By Kristi Alexandra
@kristialexandra

Local plus size athlete, trainer, author, and advocate Louise Green has dedicated the last decade to disrupting the fitness industry by creating a movement where people of all shapes and sizes can feel included. Her book Big Fit Girl: Embrace The Body You Have revolutionized the fitness industry for plus-size bodies, and she’s currently a columnist for Self Magazine.

This week on International Self-Care Day (Wednesday, July 24), Green is hosting a #MOVEMAKERS event in partnership with Sportchek, in which she’ll lead a class on boxing and strength training for all sizes, abilities and ages. There will be a post-workout motivational talk on what #WhatMovesMe (or her, rather) over the past decade. 

We caught up with Green in advance of the event to learn more about her stand against a toxic fitness industry, embracing what you really love, and her upcoming fitness app.

I love your mantra “Embrace the body you have” because so often we are told that exercise should be “transformational” –  as if we’re inadequate the way we are and need to transform into somebody better, immediately. Can you tell me more about when you had this epiphany?

I, like many people I know, was chronically dieting for more than 10 years. During one of my pursuits to do that, I joined a 5K clinic here in Vancouver with the intention to lose weight. The instructor stood up and introduced herself and she was plus size herself. I had never seen a woman that was bigger that wasn’t trying to lose weight. This woman was so profound to me, I trained with her for 12 weeks and the whole time we trained together, we talked about athleticism, and there was never any “bikini season is coming” language or any typical shame-based customs I was used to. I just realized all of this time I had been fighting my body and I had this really distorted perception of what I should be or look like. It literally changed my entire life.

What inspired you to go from athlete to trainer to thought leader and author? 

I became a trainer as the first thing. Basically, because what had happened with me with the 5K clinic, I was so moved and changed by that, I was like, “There’s no way that other women can’t know about this. There’s no way I can walk away and not tell the world.” I worked as a talent agent [in the past], and a lot of my job was telling people to lose weight – not by my opinion, but at the request of producers to “lose weight, whiten your teeth” etc. At a certain point,  that started to not reconcile with me. As soon as I was pregnant, I started planning to open a business for plus size women, and told myself “I’m going to have one of the first body positive centres in Vancouver.”

Who does your work speak to?

The woman I want to speak to is the woman who is chasing thin beauty ideals through diet marketing, but who wants a new message.  We are told “You are either thin or fat, you are good or bad.” The people I’m trying to inspire are people who want to live their highest life in the body they have right now, and want to use athleticism or fitness to do that.

Representation is a big part of your message – how do you tackle ways of including folks of all abilities?

To be honest, in my media that I produce, I haven’t done a great job of including that because, currently, I dont have the services that back it up. When we launch our app in the fall of this year, we will have services [support that]. There’s nothing that irks me more than someone who includes a body positive message that doesn’t back it up.

Tell me more about the Big Fit Girl fitness app and when we can expect it?

We’re working with Vimeo, and it’s an on-demand, streaming app,which we hope to release around Canadian Thanksgiving. We’ll be doing a 21-day challenge for January that’s not about weight loss or body conforming, it’s just about finding the power within through movement. A subscription will be $9.99 USD per month.

What tips would you give to someone starting out on their fitness journey who might be shy or who feels shamed out of the fitness industry?

I coach all people on this, and it’s in my book as well.

1. Do your research before going into something. I always let people know they have the right to ask questions and interview trainers before committing. Identify what you’re looking for. A lot of companies will say body positive or all inclusive, but they’ve got to back it up. Make sure you’re stepping into something that aligns with your health vision. 
2. Really pay attention to what makes you feel great. If you went to the pool and swam laps and you felt great, but then took an aerobics class and you hated it, pay attention. If you used to love riding a bike as a child, try going back to that and seeing how you like it
3. Fill your sight line with your version of health. Search plus size fitness or body positive fitness, or anything that resonates with you. Media and advertisers are not doing that for you, they’re not showing you in your current state. Seek it out for yourself, own it, and start to inspire yourself.

Tell me more about  #WhatMovesYou and what we can expect on Wednesday? 

One of the reasons I wanted to partner with Sportchek on this event is that they’re a mainstream brand and I’ve been fighting to get better representation through brands. Finally, we have a major retailer who wants to create representation. The event [is] trying to inspire anyone who feels uninspired and not sure where to start. I encourage people to really pay attention to when they feel the happiest when they’re moving (hence the hashtag #WhatMovesYou). For some people, they feel the happiest when they’re walking in the woods with their dog. It’s about asking, “What makes me feel powerful and good?” There’s so much that makes you feel punished and shitty, it’s just about really paying attention to what makes you feel good.

I like that this event is low-barrier and free to RSVP. Was that important to you?

Yes, there are so many barriers for people of size to do anything – the societal barriers, the clothing barrier, the price barrier, the trainer not knowing what to do with you barrier. Every BODY can attend, and you can be successful, and I offer options and modifications [to your workout].

RSVP to Louise Green’s #MoveMaker event on Wednesday here. The event is free but spaces are limited.

Kristi Alexandra is an unabashed wino and wannabe musician. Her talents include drinking an entire bottle of cabernet sauvignon, singing in the bathtub, and falling asleep.