Get back into exercise without sacrificing who you are.
Does this sound familiar?
you’ve never really felt comfortable in mainstream fitness spaces and you’re sick of feeling like the odd one out, being the only one to share your pronouns in a group class or having to endure yet another comment about your weight every time you try to move your body
it’s been a minute since you’ve worked out and you don’t know where to start - exercise hasn’t felt safe or fun for a long time
your aches and pains seem here to stay and you’re sick of saying no to activities you love because you don’t trust your body to keep up
you know you’d feel better if you exercised but you don’t want to get caught up in diet culture (again)
If any of this sounds like you, you’re in the right place.
What would you do differently if you felt comfortable in your own skin?
If “exercise” wasn’t a loaded term anymore, just something you did?
If you stopped fighting against your body and learned to work with it?
If you had the tools to make movement fun again and the confidence to say hell no to the latest fad diet?
Queer Your Mvmt:
rebuild trust in your body alongside a community of queers who get what it's like to feel excluded from mainstream fitness
We do fitness a little differently here.
Queer Your Mvmt is much more than just a workout program. Yes, we’re going to work out. There will be mobility exercises, strength training, low impact cardio and more. But beyond the actual exercises we do, we’re building trust with our bodies and learning to work with them, not against.
Our approach to movement here is gentle. That doesn’t mean you’ll never work hard or challenge yourself but it’ll be on your terms. We celebrate rest just as much as hard work. We practice consent-based movement so you never have to do anything you’re not okay with.
We question what we’ve been sold by the fitness industry and work to find movement that feels good for you. We believe there’s no one right way to move your body, just like there’s no one right way to be queer.
This space is by queers, for queers. Your name, your gender and your pronouns are respected and never questioned (and I hate that this needs to be explicitly said). Show up as you are because you belong here.
Inside Queer Your Mvmt, you’ll:
learn how to actually “listen to your body” without feeling guilty when it’s asking for rest
be able to spot diet culture from a mile away and practice ways to reframe diet-y thoughts when they come up
get comfortable modifying and substituting exercises so they work for you and your body
practice showing up for your body and disentangling the relationship between exercise and punishment
Here’s a peek inside Queer Your Mvmt:
-where mindset meets movement-
Choose your plan:
Community Plan
build autonomy in your movement routine without overdoing it
$89 CAD
Program length: 12 weeks
THE PROGRAM INCLUDES:
app-based workout plan, complete with video links, built-in rest, modification options and more
flexible scheduling
alternative exercise options
Custom Workout Plan
for queers who need a little extra accountability, have specific movement-based goals or are working with injuries
$227 CAD/month
Minimum commitment: 6 months
THE PROGRAM INCLUDES:
personalized app-based workout plan
bi-weekly check-ins
ongoing support and coaching to help you stick with your plan, learn to enjoy movement again and feel confident in your body
Hi, I’m Raine, your trainer inside Queer Your Mvmt. I started this community as the program I wish I’d had when I realized that my relationship to exercise and my body had gone toxic. I spent years obsessing over exercise and food, determined to cram my body into too-tight gendered standards. Queering exercise to me means questioning what we’re told is right and wrong in fitness and finding movement that actually works for me and my body.
More about me here.
Not sure if Queer Your Mvmt is for you?
Queer Your Mvmt is for you if:
you’re looking for a gentle approach to movement
consent is super important to you, including in your workouts
you want to learn how to modify exercises to feel good in your body
you don’t feel comfortable going to just any gym and want to work out from home
you’ve had shitty experiences with trainers in the past and never want to be yelled at ever again
you’d be stoked to join a virtual community of likeminded LGBTQ+ folks who share a lot of your struggles
Queer Your Mvmt is not for you if:
you’re currently struggling with an eating disorder (exercise is usually the last thing we reintroduce in recovery)
the only reason you want to exercise is to lose weight
you’re looking for a 10-step, quick fix
you’re currently working with barbells and other gym equipment beyond dumbbells and resistance bands - our workouts are designed to be done at home with minimal equipment
you’re fatphobic, transphobic and/or conservative
you want to work in-person with a trainer
Are you ready to shift your relationship to movement and your body?
Book a consultation call for custom programming.
What Folx Are Saying
“I'm a genderqueer trans guy and gyms have always felt super uncomfortable to me as hyper gendered spaces. Raine creates a sense of safety and ease to work out in my own home! Working out with them as a guide doesn't feel like a punishing chore and I feel way more in tune with my body.
Exercise becomes something I want to do out of joy rather than obligation or judgement- I need to move around because I WANT to not because someone else said I HAD to. This also changes the kinds of exercises I do- it's such a different experience to exercise according to what your body is telling you it needs rather than forcing or pushing.
Raine is a lovely, encouraging trainer who will offer you safety, ease and rest. They will help you build up strength over time and assist in repairing your relationship to your body in a fatphobic, queerphobic world.
They are by far the best personal trainer I have ever had!
Online workout sessions have been ideal, especially when you can't go outside heaps. It's kind of like watching a yoga video, except you can ask questions and tell them what is or isn't working for you in real time!
Raine will adapt exercises to your environment, abilities and equipment- you don't need a tonne of fancy at home gym gear, just come as you are.
It's been life changing to have a trainer who respects my queerness and my boundaries around movement.
Also, their cat is very sweet and will sometimes join the workout too.”
— ROWAN, AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND
“Raine has helped me learn better form and how to respond to my body's needs when it comes to movement. I have been able to gain mobility, strength, and confidence! As a person with chronic fatigue and chronic pain, especially fibro and chronic back pain, training with Raine has been invaluable to me. While physical therapists are awesome, adding in a personal trainer who is centered about body mindfulness and movement over white supremacist, patriarchal body ideals (the before/after, the weight loss/gain, the measurements, etc) has been a really excellent addition to my support system. I would recommend virtually training with Raine to anyone who wants to face fitness fears or find a movement practice that is fun and functional.”
— MASH M., SEATTLE, WA
“Raine is awesome, knowledgeable, kind and attentive. She has such a great way of keeping me focused during our sessions. I wasn't sure about remote training, but I am having a fantastic experience. I highly recommend training with Raine!”
— DIANA G., VANCOUVER, BC
“I signed up for Raine's consultation on a whim in the middle of a seriously low point in 2021, and I am so glad I did. These weekly classes were such a relief in weeks that bled one into the other with little change from one day to the next. Raine has calm, caring energy, and her approach to meeting you where you're at with no shame, caring for your body through movement that feels right for you, and unpacking diet-culture has been so refreshing. These classes have made a huge difference for me by helping to maintain my mental health, and relieve body pain. Surviving this pandemic has been a struggle, but moving with Raine has made it that much easier to bear. I am very much looking forward to working with Raine in 2022.”
— MADELINE, UNCEDED MUSQUEAM, SQUAMISH, TSLEIL-WAUTUTH TERRITORIES, COLONIALLY KNOWN AS VANCOUVER
“Let's face it. Just like some people that will read this, I find it very hard to keep myself motivated to exercise. The things that I have found that help are having a consistent schedule, having someone to hold me accountable and exercising in fun ways that make me forget I am exercising. I've now been exercising with Raine for almost three months and I am super happy with how things are going. I can fit my workouts at convenient times, I get some kind cheers from Raine when we work out online, and her personalized workout plans are not only easy to follow but are engaging and easily get me out of the 'ugh, exercise' mindset. The playlist she plays during workouts is full of bangers, which is a plus.
As many of you, I learned from very early on in my life that exercise was some sort of punishment I had to inflict on myself to try to try and look like ~everyone else~ (whatever that means). Working out with Raine and the way she thinks about exercise has helped me have a healthier mindset on this. In the short amount of time we have been training together I have been able to not only be kinder to myself when exercising, but to start thinking of workouts not as 'that one hour of suffering a week' but rather a more organic 'hey, I would not mind exercising for a bit. Doing a workout set with those resistance tube bands I have makes me feel powerful and mighty'. Reader, I am 5ft tall human and not usually keen on doing strength training so that tells you something. Raine's workout sessions are also personalized. She takes into account your likes and dislikes and welcomes feedback to further accommodate your needs and goals.
Lastly, Raine's plans are affordable and she has put time and effort into considering the financial status of her clients. She can even plan your workouts around the sort of equipment you have available at home. During the session she is patient and does her best to make you feel comfortable and reassure you that you're doing a good job. Her feedback when working out is also very kind and the workout write-ups are easy to follow and even have links on what each exercise looks like in case you forget.
So in short (if you've read all the way to the end), Raine's personal training sessions have helped me so much! She has even managed the titanic task of helping me start liking doing squats, so there you go. She's magical and I highly recommend you take at least one class with her. You will not be disappointed.”
— IZ, VICTORIA, BC
FAQs
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If you’re new to structured exercise, consider applying for the 1:1 plan where you’ll get individual modifications, form cues and support as you cultivate this new habit.
QYM is best suited to folks with at least some prior exercise experience (ie. you know what a squat is). That being said, we start with where you’re at and gradually ramp things up on a timeline that’s actually sustainable.
You are ultimately in control of how your workouts feel - we check in often to make sure you’re challenged but not overwhelmed.
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The only non-negotiables are a big enough space to move in, a device that allows you to access the workout app (and use Zoom if you’re opting for a plan with a live component) and a willingness to improvise with household items.
That being said, if you have either a set of dumbbells/kettlebells or door-mounted resistance bands, we have a lot more options in terms of the exercises we do. If you have access to a gym, awesome! But all the workouts inside Queer Your Mvmt have been designed to be doable at home.
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I do my very best to ensure that this space feels safe and comfortable and that you’re empowered to speak up at any time something isn’t feeling right.
My approach to training is pretty gentle - you’ll never find me yelling at a client to push harder (I both don’t know how nor do I want to). I’ll offer you form cues and different ways to try a movement to figure out what feels best in your body but I’ll never tell you you’ve done something wrong. Do you hate push ups? We won’t do them.
I NEVER take “progress photos” (bleck!), ask you to weigh yourself or take any other sort of harmful measurements.
The most I’ll talk about nutrition and diet is to say please eat something before and after your workouts (I don’t care what).
And if your reason for training is to build gender-affirming muscle, I’m completely on board.
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I believe there’s a lot of value in investing in yourself and your fitness but of course not if that comes at the cost of other things you need.
There is a section in the application form to indicate that you’d like to be considered for scholarship and/or reduced rate spots as they come available.
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If you have clearance from your doctor/support team, yes. But if you think you might use these workouts as a way to control or compensate, I’d recommend not jumping in just yet.
Trust me that it’s worth it to wait until you’re ready <3
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You’re not expected to do every single workout or attend every single session. This isn’t the sort of program where you can “fall behind.”
Our workout plan is designed with enough modifications and choice that you can pop in and out. Take your week off for vacation or your mental health without worrying about starting over.
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Inside every 8-week training block, we take one week fully off (yes, really). During the other 7 weeks, we have two workouts scheduled per week that are always spaced out by at least a day. Inside the workouts, we rest between circuits and whenever we need/want to.
This is because rest is a normal and necessary part of fitness so we intentionally practice taking time off without it being a huge deal.
By practicing taking time off and coming back to our movement routine like it’s no big deal, we’re preparing for when life hits us with things like injury, illness, crazy work deadlines and family emergencies.
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Rebuilding your relationship to movement and your body isn’t going to happen overnight and I’d be doing you a disservice to promise a massive overnight shift.
The minimum time commitment for each program is intended to give you enough time to fully experience the program, to make adjustments and apply what you’re learning and to decide if it’s something you’d like to continue.