Jemima Kirke Thinks Fitness Needs More Feminism

Working out is about going after your “more.” And as the Girls actress shares, it’s also about feeling good about yourself just the way you are.

By Bari Lieberman

(Photo: Kristina Loggia, Courtesy of T magazine)

“One thing that’s always been lacking in the feminist movement is the body stuff. We need to take the shaming of out of the fitness world,” Jemima Kirke tells T magazine, as she was prepping for a class at Brooklyn Strength in the borough’s Cobble Hill neighborhood.After giving birth four years ago to her first child, she had tried different classes and programs, and nothing felt right. It wasn’t until she met Brooklyn Strength’s “curvaceous muscular” owner, Cadence Dubus that she found her fit. “Rather than aspirational, it was inspirational,” Kirke says. The focus on strength, specifically, was what drew the actress to the local Pilates and fitness studio. And highlighting that concept, that of building the best you, is key to Dubus’ training. Fitness isn’t one size fits all, and adopting this balanced mindset is essential. “Recognizing that some things are changeable, and some are just the way a person is built, has helped us recognize how silly it is to obsess over certain aspects of our bodies,” says Dubus, pictured below at left with Kirke.

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Fitness is about feeling good about yourself, and Dubus philosophy melds perfectly with the sentiments of our new SELF.com mission statement: We’ll help you get to your “more”—but also remind you that you are enough, just as you are.

Kirke gave T an inside-glimpse at her twice-weekly training sessions with Dubus. In addition to using the Pilates Springboard, Kirke trains with kettlebells. “Jemima has a love-hate relationship with our cardio and weight training routine, so we listen to a lot of Beyoncé to push through the pain,” Dubus says. Because when in doubt, listen to Beyoncé.

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