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343 reviews by:
hannahmarierobbins
Sometimes you read a famous book, hoping that it will live up to its hype. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is absolutely sensational. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Dr Angelou and I would entirely recommend it to anyone.
I wanted to love this guide so much. I am big fan of Tally’s internet presence. The challenges to diet culture are great. I had a real wake up call in the section about fitness trackers, which made me laugh. I love the illustrations and photos including BIPOC models in bigger bodies. There’s also acknowledgement of a meaningful range of “activity” from walking to rugby to pole fitness which is nice to see.
However, the plan hugely emphasises a “conventional” gym workout schedule. I was slightly thrown to discover that a move (a walk out) which I know to be generally challenging for many people in bigger bodies or people with any joint, back-related, or balance-impacting mobility concerns is featured in the warm-up. (You do this before with every workout in her plan). The walkout is mentioned without guidance or any alternatives. Then, in the workout guides, there are inconsistent modifications and it makes the audience for Train Happy inconsistent. Many of us have been in fitness situations where we can’t do the warm-up and that puts us in a negative spin on the rest of the work. Given the volume of research Tally has done and her important work on Instagram’s fitness spaces and the book’s strap-line “an intuitive exercise plan for every body”, it seems a shame and genuinely sad that the actual exercise plans do not include a) one really basic workout for absolute beginners, which she has done on Instagram or b) a matrix of similar moves where you could swap out something that doesn’t work easily for you.
A silly thing but the type is very small and pages are very densely packed. Some of the graphics and tips are brilliant but the background info is crowded out by being hard to read. Again, back on accessibility, this is really unfriendly for dyslexic readers. It makes me worry that the positive messages will just be ignored because you are overwhelmed and competitors’ books in the diet culture space are much more user-friendly.
However, the plan hugely emphasises a “conventional” gym workout schedule. I was slightly thrown to discover that a move (a walk out) which I know to be generally challenging for many people in bigger bodies or people with any joint, back-related, or balance-impacting mobility concerns is featured in the warm-up. (You do this before with every workout in her plan). The walkout is mentioned without guidance or any alternatives. Then, in the workout guides, there are inconsistent modifications and it makes the audience for Train Happy inconsistent. Many of us have been in fitness situations where we can’t do the warm-up and that puts us in a negative spin on the rest of the work. Given the volume of research Tally has done and her important work on Instagram’s fitness spaces and the book’s strap-line “an intuitive exercise plan for every body”, it seems a shame and genuinely sad that the actual exercise plans do not include a) one really basic workout for absolute beginners, which she has done on Instagram or b) a matrix of similar moves where you could swap out something that doesn’t work easily for you.
A silly thing but the type is very small and pages are very densely packed. Some of the graphics and tips are brilliant but the background info is crowded out by being hard to read. Again, back on accessibility, this is really unfriendly for dyslexic readers. It makes me worry that the positive messages will just be ignored because you are overwhelmed and competitors’ books in the diet culture space are much more user-friendly.
So pure. Protect at all costs. A beautiful way of explaining the refugee crisis, hope, and positive action without hiding from the problems we currently face.
