I strength train in a small community center gym. It is filled with the full range of humanity who live in my diverse community. When I started working out there four or five years ago, as far as I could tell I was the only woman who regularly lifted weights. Only in the last yearContinue reading “Doin’ My Part to Keep the Gym a Safe Space for Men”
Category Archives: Gender
“Look beyond aesthetics and look at being healthy,” Food Medic Podcast EPISODE 7 – Eating to thrive not survive in training with Liam Holmes
The longer I spend in the evidence-based nutrition world, the more similar the advice seems to become. Really, once we get beyond the bullshit pseudoscience, the “big rocks” of nutrition are widely agreed upon–get enough protein (but don’t expect it to be magic), gets lots of fruits and veggies, have sufficient fats and carbs forContinue reading ““Look beyond aesthetics and look at being healthy,” Food Medic Podcast EPISODE 7 – Eating to thrive not survive in training with Liam Holmes”
Privilege and the “hard work and consistency” narrative
“24 years and I’ve only missed 4 workouts,” stated someone on one of the lifting forums I frequent, alongside some transformation photos showing him going from a small kid to a beefy, veiny specimen of humanity. Honestly, he looked great. And I kept thinking, “wow, imagine a life that allowed me to only skip 4Continue reading “Privilege and the “hard work and consistency” narrative”
“You’re never going to reason someone away from their belief,” Offline with Jon Favreau, Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok
How do we combat disinformation and misinformation? Can we inoculate people from the strains of misinformation in their lives? This conversation is mostly about politics, but I see so many parallels between the pseudoscience and self-promotion we see in the health and fitness space and the opportunists manipulating information to influence politics and public health.Continue reading ““You’re never going to reason someone away from their belief,” Offline with Jon Favreau, Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok”
What would you want if you let go of shame?
Shame is a shit motivator. Loads of research has found that instead of inspiring people to quit smoking, lose weight, be more patient parents, whatever, it instead pushes them into a loop of self-loathing and self-punishment followed by reactive over-correction for short periods of time. Shame is the cornerstone of large-scale diet and fitness industryContinue reading “What would you want if you let go of shame?”
Sexism and the Myth of Universality of Men’s Stories in Lifting
“Why do I need to learn this?” It’s day two of the sex ed unit in my 7th grade health class, and we’re labeling assigned female anatomy. The boy asking the above question is sincere. He doesn’t see why he needs to learn about the anatomy of literally half of the world’s human population. ItContinue reading “Sexism and the Myth of Universality of Men’s Stories in Lifting”
“It doesn’t matter what you’re given, it’s what you do with it,” Iron Culture Podcast Ep. 155–Alex Tilinca: Self Made Man
I’m having grandiose thoughts. I’m imagining a future sporting world in which the full variety of human experiences are welcomed and included. In which maybe we have men’s, women’s, and open categories for sport, in which anyone can participate who feels called and can do the work. Where we’re defined and divided by our abilitiesContinue reading ““It doesn’t matter what you’re given, it’s what you do with it,” Iron Culture Podcast Ep. 155–Alex Tilinca: Self Made Man”
“Single by choice,” The Food Medic Podcast, EPISODE 7 – Diet culture and the highs and lows of being a person online with Lucy Mountain
I have this hypothesis that rejecting society’s standards in one aspect of our lives makes it easier to do so in others. If you reject diet culture, the assumption that our value is based at least in part on our body size and the solution to feeling undervalued is to do extreme things in orderContinue reading ““Single by choice,” The Food Medic Podcast, EPISODE 7 – Diet culture and the highs and lows of being a person online with Lucy Mountain”
Sexism in Lifting: What is the right balance between sticking my neck out and doing my own thing?
How do we know if we’re making progress when it can go so slowly, it feels like standing still? How do we keep doing the work, plugging away at the pieces, running the experiments, when we don’t even know what the endpoint will look like? Is there a revelation, a revolution, a moment when everythingContinue reading “Sexism in Lifting: What is the right balance between sticking my neck out and doing my own thing?”
“Healing your intuition,” Balance 365 Episode 202: How Men Can Navigate Diet Culture, Weight, And Wellness with Chris McMahon
Wow, wow, wow. I don’t know how many men read me, but I’m hoping those who do will take an hour and listen to this interview. And if you’re not a man but you’ve pair-bonded with a male-identified person, there’s some good stuff in here for you, too. When I first joined Balance 365, someContinue reading ““Healing your intuition,” Balance 365 Episode 202: How Men Can Navigate Diet Culture, Weight, And Wellness with Chris McMahon”
Progressive Strength 