Diversity and inclusion belong in all areas of the fitness industry. By accepting all body types and sizes, we can help foster a sense of community and inclusion in an industry ravaged by toxic diet culture. I'm joined by Damali Fraiser, a Canadian kettlebell instructor, to talk about her mission of body acceptance in the industry, along with systemic racism and her non-diet approach to fitness.

A Non-Diet Approach to Kettlebells

See that there are other benefits to movement other than weight loss
Design your programming for all body types, sizes, and goals
Prioritize goals that are outside of weight loss

About Damali Fraiser

Damali Fraiser (she/her/hers) is a Canadian Kettlebell Instructor, Nutrition Coach, and author passionate about exploring fitness from an intersectional lens. Founder of Lift Off Strength & Wellness, Damali is a compassionate coach and student of strength who teaches hardstyle kettlebell technique, inclusive fitness, and sustainable nutrition that supports you in meeting you wherever you are and confidently moving forward to where you want to be.

Dismantling Diet Culture in Kettlebell Coaching

The fitness industry is toxic regarding diet and weight loss culture. Damali Fraiser explains why her mission to de-center weight loss is so important and how her experience growing up in the Slim Fast era initially shaped her beliefs. She makes she educates her children on the dangers of the diet industry.

Damali shares the story of how an injury led her to seek out functional fitness in the form of kettlebells. Though she's now healed, she has an improved and better quality of life thanks to her continued use of kettlebells, and her goal is to help other people feel that same sense of strength and vitality.

Inclusion and Diversity in the Fitness Industry

The kettlebell industry still has a way to go before it's fully inclusive and diverse, but Damali is passionate about changing the narrative. She explains some of the steps coaches can take to dismantle toxic diet and fitness culture – it really is about decentering weight loss in their conversations.

Damali also talks about the racist roots of diet culture. It takes all of us working together to dismantle systemic racism to move forward collectively and help heal the damage caused.

How have you used functional fitness to overcome an injury or help your clients overcome injuries? What do you think of a non-diet approach to fitness? Let me know in the comments on the episode page.

In This Episode

Why it's important to have broader conversations about fitness and health with our your children [5:30]
How kettlebells or other functional training can become a healing force in your life [13:15]
The current inclusivity and diversity in kettlebell training [17:00]
How to dismantle toxic diet and fitness culture [19:00]
What a non-diet approach to fitness is [20:30]
The challenges a non-diet approach to fitness presents [24:00]
The relationship between racism and diet culture [25:00]

Quotes

"I started to explore functional strength training for my recovery, and that was where kettlebells helped me to reconnect with myself and my body and my identity outside of Muay Thai. I appreciated how kettlebells make you feel unstable, yet that feeling is empowering, and you can now re-envision stability throughout your life." [10:20]

"With kettlebells, I can have an improved and better quality of life. I feel like I'm fully living when I'm strong in my body and moving well."[13:25]

"It's multi-faceted. It's a challenge just to be there and be present. Wanting to do a good job and have people see my expertise but also to see my humanity and know that I'm just alongside them, dealing with the same things they are." [32:38]

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