In this powerful episode of The Weekly Riff, Louise Green opens up about the book she has been trying to write for years: Fitness Justice.

This conversation goes far beyond exercise. Louise unpacks the systemic bias, cultural conditioning, and exclusion deeply embedded within fitness culture and explores why so many people, especially those in larger bodies, feel alienated from movement spaces that are supposedly designed to support health.

From weight stigma in healthcare to toxic fitness messaging, inaccessible gym environments, and the psychological impact of never seeing yourself represented in fitness media, Louise examines the hidden inequities shaping our relationship with movement.

This is not a conversation about motivation.
It’s a conversation about belonging.

Louise also challenges the deeply ingrained belief that people in larger bodies simply “lack discipline,” revealing how shame, humiliation, and exclusion directly impact exercise participation, mental health, and long-term wellbeing.

But this episode is not about hopelessness. It’s about rebuilding fitness culture into something more humane, inclusive, and accessible for everyone.

This episode explores:

• The hidden psychological impact of exclusion in fitness spaces
• Why weight stigma reduces movement participation
• How healthcare bias impacts people in larger bodies
• The damaging legacy of shame-based fitness culture
• Why representation in fitness media matters
• The connection between belonging and exercise consistency
• The pressure women face to shrink, optimize, and control their bodies
• Why “lazy” is often a misunderstanding of trauma, shame, and exclusion
• The difference between performative inclusion and true accessibility
• How fitness culture can evolve toward dignity, safety, and equity

Louise Green is an award-winning coach with 20 years invested in working with women of all body sizes. She has coached thousands of women from all over the world, if you're ready take the next step in your strength, check out her coaching program, Size Strong.