Health

Exercise Programs Designed for Plus-Size Women

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 31, 2002 / 8:41 AM EST / CBS

Women who are plus-size and want to get fit have special needs that are often overlooked by traditional gyms, according to Rochelle Rice, a fitness instructor who specializes in helping larger women at her gyms in New York. Rice is the author of a new book titled Real Fitness for Real Women and is here to talk to us about the goals of a workout program designed for plus-size women.

Rice's fitness program is a combination of exercise techniques and spiritual motivation. It focuses on exercise and movement rather than dieting to achieve fitness. And, it also addresses the psychological concerns that plus-size women have about exercise and their bodies. They are often uncomfortable going to a regular gym. Rice believes that one approach to fitness doesn't work for everyone. She is trying to fill the gap where she feels the fitness industry is failing larger women. Her goal is to give them the tools to improve the quality of their lives through movement.

Rice says that other gyms traditionally focus on losing weight, but her program focuses on strengthening a woman's body as it is, to help her lead a more active lifestyle. "The overall goal of the program is overcoming social barriers with regard to exercise," says Rice. She says that she's helped women get to the point where they feel capable of walking 5 miles in Central Park on behalf of breast cancer, participating at a company bowling party, and dancing at a wedding. Rice says, "Creating a safe and nurturing environment where she can move physically and feel secure emotionally will help."

Specially Designed Programs

The exercises in Rice's program focuses on strengthening areas that are usually weak in large-size women, such as the back, abdominal muscles, and knees. "It's important to lengthen and strengthen muscles to lead an active life," says Rice. She says that her exercises aren't very different than those in other exercises, but she puts them together in a different way to help large-size women. "This program is a foundation to get started," Rice says. "Most doctors will say go out and walk. I'm not discouraging that. However, she may incur secondary injury because her muscles may not be strong enough. If she starts walking she may get shin splints."

Rice describes her program as involving three phases. "The first phase [6 weeks] is to introduce them to movement and an invitation to be back in their body," she says. "To reconnect with their body. They learn the exercises and get their bodies moving. The second phase is the developing level. In 4 weeks we teach technique and fine tune what they have learned. The third phase is a maintenance program." Rice says that during this phase the program can be moved outdoors, possibly to another gym, or, to overcome social barriers, it can involve walking in an event such as a "Race For The Cure".

Thin Doesn't Equal Health

Weight loss is not a priority in Rice's program. "Many o these women are products of a diet industry and have pretty much beaten up their bodies--where they have lost a 100 pounds and have gained a 100 pounds countless times," says Rice. This program is the start of a healing process. The message conveyed at her gym is that participants are not in a "No pain, no gain" situation, that thin does not equal health, and that you can be fit at any size.

Rice considers a person fit if they can do 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three times a week and strength training two times a week. "It's measured by your active lifestyle and your quality of life," she says.

Background Information

Rochelle Rice started her studio, called "In Fitness and In Health," in 1990, and she started offering classes for plus-size women in 1994. She now has two studios in New York City exclusively for them. The term plus-size refers to women who are size 14 or larger. Rice was a professional jazz dancer in San Francisco and has a history of bulimiaHer illness helped her understand society's obsession with being thin. This triggered her interest in helping plus-size women. She has a master's degree in plus-size exercise from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University.

Rice's workout program is a graduated approach to getting in shape. She recommends starting slowly by exercising once a week. If a woman wants to exercise more, she can, but Rice wants her students to start out with an achievable goal, to stay motivated, and to build a foundation for a lifetime of activity. The introductory phase of the program is 6 weeks. Exercise for each week is divided into four sections: Section I is the warm-up, section II is aerobic exercise, section III is strength training and stretching techniques, and section IV is meditation.