One of the key issues we see in workout culture is the lack of representation. Many of the advertised programs feature white women—which isn’t necessarily a problem, except it doesn’t show a range of trainers (or culturally relevant bodies, music and styles) in the videos or classes they produce. It can be very discouraging to have to type something along the lines of “Black women workout videos” in order to get results—much like needing to type “Black girl curly hairstyles” into Google Images—and it began to feel like finding these trainers was going to be a task that was next to impossible.
But these badass women do exist!
Now that going to the gym isn’t really an option, a lot of health, fitness and workout programs are online—and a lot even offer a free.99 alternative. These videos live rent-free on Instagram and YouTube, which is a great way to ease into that (repeated) New Year’s resolution of getting into shape.
I will be the first to say that I don’t have New Year’s resolutions because I feel like I let myself down by the end of January and spend months after wallowing in my own self-pity and lack of follow-through. Rather than finding myself back there again at the end of this month, I decided to search out Black women who exude the strength and confidence I’m trying to embody in 2021. After trying about five or six different types of workout videos from different trainers, I was able to find a collection of programs that will be on a heavy rotation.
