific certifications for health and fitness professionals. Her new book, Strong Women Life Each Other Up, was published recently.

IG: @themollygalbraith
FB: @mollygalbraith
Website: www.mollygalbraith.com

Kellie Walters, PhD, is an assistant professor at California State University, Long Beach, where she studies the psychosocial aspects of physical activity. Most recently, she has focused her research efforts on body image concerns within the fitness industry. Kellie is the co-founder of two organizations: Smart Fit Girls™, a non-profit program that promotes adolescent girls’ physical and emotional health and Smart Fit Womxn™, a wellness coaching company geared toward helping adult women become the best version of themselves.

IG: @smartfitwomxn and @smartfitgirls
FB: @kellie.a.walters @smartfitwomxn @smartfitgirlsinc
Website: www.smartfitgirls.org and www.smartfitwomxn.com
LI: kellie-walters-22a77226

Learn more about their panel and presentations planned for IDEA World Virtual this summer. There’s still time to take advantage of a complimentary 3-day ticket to IDEA World Virtual with an IDEAfit+ Membership. IDEA’s new membership gives you access to unlimited CECs through online education courses, business tools like social media scheduling management, email marketing and more! Visit our website to learn more.

IDEA Health & Fitness Association is the world’s leading organization of fitness and wellness professionals and has been for more than 39 years. We deliver world-class content and continuing education to fitness professionals, business owners and allied health professionals via our publications, including the award-winning FITNESS JOURNAL; our fitness, business and nutrition conferences; and hundreds of streaming videos and online courses available on ideafit.com. Additionally, with IDEA FitnessConnect, we host the largest national industry-wide directory, linking over 275,000 fitness professionals to more than 40 million consumers. Through IDEA professionals in over 80 countries, we Inspire the World to Fitness!

The IDEAfit PRO SHOW is hosted by Sandy Todd Webster, Editor in Chief, IDEA Publications, ideafit.com; executive produced by Jordan Leeds; produced and engineered by Michael Hilding. Copyright 2021 by Outside Interactive, Inc.