--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It took me years to find a program that…" description: "\"It took me years to find a program that kept me in shape: Gyms felt intimidating, and women's magazines seemed tailored for toning the bodies of alread..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f2/jenna-wortham-5508_felt_it-took-me-years-to-find-a-program-that_1822614.jpg" --- # It took me years to find a program that kept me in shape… ![“It took me years to find a program that kept me in shape: Gyms felt intimidating, and women's magazines seemed tailored for toning the bodies of already trim white women.” quote by Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f2/jenna-wortham-5508_felt_it-took-me-years-to-find-a-program-that_1822614.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f2/jenna-wortham-5508_felt_it-took-me-years-to-find-a-program-that_1822614.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f2/jenna-wortham-5508_felt_it-took-me-years-to-find-a-program-that_1822614.jpg) > “It took me years to find a program that kept me in shape: Gyms felt intimidating, and women's magazines seemed tailored for toning the bodies of already trim white women.” [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Finding a welcoming fitness space was hard; gyms felt hostile and media targeted already slim white women. **In simple terms:** Gyms felt unwelcoming, especially for non‑white, non‑slim women. Key Takeaway Seek inclusive, supportive fitness environments. Themes health body image inclusion Mood empathetic critical Type inspirational analytical When to use this quote - community gyms - online workouts - women’s health groups - diversity training Key Concepts fitness industry media representation social equity Questions to Reflect On - What can individuals do to create inclusive spaces? - How can media shift to represent diverse bodies? A Different Perspective Commercial gyms may resist change due to profit motives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) ## Related quotes > [It was really hard for them to intimidate me. They felt I was intimidating. One of the growers had a name for me: I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolores-huerta/it-was-really-hard-for-them-to-intimidate-me-they-felt-i-was/) [Dolores Huerta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolores-huerta/) > [I kept myself in shape, and the stuff they were doing in the South, I wouldn't go for. They wanted to whip me on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rocky-johnson/i-kept-myself-in-shape-and-the-stuff-they-were-doing-in-the-south-i/) [Rocky Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rocky-johnson/) > [He lifted weights, he rode the bike; he kept himself going before and after games, as well as practices. He always kept himself in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scottie-pippen/he-lifted-weights-he-rode-the-bike-he-kept-himself-going-before-and/) [Scottie Pippen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scottie-pippen/) > [When I moved to New York in '93, we'd go dancing a lot. That's what kept us in shape, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-pascal/when-i-moved-to-new-york-in-93-we-d-go-dancing-a-lot-that-s-what-kept/) [Pedro Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-pascal/) > [Harnessing adversity is a discipline tailored to a world of unpredictable outcomes--a world where one can disturb, but not wholly direct, a living system.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-pascale/harnessing-adversity-is-a-discipline-tailored-to-a-world-of/) [Richard Pascale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-pascale/) > [Originally, back in 1992, DKNY started because I couldn't find a pair of jeans. I also wanted to dress my teenage daughter Gabby. 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Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-j-adams/) > [I've got quite a curvy shape so I try to wear stuff that's tailored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-quite-a-curvy-shape-so-i-try-to-wear-stuff-that-s-tailored/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Jenna Wortham > [We are being conditioned, as a population, to never wait, to never delay our gratification, to accept thoughtless, constant consumption as the new norm.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/we-are-being-conditioned-as-a-population-to-never-wait-to-never-delay/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) > [Spotify, Tidal, and even YouTube, to a degree, are vast and rich troves of music, but they primarily function as search engines organized by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/spotify-tidal-and-even-youtube-to-a-degree-are-vast-and-rich-troves/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) > [The speed with which modern society has adapted to accommodate the world's vast spectrum of gender and sexual identities may be the most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/the-speed-with-which-modern-society-has-adapted-to-accommodate-the/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) > [As we now know, cyberspace did not liberate human society from pre-existing socioeconomic hierarchies and power structures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/as-we-now-know-cyberspace-did-not-liberate-human-society-from-pre/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) > [For all its power as a protest medium, black Twitter serves a great many users as a virtual place to just hang out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/for-all-its-power-as-a-protest-medium-black-twitter-serves-a-great/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) > [For all the advances in tech that let us try on various guises to play around with who we are, it seems that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/for-all-the-advances-in-tech-that-let-us-try-on-various-guises-to/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) > [Artists' obsessions with technology are not new, but in the late aughts, the work tended to focus on the possibility of the medium, treating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/artists-obsessions-with-technology-are-not-new-but-in-the-late-aughts/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) > [When I visited my family in Virginia, I tracked down my seventh-grade best friend and sat in TGI Fridays near a mall for hours,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/when-i-visited-my-family-in-virginia-i-tracked-down-my-seventh-grade/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) > [People in tech love to see their work as embodying the 'hacker ethos': a desire to break systems down in order to change them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/people-in-tech-love-to-see-their-work-as-embodying-the-hacker-ethos-a/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) > [I live in Brooklyn and work in Manhattan, two of the most liberal places in the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/i-live-in-brooklyn-and-work-in-manhattan-two-of-the-most-liberal/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) > [It's becoming much more common to see yoga studios offer classes aimed exclusively at people of color who are searching for ways to cope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/it-s-becoming-much-more-common-to-see-yoga-studios-offer-classes/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) > [I'm partial to a Muji recycled-paper sketch book and a Sharpie ultrafine marker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/i-m-partial-to-a-muji-recycled-paper-sketch-book-and-a-sharpie/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) > [The types of ideas protected by intellectual-property law typically don't include a clever catchphrase on a Vine or a film idea in a tweet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/the-types-of-ideas-protected-by-intellectual-property-law-typically/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) > [Online, there is an irresistible social currency to being a user who has thousands of followers, who starts memes, who comes up with an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/online-there-is-an-irresistible-social-currency-to-being-a-user-who/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) > [Someday, maybe we'll recognize that queer is actually the norm, and the notion of static sexual identities will be seen as austere and reductive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/someday-maybe-we-ll-recognize-that-queer-is-actually-the-norm-and-the/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) [Explore all 100 Jenna Wortham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) ## More Exercise quotes > [Every one knows that the exercise of military power is forever dangerous to civil rights; and we have had recent instances of violences that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/every-one-knows-that-the-exercise-of-military-power-is-forever/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [I always wanted to make sure that within my unit that I was never the weak person. So I made sure that my physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-carmouche/i-always-wanted-to-make-sure-that-within-my-unit-that-i-was-never-the/) [Liz Carmouche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-carmouche/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Everyday happiness means getting up in the morning, and you can't wait to finish your breakfast. You can't wait to do your exercises. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/everyday-happiness-means-getting-up-in-the-morning-and-you-can-t-wait/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [If your goal is to look different, you'll see results faster with strength training than with cardio alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kaiser/if-your-goal-is-to-look-different-you-ll-see-results-faster-with/) [Anna Kaiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kaiser/) > [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Exercise teaches you the pleasure of discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/exercise-teaches-you-the-pleasure-of-discipline/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [One should try to locate power at the extreme of its exercise, where it is always less legal in character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/one-should-try-to-locate-power-at-the-extreme-of-its-exercise-where/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [What do you think of our gym <3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-do-you-think-of-our-gym-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is exactly in the repetition of the exercises that the education of the senses exists; not that the child shall know colors, forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-is-exactly-in-the-repetition-of-the-exercises-that-the-education/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [One things guys have to remember is consistency... You can't make up for three years of eating poorly in just one workout.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apolo-ohno/one-things-guys-have-to-remember-is-consistency-you-can-t-make-up-for/) [Apolo Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apolo-ohno/) > [For girls who want to get their waistline down a little bit and don't have any weights in the house, they can actually use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pepa/for-girls-who-want-to-get-their-waistline-down-a-little-bit-and-don-t/) [Pepa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pepa/) > [The human body has been designed to resist an infinite number of changes and attacks brought about by its environment. 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