Deconstructing the Fitness-Industrial Complex: How to Resist, Disrupt, and Reclaim What It Means Be Fit American Culture

is subjective. Who our society designates as fit—and who gets to fit in our society—is predefined by the coaches, gyms, and systems at large that uphold and reproduce the Fitness Industrial Complex for their own structural and material gain. The Fitness Industrial Complex uplifts some bodies while denigrating others. Bodies that are Black, Brown, queer, trans, poor, fat, and disabled—bodies that don't conform, that resist and disrupt—are excluded from being "fit." Through the stories and experiences of activist trainers, coaches, and bodyworkers of diverse identities and experiences, this anthology interrogates: Speaking directly to sick, queer, trans, disabled, and BIPOC readers, is part urgent inquiry, part radical deconstruction, and part call to action: to build spaces that welcome and work for all; to reclaim movement as a vital and liberatory practice; and to embody a model of joy and community care outside the mainstream fitness culture.