Bobie-Lee Dixon
Published:
Thursday, July 21, 2016
When the 2016 Olympic Games start in Rio, Brazil, on August 5, people everywhere—even those who don’t usually follow sports—will be glued to their televisions. As part of the pre-Olympic games publicity, top magazines have featured artistic photo spreads from magazines all over the world, showing the finely-tuned, well-chiselled Olympians in their—sometimes naked—glory.
Some of the more compelling photos have featured leading female athletes like defending 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce from Jamaica, US gymnast Gabby Douglas, and defending heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill from Great Britain. Surely, in the coming weeks, we’ll see our own female Olympians Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Michelle Lee Ahye and Cleopatra Borel in posters and adverts.
These women with their slim, well-toned bodies, are often touted as the “ideal” as far as fit women go. But for the average woman, fitness comes in different shapes and sizes. On social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, there is a growing movement to recognise “big girl fitness,” the plus-sized sporty women who take part in triathlons and adventure racing.
These health-conscious and determined women are more interested in their 5K times than the numbers on their scales. Plus-sized Australian triathlete Leah Gilbert wrote on her blog Body Positive Athletes, “Please stop assuming that we are showing up because we want to lose weight...We are showing up because we want to challenge ourselves, physically, and mentally, and we have goals that include training and competing a triathlon.”
In T&T, more and more women are thinking like this. T&T Guardian spoke with several fitness experts who spoke about how full-figured women can and do maintain fitness.
Fitness trainer Rodney Vire, of Rodney’s Revolution Personal Fitness Centre and CrossFit 12-12-12, said there is nothing to stop bigger women who want to be fit. CrossFit is an increasingly popular exercise philosophy that incorporates elements from high-intensity interval training, Olympic weightlifting, plyometrics, powerlifting and other exercises.
Vire said general fitness is the key to maintaining functional movement to develop the strength the body needs to keep it mobile.
“We train full-figured women in CrossFit and they are not restricted by their size. When coached properly they are encouraged to do more so they find it easy to climb a 15-foot rope.
“Once trained and disciplined the sky is the limit for a full-figured woman,” said the Woodbrook, Port-of-Spain based trainer.
Nutrition plays a major role in keeping fit. In fact 90 per cent of your fitness and overall health begins with nutrition. Vire said people do not have to embark on extreme calorie restrictive diets, but just be more mindful of what they eat.
“Once she has a clean bill of health, there is no reason a full-figured woman should feel intimidated to train.
“We are no longer training women with light loads, we are giving them more to empower themselves and to help them push past what they believe is their limit.”
Gregory Seale, founder of Movement Mechanics, explained that full-figured women are usually endomorphs. They tend to be round with increased fat storage around the midsection, hips and thighs. They have slower metabolisms by nature and a lower tolerance for carbohydrate-rich foods.
Seale, a sports performance and corrective exercise specialist who works with national sporting teams, explained how full-figured women should approach getting into fitness.
“Typically when full-figured women embark on their weight-loss journey they go out and start running. This is not an ideal situation for weight loss and certainly not an ideal situation for the joints.”
Seale said since full-figured woman tend to have a higher percentage of body fat, they will respond better to a combination of weight training and some cardiovascular activity.
“Everyone can train whatever their size and body type. What is important is accepting the body type that you have and improving on that rather than trying to be a body type that is impossible to attain,” he said.
“Another key factor in training full-figured women is choosing the correct loads and intensities and assessing structural and strength competencies before designing a training programme.”
The Maraval-based expert said fitness can only be maintained with commitment and dedication, being consistent, patient, and sticking to the nutrition and training plan. See the box below for some of Seale’s training tips.
‘My eyes aren’t on the scale’
At six feet tall, T&T Guardian’s assistant sports editor Rachael King is one of the shorter people in her family.
The mother of two is a former captain of the T&T basketball team and has won several national titles with Horizons Sports and Cultural Club. King’s journalism job means long hours as well as the challenges of juggling exercise, motherhood and being a homemaker.
Weighing 248 pounds, King’s training regime ideally consists of basketball twice per week and netball twice a week.
“Usually, it’s basketball on Tuesdays and Thursdays and netball on Wednesdays and Sundays. Presently there is no basketball league so training has stopped for a while but my netball team trains for ten months of the year so that’s ongoing.
Like many of the full figured women who are participating in fitness events, King doesn’t keep her eyes on the scale.
“I didn’t worry much about my weight during my college playing years because I was fit and more muscular. Post children, my weight bothered me a bit because it was difficult to adjust to playing with more weight until learned to use it to my advantage.
“Nowadays my weight doesn’t bother me really. Once I am healthy and fit enough to play my sports, I’m good. Of course if I can get rid of some belly fat and tone up my arms and legs a bit, I will be more contented,” she said.
The Eckerd College graduate says she prefers to mix up her training methods, as she’s not a fan of gyms.
“I never really liked working out in a gym because I find it boring. I like getting my exercise on a court, basketball or netball or something outdoors like walking, running and hiking, not be choked up in gym where every minute you have to be cleaning an equipment before and after you use it.”
One thing King noted, was the difficulty a lot of former female athletes have in maintaining their peak fitness.
“The dynamics of your life change when you get married and have children. Your time has to be shared. Before when I could have spent hours working out, now I have to get as much in as I can within a time limit and that is difficult at times.
King is known among her peers as highly confident, disciplined and strong-willed. She has also taken this approach to her fitness.
“Don’t try to put me in a box, I won’t fit and it has nothing to do with my size. My confidence, resilience and positive demeanor won’t let me be confined,” she said. “I have a rock-solid mind and a never say never attitude. You can be slim, tall, short or big-bodied, if you don’t have that mentality, there is not much you will accomplish as an athlete or otherwise.”
Letters
Award-winning basketballer, netball player and T&T Guardian assistant sports editor Rachael King, front, on the netball court.
PHOTO: COURTESY RACHAEL KING