Health, Fitness & Bodily Autonomy
I start many of my training sessions by asking my clients what they want to do, or if there's anything specific they want to work on that day.
It's something I read about when I was a new trainer, and the concept behind it is self-agency.
It gives me, as a trainer, a better idea of what's important to that client -- what they enjoy doing, what they struggle with, what they're confident in -- but equally importantly, it empowers the client to take an active role in their health and fitness.
Personal training is, after all, helping people understand their bodies and their movements and providing tools, guidance, and support to help them feel better in their bodies so they can live their best lives -- whatever that means to them.
And that's why, as a health and fitness professional, I'm angry about the Supreme Court's decision last week to overturn Roe v. Wade.
I realize there are probably some of you reading this who disagree. I am not using this email to address it from a political standpoint but from the lens of a professional who is deeply invested in my clients' health and fitness.
As many of you have experienced firsthand, pregnancy and childbirth have a massive impact on a person's entire life.
I've worked with clients who needed to adjust their workouts and nutrition to help them in their journeys to conceive, sometimes while undergoing fertility treatments.
Trainers are often some of the very first people to find out about a pregnancy, so I've heard right away about unintended pregnancies that were welcomed, and I've held space for clients who have grieved miscarriages that almost no one else knew about.
I've coached clients through "normal" pregnancies that were still incredibly physically and emotionally challenging as well as high-risk pregnancies that severely limited my clients' abilities to work and live, much less work out.
I have clients and colleagues who delivered healthy babies with no issues and were excited to get back to the gym as soon as they were cleared for movement, and others who had smooth pregnancies and deliveries followed by crippling postpartum mental health issues that sidelined them for months.
I also know and have colleagues who required emergency surgical intervention during labor, as well as surgery after birth because of pelvic organ prolapse and other complications from pregnancy and delivery -- events that have significant and lasting impacts on a person's future health and fitness.
It is a privilege to be someone that my clients trust to be part of their pregnancy and postpartum fitness plans, but I would never want someone to take on such a life-altering experience with potential health risks if they didn't want to.
As many of you know, in addition to the physical change and risks of pregnancy and childbirth, there are other costs to consider: healthcare expenses throughout pregnancy and labor which go up exponentially if there are complications; the expense of raising a child, especially if family finances are already stretched; the emotional toll of putting one's body through pregnancy and delivery; the emotional cost of raising a child alone if there's no support from a partner or family; the time cost of having to change jobs or work multiple jobs to afford childcare and basic necessities; and many more I'm sure I'm overlooking because I'm not a parent!
All of those costs impact a person's ability to pursue their own health and fitness, which in turn affects my role as a health and fitness professional.
As things stand now, the state of Maryland, where I train and coach, protects a woman's right to have an abortion. (Note: Abortions are up to 30x safer than pregnancy, and more than half the abortions in the US today are medication abortions.)
In other states, based on the way different state laws are written, even fertility treatments like IVF, that have given several of my clients the families they'd always wanted, could be at risk.
Women who experience the pain of miscarriage could have their trauma compounded by legal battles to determine whether their miscarriage was their fault, the result of an attempted abortion.
Doctors and nurses will not be able to quickly and efficiently provide potentially life-saving care for pregnancy and birth complications due to legal back-and-forth and the risk of jail time.
As a personal trainer and nutrition coach, it is of the utmost importance to me that my clients live full, happy lives and feel healthy, strong, and capable, and I know that comes from many factors beyond what you do in the gym and what you put on your plate. Having ownership over your own body and the way you use it one of the most crucial.
For those of you looking for ways to help or for resources for yourself and others:
- Here's an article with tips
- Here's an extensive Google Doc with resources and suggestions
- All the resources and information I shared on Instagram are saved in my "Pro-Choice" story highlight for future reference if you or someone you know needs it.
