Tag Archives: beginner

Fitness is for ALL of Us

Ragen Chastain and I are so very pleased to release our first video on our brand new YouTube Channel: Fitness for All of Us. We’ve released our fight song to announce our intention to create a safe space where bodies of all shapes and sizes, ages and abilities can rejoice in joyful movement. Here’s our first video:

For far too long, fitness has been a space relegated to those who have a certain body type or begrudgingly to those who are actively and seeking that body type. Some have said that “Fit is the New Skinny!” without understanding that “fit” as defined by most is predominantly skinny. It may include an extra pert rear and muscular legs. It may include a six pack (or eight pack) and carefully-chiseled Michelle Obama biceps. But the fit often referred to in the “fit is the new skinny” or even “strong is the new skinny” memes bounce right out of fitspiration with rock hard, totally toned, glistening, fitness model bodies.

But what about the rest of us? Those of us who have bits that jiggle and flow? Those of us with rolls and cellulite? Those of us with big, bountiful bellies and big hips? Those of us who are not exactly the slightly-upsized Barbie ideal of big boobs, tiny waist, swelling hips and tiny, pointed feet? That is who this channel is for, it’s for ALL OF US who are interested in fitness in any capacity and at any level.

Because this is so much of what my work is and has always been about. Fitness should be fun and encouraging and welcoming and physically and emotionally safe for all of us. Fat and skinny, young and old, high powered athlete and folks who just want to walk their dogs. Runners and walkers and boaters and swimmers and yogis and dancers and kickboxers and cyclers and multisport mavens. Seasoned experts and frightened beginners. Fitness should be for every BODY!

We should be able to get help when we ask for it and be left ALONE when we don’t. We should be encouraged the same way as everyone else. We should get a quiet thumbs up or even a shout of welcome for joining the posse for being part of the fitness community, not because somebody imagines that exercise is particularly difficult for us, or that we serve as some sort of weird inspiration for them and especially not because people imagine that we are forcing our bodies to comply to some ideal of shape, size, weight, or any other parameter.

Let us move. Let us breathe. Let us enjoy fitness on our own terms. Above all, let us be.

Hope you like it!

Love, Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

P.S. Want to show us some special love? Don’t forget to subscribe!

Embracing Beginnerness (and Kitties!)

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Based on your awesome feedback, I have balanced yesterday’s snark fest with this video of an adorable kitten just learning to walk. You’re welcome.

I’m not just posting pictures and videos of cute stumbling kitties for the heck of it. I do have a point. Today I want to talk about embracing your beginnerness and why it’s so hard.

Yesterday I had a really exciting opportunity to audition for something. It was so cool. But it was my first audition of that kind EVER. After the initial euphoria of making it through in one piece wore off, I found myself in the car thinking of 100 things I wish I had done differently, and I was bummed.

But as Maggie said in the comments yesterday, “Hey our champions can’t be all perfect!” Sorry, I forgot. I guess I just forgot to embrace my beginnerness. The stakes were high, because this is not only something I thought I’d be perfect for, but also it’s something I really wanted. I got all caught up in the “shoulda, woulda, coulda” of it. But it was my first time. And I guess I should know by know, that I’m probably not going to be perfect at anything my first time out of the gate. In fact, I’m probably not going to be perfect, like ever.

I really should know this by now, because I’m constantly telling other people the same thing. (Blogger, heal thyself!) Every time I teach a new routine or I have a new student come to my class I remind them that it may take them a while to get used to the way I teach, or the type of routines I do. I remind them that every student was a new student once, and that every routine was new for each of us at some time or another. None of us, including the teacher, got everything perfect right out of the gate. In fact, none of us is perfect even after dancing together for five years!

But it’s so easy to forget. Once you finally get past your fear of messing up and try something new, you’re bound to feel a little regret for messing up. I guess a little frustration is healthy. It helps you figure out how to improve for next time. But there’s a limit to how much obsessing about how you should have done something is really healthy. There’s really no point to “shoulding all over yourself.”

If you want to be a bold adventurer who explores brave new worlds and tries new stuff, you have to accept you’re going to trip sometimes. You’ve got to be ready to stand up, roll your masking tape lint roller thingy all over yourself (or just dust yourself off) and start all over again. And remember, everybody was a beginner at one time or another.

The alternative to muddling around and not quite hitting the mark is not to try at all. And not trying at all is kinda sad and no fun. So I leave you with a song I LOVE. It’s by Irene Reid and it’s called “Aiming at Nothing”. Here’s an excerpt of some of the lyrics:

If you aim at the sun, even though it’s farYou might hit the moon or your might hit a star.
If you aim at ten, you might hit nine,
But if you aim at nothin’ you’ll hit it every time!

And just click the little arrow thingy below to hear an excerpt from the song:

Aiming At Nothing

I’d love to hear about some of YOUR beginner stories. Feel free to share them in the comments section or send me a private email at jeanette at the fat chick dot com. Tell me about how you were scared, and brave and found a way to muddle through somehow. Tell us how you wobbled on your new kitten legs, but went on to triumph!

And here’s to aiming at something, even though we miss it sometimes!

Love,

The Fat Chick

P.S. We’re aiming to hit the left coast this week with our Fit Fatties Across America project! Have you joined the fit fatties forum yet? Did you sign up for Fit Fatties Across America? Have you entered your time or distance for your exercise this week? Well okay, just checking.

P.S.S. Did you know that I do private training live or over Skype? I’m still running my “try one month for $25” special. That’s up to $100 off my regular rates!