The People Using Exercise As An Empowerment Tool – Women’s Health

Whether you seek endorphins in the great outdoors or prefer after-work Pilates, there are few feelings more satisfying than getting in a stellar sweat.

And whatever your go-to modality, everyone leans into fitness for different purposes. For some, its an opportunity to socialize and connect with friends. For others, its a necessary way to destress after a tedious, meeting-filled afternoon.

So, yeah, fitness is way more than just a tool to change your appearance. Its a source of empowerment, allowing space for people to soak in the feel-good vibes however they might manifest. We connected with three leaders in fitness about their workout routineswhich celebrate their bodies, true strength, and indomitable spiritas well as why theyve chosen to share their love for fitness with a greater community. Ahead, their stories told firsthand.

From chasing around three older brothers in rural Missouri to traveling the country as the director of education for The Megaformer-based SLT, movement has shaped Meyers as a personone who is gender non-conforming and continually exploring their identity.

Our brains are running around 24/7 thinking about a lot of different things, Meyers tells Womens Health. The reason I love movement is because I get out of my head and into my body. How special is that?

In 2018, Meyers became their own boss and founded the be.come project, a fitness app that's all about moving with intention. Every Monday, Meyers releases a 25-minute routine thats meant to be done multiple times throughout the week. Followers can chime in with questions, and on Wednesday, Meyers answers them in a tutorial.

The more I opened up about the things I was struggling with, the more accountable I held myself.

Its no wonder why their come-as-you-are positive attitude is contagious, garnering more than 32K followers to the apps Instagram page and over 91K on their personal account.

I found that the more I opened up about the things I was struggling with, the more accountable I held myself, Meyers says, noting that movement helped to heal them after years of struggling with an eating disorder. I wanted to approach [fitness] with the be.come project in a way that didn't have to do with weight loss or before-and-after pictures or [the belief that] something is wrong with yourself. We have to fix that.

When it comes to their own fitness routine, Meyers mostly enjoys at-home workouts in their Manhattan apartment building. Lately, its been a mix of at-home spinning intertwined with the be.come projectwhich never takes more than an hour total (the sweet spot is 30 to 45 minutes). Some days, it goes great. Others, it may not. Thats OK, they say.

I use the words body neutrality a lot, Meyers says. I'm going to have all kinds of ups and downs, but I can be okay with those and take them at face value. After every single workout, you dont have to be like: I feel great all the time and life is good.

Mirna Valerio remembers sitting in the cardiologists office like it was yesterday. At 33 years old, she listened to the doctor in disbelief. He said, You could very well die if you dont make a change, she tells Womens Health. She was working a draining job on top of being a mother, and there was no time for self-care. She felt physically, mentally, and spiritually unwell. It was hard to hear, but deep down it was something that was welcomed, she recalls.

When someone looks at me with doubt, Im like: Think again.

The next day, she started running and never stopped. What started as a single mile every day on a home treadmill eventually led to half marathons. She conquered her first full in 2011, with the song Ive Got a Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas playing in her headphones as she crossed the finish line.

I knew it was a message from the universe that I need to be doing more of this, she says. That was only the beginning.

As the distances increased, so did her desire to share her journey with the world on social media and her personal website, TheMirnavator.com. Now, with 14 ultramarathons under her belt, shes relocated to Vermont and teaches others about the joy that comes from running and getting outdoors.

I know my body can carry me over 120 miles in the mountains, she says, adding that her favorite race to date is the TransRockies, a multi-day point-to-point Colorado trail run. Not everyone can do that. I can do amazing things. When someone looks at me with doubt, Im like: Think again.

Valerio is proud of the progress that shes made since those treadmill days. Now, when she looks in the mirror, she sees an adventurer who loves running.I see a strong, confident, and capable black woman. That's very important to me.

Jenny Bruso wore a Spandex leopard print dress, purple tights, and cowboy boots on her first-ever hike in Portland, Oregon. Her makeup was perfect. She reasoned that if she was out in the world, she had to be done up.

I felt really self-conscious of my breathing and sweating, she tells Womens Health. But soon, I realized I was having an experience of joyfulness in my body and also a sense of mystery with nature over the course of the three or four hours. I felt an inspiration that I had never felt before.

A lot of the time, the stories we tell ourselves about how our bodies work aren't reality.

We are capable of so much more.

She found herself devoting significantly more time to the great outdoors, spending three days each week hunting down elevation gains.

I realized that hiking makes me feel really confident in the way my body works." she says. I like knowing that I'm stronger and more capable than I ever thought that I was. A lot of the time, the stories we tell ourselves about how our bodies work aren't reality. We are capable of so much more.

Still, the more she laced up her boots, the more she began to realize that there werent other people who looked like her sharing their hiking stores.

I was very aware of the fact that outdoor culture was marketed toward a certain kind of person," she says: young, thin, white, and affluent. "That didnt resonate with me and I wanted to connect with other people whose outdoor lives didnt look like the status quo.

So, in 2016, she started Unlikely Hikersan inclusive Instagram community that celebrates individuals typically underrepresented in social media depictions of the great outdoors. Soon, she had people of all different backgrounds and body types from across the globe sharing their stories with her.

I used to associate exercise with being alone in the gym and hating myself and the atmosphere and the vibes, she says. It doesnt have to be that way. Now, it brings me happiness and helps me connect with others.

Up next on her trails bucket list? The Oregon section of the Pacific Crest Trail, she says. I do hikes now that I never thought I would be able to. I love a good challenge and surprising myself.