Cedric X. Bryant of ACE shares tips for making your gym more inclusive.
Over the past few years, societal shifts brought more attention to systemic problems related to race, gender and other types of diversity. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic made existing health disparities more apparent. Now the world seems poised to address previously unseen or ignored issues and move in a more positive direction.
In the fitness industry, organizations across the country are working hard to build a better profession and, in our own way, a better world. The first step, of course, to addressing a problem is to define the problem.
Many people who experience obesity, for instance, report that they avoid exercising in public due to perceived stigma due to their weight. Transgender and non-binary people often experience bigotry, if not outright exclusion, in gyms and other fitness spaces that are gender segregated.
But what can your fitness business do to further address the problem of exclusion? Leaders in the industry should consider the following:
- Look within and examine your own practices: Encouraging an open, honest dialogue is essential. The key word is “honest.” Consider bringing in an outside expert, such as an EDI consultant, to hold a seminar with your employees. Or have an EDI expert consult one-on-one with your board. It can be hard at times to acknowledge your organization still has room to grow. But such work is vital to ensuring your organization can understand where it stands on issues of social importance as well as how you can improve.
- Support other organizations: Have an in-house EDI expert or lived experience? Consider offering support to other organizations and/or fitness businesses. For example, you could offer courses to trainers, coaches or other instructors about strategies experts could apply in their day-to-day practice. Fit for Us, for instance, provides Black fitness professionals with a space to network while also providing clients and educators with tools to create more equitable spaces. When it comes to EDI work, the more organizations that are doing the work, the more inclusive the industry will be overall.
- Engage your members: From Facebook Live dialogues with EDI experts to offering classes and handouts at your gym, your members can also help lead change. This type of ongoing education and conversation is a vital step towards both building empathy among all of your gym members and in helping members who come from historically marginalized backgrounds feel more welcome in your facilities. Allow members to submit questions and provide resources for further learning. For example, we hosted a dialogue on weight bias that was open to the public. Some of your biggest allies for change can be regular gym-goers. Plus, it provides your gym with a chance to build trust among your members and one-on-one relationships that keep members more engaged with your offerings.
This type of ongoing education and conversation is a vital step towards building empathy and inclusivity – both in terms of business practices and in building stronger one-on-one relationships with clients and gym members.
And while creating a course or hosting a series of webinars is not enough to solve what is a long-term and systemic problem, every step in the right direction is a cause for celebration.
Every time a company modifies its hiring practices or adds gender-neutral signage to its lockers rooms, every magazine cover touting the benefits of exercise while featuring a plus-size model, and every time an exercise professional displays empathy or cultural competency that they gained as a result of EDI education is an important victory.
So, we ask everyone — inside and outside the fitness industry — to join us in developing creative solutions that will empower everyone. No matter one’s race, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability or body size, the many benefits of exercising in a welcome space are for all to enjoy.
