Tonal’s Tanysha Renee. Image: Courtesy of Tonal.
This week, during The Wellness Experience, we tap personal trainers and fitness instructors to share some of their favorite workouts and exercises. From core to high intensity and even recovery—they’re getting us right for spring and summer!
Tonal coach Tanysha Renee is a huge advocate for inclusivity and wellness through fitness. Her journey to championing fitness inclusivity started after high school.
“About a year after graduating from high school, I walked into a New York Sports Club in Lower Manhattan and simply asked if they were hiring personal trainers. From there, I stumbled into indoor cycling and found a love for the workout as much as my love for coaching and changing lives. But strength training has always been my foundation, and it feels good to be back at my roots with Tonal,” Tanysha Renee shares. My coaching style is always tethered to the one idea that we are all more alike than we are different. I’ve been entrusted with some of the most vulnerable stories of strangers. In hearing them, from state to state, different genders and ethnicities, it always comes down to that one idea: We are more alike than we are different.”
When it comes to catering to the specific fitness needs of folks from diverse communities, Renee approaches it by celebrating their differences.
“We all want to be seen. Be heard. Be understood. Inclusive language is a huge part of how inclusivity can be practiced. Using non-gender-specific language is one way I support the queer community in my classes. Highlighting the specifics of what makes someone special, subsequently celebrating that uniqueness, and enrolling others to also celebrate that uniqueness allows people to be connected.”
Aside from being a Tonal coach, the fitness enthusiast is also a part of Fit for Us, a community of Black health practitioners who assist others in navigating the wellness field. Through this role, she is able to connect with others who share similar missions of creating inclusive environments.
“I believe an important step to creating inclusive spaces starts by connecting with people who identify with my experiences and learning from one another.”
As we all seek to live healthier lifestyles this spring, and beyond, we tapped the fitness instructor to share a workout we can do at-home or in the gym. Check out this quick and easy bodyweight routine from Tanysha Renee.
Complete 3 sets of each exercise for 30–60 seconds.
Superhero Iso Hold
Lay face down on your mat. Extend your arms upward and out about 45 degrees from your head. Extend your legs about hip distance apart. Imagine strings from the ceiling lifting all 4 limbs off the floor while you balance on your pelvis and low belly. With your back and glutes engaged, hold here.
Pillar Bridge
Lay on your mat facing the floor with both elbows under your shoulders and feet hip distance apart, toes tucked. Lift the knees to extend the legs and push the floor away from you through your elbows.
Elevated Glute Bridge
Place your shoulders and upper back on the bench with arms extended to the side. Bring your knees over your ankles hip-width apart with hips just above the floor. Push the floor away from you, squeezing your glutes to lift your hips toward the ceiling while keeping your rib cage drawn in. Lower your hips back down toward the floor, bringing your torso with you, and repeat.
Bird Dog
Get onto your hands and knees on the mat, wrists under your shoulders, knees under your hips, and toes tucked. Lift one arm about 45 degrees from your head with your thumb toward the ceiling like you’re throwing something behind you. Lift the opposite leg simultaneously and balance on the other limbs. Lower your arm and leg and alternate sides.