Edmonton gym building muscle and community for transgender clients

Terje Snow became a personal trainer because they loved how fitness made them feel. 

Now they're working to share that with others as a volunteer trainer at Edmonton's first transgender-specific fitness training program, Fitness: Trans Formed.

"Seeing someone reconnect with their body and remember that they're really strong and powerful," said Snow.

"It makes me feel like I have some purpose beyond myself."

The free, volunteer-run program launched in January out of Action Potential Fitness — an inclusion-focused facility in west Edmonton.

Registration was full — more than 30 sign-ups — within a week of opening. 

"It's always been my goal to create programming for folks that didn't feel like they were safe or didn't belong anywhere else,"  said Toni Harris, who co-founded Action Potential Fitness three years ago.

"A lot of trans folks disassociate from their bodies completely because we're born into bodies that don't feel like they're the right fit for us," they said. 

Halfway through the program, Harris and Snow are seeing participants feel comfortable in a gym — some for the first time. 

The considerations that go into a trans-specific training program are lengthy, said Snow. The process of transition means physiological changes.

Binding for example, involves using tight fitting sports bras, bandages or specifically made "binders" to provide a flatter chest, which can limit breathing and cause muscle pains and soreness. It's a common practice for transgender people seeking comfort in their bodies.

Other participants are using hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, which can affect thermoregulation and dehydration. 

"Everything is informed by that physiological lens for trans folks in particular," said Harris.

It's part of