The name says it all. We are out and into fitness, but there is a lot more to the story.
When we started on this journey, same-sex marriage was not yet the law of the land in the United States. While we have made strides towards progress, it is still legal for LGBTQ people to bediscriminated against in housing and employment intwenty-seven states. If you live in one of these states it will not be news to you there is still a lot of work to do. If you don’t live in one of these states this is your reminder that the fight for equality is far from finished.
The landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage in the United States, Obergefell v. Hodges, showed us how civil rights could be advanced by theincreased visible presence of LGBTQ individuals. The shift in public support in favor of same-sex marriages happenedin a short time period. In 2007 only one state allowed same-sex marriages, and one month before the SCOTUS ruling,60% of Americans supported them. We believe that the change in public opinion may have had an impact on the progressive ruling.
The increasing number of people coming out of the closet contributed to this shift in public opinion. Remember that you are many things. You are a neighbor, co-worker, friend, or child. When you are sharing this part of yourself with others you turn the abstract into something tangible. We should not underestimate the power and impact this has. For the general public being against an idea is one thing, but being against the person they have been friends with for years changes things—it makes it real. Once people realize how inequalities affect people they know personally, their views can quickly evolve. This helped get the LGBTQ community get to where we are today, and we are working toward guaranteeing a full spectrum of civil rights through the continued visibility of LGBTQ individuals.
OUT-FIT continues to empower athletes to stay fit while being out and proud.
We have been training clients for over 10 years. in 2023 we opened up our Chelsea Training Studio. This is a private gym for personal training and small group workouts.
Private training is the most efficient hour when it comes to working out. We have athletes that are too busy to plan their programming and progressions and let us do that for them. We have athletes the need the weekly accountability to stay on track for their goals. We have newer athletes that are learning fitness for the first time and want the security and confidence that comes when you are being taught by an experienced trainer.
We are all coming from a different place. We will meet you where you are and start building a stronger body.
We offer weekly workouts in a small group format. All are capped at 6-8 athletes to allow our coach to watch and give feedback to everyone that attends. These are held in Chelsea at our workout studio.
OUT-FIT Strength & Conditioning Workouts -This workout is the perfect mixture of Strength and Conditioning. We will start with a coach led warm up, move into a strength focus and finish with conditioning. Most classes will use barbells. Any movement that involves barbells will be reviewed in the warm up.
Olympic Weightlifting Workouts- Olympic Weightlifting specifically means the Clean & Jerk and Snatch. This is a 90 minute strength only workout. It begins with a barbell warm and includes the Snatch and Clean & Jerk every week. We finish the session with some accessory lifts.
PROUD & Boot Camp Workouts
Quarterly Workouts
Our quarterly workouts are our community workouts. It is a time that we bring together our community in a larger group setting. Workouts accommodate 20-30 athletes. We host these workouts at our partner gym WillyB Crossfit in the Lower East Side.
OUT-FIT PROUD Workouts - If you haven't been to our PROUD Workouts, we have been hosting them since 2014. They are partner & team based workouts. (Don't worry if you show up solo, we create the groups at the event.) The workouts are fun, challenging and great at community building!
OUT-FIT Boot Camp Workouts - This workout will combine dumbbells, kettlebells, wallballs, boxes, rowing machines and more for a challenging and fun team workout. The only things you won’t see are barbells and advanced gymnastics. Great for athletes new to OUT-FIT.
Why Are Our Workouts Important?
Regular attendance of our small group workouts will improve you strength and technique as well as improve your conditioning. We program our workouts on 8 week cycles. Each workout builds on the workout before and at the end of the 8 weeks we usually test for a new 1 or 3 rep max.
We then use that info in our next cycle and have you use weights based off of a percentage of your max lift.
There is also a mental aspect that shouldn't be overlooked.
The workouts allow members to meet fellow members and guests that self-identify the same way. It creates a space where they can be more comfortable to be out and proud. The more comfortable they are in this space, the more comfortable they will feel in other, sometimes less friendly, settings in their lives. This positive effect adds value to people’s lives both inside and outside of the gym.
We launched our YouTube channel during the height of the pandemic. We were feeling like everybody else. We were kinda sad, kinda depressed and definitely not in our peak shape. We wanted to be able to bring into your home workouts you can do in a small area and queer coaches for you to connect with.
Our workouts quickly become popular in our community and we continue to add new ones every week.
The OUT-FIT athletic line includes our AIM HIGH | BE PROUD™ t-shirts, shorts and hats
OUT-FIT was founded on the mission of encouraging athletes to achieve extraordinary physical goals while maintaining mental health and promoting social equality.The OUT-FIT athletic line that includes our AIM HIGH | BE PROUD™ t-shirts, shorts and hats continues to embody this principle. By sharing our message with in person workouts and online fitness communities, we continue to advance our movement across the globe.
A lot of research is put in before a new item makes it to market. Before we select a style and manufacture for any new item we test them first. This involves getting sample pieces and working out in and washing them numerous times to ensure they look, fit and wash to our expectations. It's a slow process, but it allows us to be confident in the product you are buying.
Our shirts are great for working out in but are also so comfortable you will find yourself wearing them casually as well! Save yourself the time and pick up a few different kinds.