Plus-size gym goers say weight stigma in fitness spaces can be 'extremely toxic'

After a car accident, Mandy Smith had to take a year off from exercise. She gained 100 pounds over the course of one year. When the 43-year-old, who struggled with disordered fitness and eating for decades, was able to be active again, she signed up for bootcamp-style classes.

While Smith was a seasoned attendee for years of these high-intensity workouts and knew the how to do jumping jacks, squat jacks and jump squats, a coach suggested that in her new body, the class wasn't the right fit.

This is just one example of the type of struggle, exclusion and trauma that somebody can experience in a fitness environment at the cost of their weight. While the journeys are different, the stigma that someone like Smith has faced isn't unique.

‘When I looked around everyone was really skinny’

Angelica Wilson, a 30-year-old yoga instructor and fitness writer based in New York City, began her yoga journey at a studio that felt welcoming when she first walked in the door. “It’s just that when I looked around everyone was really skinny,” she says.

Darion Hughes, a 29-year-old content creator based in Orlando, Fla., can also relate.

“When plus-size men or big men go to the gym, it’s like, we’re big and we're trying to do something about that. But then we get stared at like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe he’s that big,’” he tells Yahoo Life. “It’s like a catch-22.”

It’s one of many experiences in a plus-size body that Hughes discusses on TikTok where he refers to himself as a “big boy adviser.” The goal of his lifestyle content is to help men in larger bodies navigate the world. The gym is one of the places that he believes they need help doing so.

“One of the most vulnerable places to go, no matter what body type you are, is the gym. It’s also one of the most intimidating places," he says. “I’ve found that we [referring to his community of ‘big boys’] like to be in the background, not really too upfront, because we don’t feel necessarily worthy to be there.”

This isn’t a conclusion that gym goers come to on their own. Instead, it’s a reflection of the weight bias that exists within the industry and is displayed in those spaces. A 2018 study published in Obesity Reviews found that 85% of exercise professionals were at fault for perpetuating this stigma.

“If you’re at a gym and working with a personal trainer, one of the first things they ask you is, ‘What are your weight goals?’” says Wilson. She’s felt singled out when attending group fitness classes and being asked, “Is this your first time?” Or, “If you need any modifications, let me know.”

“One instructor was sharking around me and she kept stepping in to make adjustments,” says Wilson, noting that as a yoga instructor herself with 10 years experience, she could have determined the needed adjustments herself.

Smith, who eventually became a trainer and is the owner of Resistance Gym, an inclusive fitness space based in Concord, Calif., says she’s had clients who’ve been told they couldn’t do something. “Like, if the class is doing a pull-up, they’ve been straight up told, ‘Well, that you won’t be able to do,’” she explains.

Judgment from peers can be hurtful as well.

“It’s extremely toxic in a lot of ways,” says Hughes. “It’s so wrong to degrade someone for not being at a certain level. Or to or to say, ‘You’re this big man, you should be able to lift a certain amount, you can only lift this?’ Instead of saying, ‘Hey, man, I’m proud of you for showing up.’”

Fat bias keeps plus-size people out of the gym

Studies show that weight stigma at the gym causes plus-size individuals to have negative attitudes associated with these spaces, causing many to exclude themselves from exercise settings.

“I know people who have never been in the gym because of anxiety about their body,” says Smith. “They’ve never even attempted fitness because they’re afraid that people are going to judge them.”

It’s a feeling that Hughes can understand as he acknowledges that the gym can feel “extremely scary.” Had he not played contact sports growing up, he says, “I wouldn’t have been able to overcome that [fear].”

While he’s able to celebrate the small wins, like walking through a gym's entrance, Hughes understands that the trauma of being a bigger person in a fitness space goes beyond a strained relationship with the gym.

Research suggests that men and women in larger bodies may develop "maladaptive coping behaviors, weight bias internalization, unhealthy weight control practices and poorer self-reported physical and emotional health" as a result of experiences of weight stigma at the gym.

All that and it’s no wonder that Hughes says, “the biggest feat is just showing up.”

Making strides toward inclusivity

The front window of Smith’s own Resistance Gym — which she opened in 2020 to “teach people that fitness isn’t what you look like” — features a photo of people in all sorts of bodies handling weights with the written slogan, “You belong here.” She’s done plenty of work to ensure that rings true.

“People aren’t allowed to comment on bodies,” is one of the rules she says is written on the gym’s mirror-less walls. Using inclusive language, reminding people that they aren’t being judged for their movements, installing size-inclusive machinery as well as larger locker room areas and lounges are also practices of her gym.

For those who are intimidated to get their foot in the door, Smith also hosts a book club that attracts people into the space without having to perform any fitness.

Now Smith is being tapped by fitness entrepreneurs all around the world to train people with larger bodies. “They’ve come to the place where they recognize there is a need and that they don’t know how to do it,” she says.

Wilson, who has built a network of plus-size instructors like herself, says, “We’re out here, we’re doing the work. ... So if you want to find local representation, you probably can find it. It’s just going to take some digging.”