Celebrating Pride Month and fitness For All at The Major R. Owens Health & Wellness Community Center
At Asphalt Green, ensuring our programs are inclusive, welcoming, and accessible is critical to our mission to transform lives and build community through sports, fitness, and play for all. Inclusivity in fitness and athletics is especially important to consider during Pride Month, as LGBTQ+ individuals continue to face barriers to high quality fitness and athletic programming.
Research shows that LGBTQ+ youth participate in sports at a significantly lower rate (33%) than their peers in the United States (50%+). Other studies have shown that LGBTQ+ individuals also experience higher rates of cardiovascular disease, obesity, depression, and anxiety. Barriers that prevent LGBTQ+ participation in athletics and fitness include fear of discrimination and harassment, policies that prohibit participation, lack of inclusive athletic spaces, lack of representation/role models, and more.
For Pride month this year, we’re teaming up with Brooklyn Community Pride Center to host a free Fitness For All Brooklyn Pride Bootcamp on June 21 at the Major R. Owens Health & Wellness Community Center (MOCC). Since 2008, Brooklyn Pride Center has uplifted and empowered LGBTQ+ Brooklyn residents through socially conscious programs, partnerships, and advocacy, promoting health and wellness through sports, fitness, and other programming.
“Brooklyn Community Pride Center’s mandate is to advance the social, emotional, and physical health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ Brooklynites, and fitness programming, like the Pride bootcamp, touches on all three. We know that it can be hard to show up or join in, that’s why we are always excited to work with partners like Asphalt Green who recognize the importance of creating safe, affirming, and welcoming spaces.”
– Kenrick Ross, Executive Director, Brooklyn Community Pride Center
Led by our experienced MOCC fitness team, this free class will celebrate inclusion in fitness and is open to all experience levels. Bootcamp will begin with a dynamic warm-up to get you moving and ready to sweat, before transitioning into a combination of modifiable strength, cardio, and agility exercises that improve coordination, balance, and overall fitness.
RSVP below to secure your spot. We hope you can join us to get in a great workout and help us show that when everyone can participate in high quality fitness programs, we all win!
