WHAT’S FREE, easy to take, has an immediate effect and you don’t need a GP to get some? Exercise!

Research from a Sports England report has revealed that black women and other ethnic groups are less likely to exercise than white British women. 

This is surprising considering how popular wellbeing and fitness is right now; it is so ubiquitous that it is used to market absolutely everything. 

Wellbeing is needed more so now than ever before, especially in these uncertain times; helping us to deal with all the anxiety, stress and mental health issues that are regularly being reported in the news.

This increase is not surprising with the sudden and immediate changes we have all experienced in terms of social isolation and enforced changes to our daily routines.  

“Starting a form of exercise or activity at a young age can help with body image issues”

NoireFitFest

There are so many benefits to exercise; it helps reduce major illness such as heart disease, strokes, type 2 diabetes and cancer by up to 50% and it lowers your risk of early death by up to 30%.

Some forms of exercise are a lifestyle journey that can permeate so many different areas of our lives.  Evidence shows that yoga improves the effectiveness of other treatments and does not need to replace them.    

If you do a quick Google search for the term “fitness”, the results and the images shown have a lack of diversity in terms of colour, shape, and ethnicity.  

So why are gyms and fitness brands not using diverse images in their campaigns?  Don’t our bodies matter? Are our bodies not worthy of inclusion?  Do they believe that black bodies don’t matter, or are worthy of inclusion?  Are we to assume we are not their target audience?  

All women, but especially black women, need to see ourselves having fun whilst exercising, not just when competing to win a medal or in a competition. 

Grow

However, there is a danger that if we as black women do not see ourselves exercising, then little black girls will grow up and believe that something so healing and transformational as yoga is not for them.  

Starting a form of exercise or activity at a young age can help with body image issues. 

Are we as black women forgoing exercise for hair-related issues putting our hair above our health?  

Some of us are especially concerned about ruining our hairstyles due to perspiration and we may try to avoid washing our hair too often.  

I believe that there is some truth to this – but have seen that there is a shift as more of us embrace our natural hair journey.  I know I have skipped the gym after visiting the hairdressers.   

This was a dilemma for me last year when I started my Sistalocs journey.  My loctician advised against too much exercise as this would hinder the locking process. 

So, I had to adapt my exercise routine and avoid doing hot yoga so regularly.

Moral of the story; we all know we should care less about our hair and more about exercise, but it’s easier said than done. Right?

Working out is not always considered a priority especially for black women as we often put our needs last. 

Carrying the burden of everyone around us means that we rarely make self-care part of our routine. Self-care is often portrayed as being a selfish act.  

By making self-care a priority allows us to support our family, community and friends at our maximum potential. We cannot pour from an empty glass.

Venture

So, if we take the time to venture to a gym or a class and the teacher does not have an appreciation for our body type, we may find that we have been body shamed, which means that this experience has put us off exercise. 

This is something I hear time and time again, which is why it is important to have teachers who can respect all shapes and sizes that come into their teaching space.

Affordability can also be another reason why exercise is not so readily embraced. However, there is no reason why you must join a gym. 

There are more affordable alternatives like community centres and pay-as-you- go options.    There are also so many free resources on the internet, allowing you to exercise in the comfort of your home, not forgetting the yoga and fitness classes on Wednesday and Friday on the Voice newspaper Instagram Live.

There is also the perception that exercise takes time. The reality is that some forms of exercise give us more time.

By becoming more focused and concentrated this results in greater productivity, leading us to achieve that work-life balance we all crave and more time with family and friends.  

Previous generations were more active naturally through work and manual labour, but today we are leading more sedentary lifestyles.  We really need to try to find ways of integrating activity into our daily lives. 

Combination

Maybe our reluctance to exercise is a combination of all the above.  Whatever the reasons, it is imperative that as black people we invest in our health. 

Exercise is good for us mentally and physically and will help us to navigate these challenging times. 

Please share your reasons for not working out. Our goal is to make the world of fitness more inclusive and diverse.

In the meantime why not join us for yoga and fitness every Wednesday at 5pm and Saturday at 10am via The Voice Instagram. 

Find out more about Donna and Lorraine at on Instagram.