A Fitness Coach Raises New Possibilities for Short Women
With a pervasive a lack of fitness programs tailored to smaller bodies, Lauren Turner reports on April Whitney, a fitness coach and nutritionist, who has started a community for healthier living among short women.
A YouTube Search Leads Me to A New Type of Workout
As a short woman, it has been hard to find a workout that tailors to my body. Between crazy diets and programs I was trying, nothing was working. Frustrated, I didn’t know what to do to be happy with my body. Then the pandemic happened. Not long into it, I joined the rest of the world in trying to figure out an at home workout routine to keep me busy and active.
I searched for hours on YouTube, hoping something would spark the interest I was losing. That’s when I came across 28-year-old, CEO and Founder of Smalletics LLC, April Whitney. Her channel was filled with videos of workouts, nutrition facts and tips for healthy living among short women. I thought, “Finally, someone who understands me and could help.”
However, I was confused on why her focus was on short women. Truly, I had assumed that any workout should make progress or work in some way for anyone’s body. As long as I was staying active, I was staying healthy.
Slower Metabolisms
“Petite women have slightly slower metabolisms than women of average height,” Whitney explained in an email response to my questions.
“This is simply because our organs are smaller overall and the metabolic demand to keep us alive is slightly less than that of a taller person. The Petite PWR Program [Whitney’s program] is designed to help naturally increase the metabolism through lifting weights and proper nutrition so that petite women can enjoy eating more calories in a day while still burning fat, building muscle and feeling strong and powerful in their bodies,” she wrote. “Cookie-cutter programs will tell most women to do cardio and eat less; these same guidelines will do more harm than good for petite women.”
As a short woman, I had never heard of this. I didn’t know the science behind it and it was my body! Ecstatic, I downloaded her free guide, From Small To PWRFL, and gave it a try. It was the best guide I have tried. I really felt a difference in doing the exercises. Immediately, I noticed the incorporation of weights Whitney had included in her guide.
“Lifting weights builds muscle, and the more muscle you have in terms of your body composition, the more calories you will burn at rest. This is also the same thing as saying the more muscle you have, the faster your resting metabolism will be. Having muscle as a petite woman is critical for burning more calories at rest, being able to eat more food and keeping your metabolism healthy,” Whitney says.
A Lack Of Representation In The Fitness World
There is a huge lack of representation when it comes to short women in the fitness world. Before coming across Whitney’s channel, I wasn’t sure how to approach working out in the best way for my body. That is what makes this community so important. It gives short women a place to discuss workouts and nutrition that they can’t really find anywhere else. It gives them a lifestyle that is tailored to them.
“Petite women 5'4 (and shorter) make up almost 50% of women in the United States, and yet I agree, there is a lack of representation. I think there is more body acceptance for all types of bodies today than there was when I first started Smalletics, but we still have a way to go including women of all shapes, sizes and ethnicities in the health and wellness industries and beyond. It’s not just limited to petite women in my opinion–there’s a lot of women being left out of the picture and there’s still only one ideal “standard of beauty” for women we still see on magazine covers. I think we are moving in the right direction though!” says Whitney.
Along with working out, nutrition is a key factor that goes hand in hand in wanting to see progress in one’s body. Whether the focus is weight loss or muscle building, both are important in order to see results.
Whitney discusses the importance of PFF meals, which stands for protein, healthy fats and fibrous carbs.
“Making sure you build your plates around these three macronutrients will help keep your metabolism stoked and in what I like to call “fat-burning mode.” It also helps keep your blood sugar levels steady, which in turn crushes cravings and energy crashes,” Whitney explains.
Your Progress Is Progress
Between working out and maintaining a healthier diet, in a way that tailors to my body, I have already seen progress that I haven’t anywhere else. I have felt happier and more confident in myself. This community has given me and other short women a place to ask questions, learn and take care of our bodies in the way that they need.
“Stay in your own lane and don’t compare! No one is you and that is your superpower. Focus on the process, and the results will come,” Whitney says.
