Welcome to Outset Wellness
A place where we're redefining fitness, together.
It’s good to have you here!
If you’re receiving this it’s because you’re either one of our amazing beta testers, you signed-up to our waitlist or just found this publication.
Either way, we believe you share with us a vision of a world where fitness is much more than performance. Where everyone is welcome and feels like they belong. Where we move to feel better and be healthier, and find joy in sharing rather than competing.
We thought you’d like to be part of the conversation.
We will discuss all things movement:
tips to keep up motivation
useful research insights (and why they matter)
reflections on how we approach fitness and what we can do to improve our relationship with exercise
Outset updates
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Now, this first edition will go a little different than the ones you will receive afterwards. Grab a coffee and please bear with me for the next 5 minutes.
It’s worth it.
Why Outset, why now?
This is a question that doesn’t have a straightforward answer.
And one I’ve been asked so many times I can’t even count.
The story I tell goes something like this:
A couple of years ago I discovered outdoor running - and it completely changed my life.
For the first time in - well, ever - I could sleep, my stress levels were under control despite the chaos around me, my overall health was in check. I felt in control, strong. Then I started noticing some worrying behaviors. I was fixating on my performance, on numbers, on how my workouts would look like on social media. And I started breaking myself - first my knee, then my leg; all overuse injuries.
And I realized that all this pushing myself beyond my limits, all this addiction-like behavior, was stemming from a culture that promoted competition and outperforming over listening to one’s own body. And it was actually harming my relationship with exercise, and my health as a consequence.
So I spoke to my co-founders and Outset was born.
Now, the above is true.
But this polished and condensed version of the events is far from being the whole story.
The (real) origin
We’re in the early 2000s.
Punk rock is back (those were the golden days of CD records and one-track-long pirated albums), the economic boom of the 90s is still much of a reality and Dawson’s Creek is on TV (whether you like to admit it out loud or just shame-watch it).
My teenage years were somewhat of a nightmarish fusion between naive political activism and generalized rebellion mixed with an attempt to be part of a society that was just starting to understand the complexity of gender, sexual and identity constructs - all to the soundtrack of Nirvana, Green Day and Iron Maiden.
My Italian family, which I love to bits, has always had the unpleasant habit of commenting on everyone’s weight - and mine seemed to be the subject of choice, especially when we were sitting down at the dinner table consuming never-ending meals (Italians, right?). The dichotomy between “What do you mean you’re not eating the polenta, it took your Nonna 3 weeks and 5 prayers to the Gods to make it” and “Are you sure you also want to eat that piece of cake? How much do you weigh now, do you think it’s a good idea?” created a somewhat conflictual narrative in my head. I’ve always loved eating, yet I started having a love-hate relationship with food - and my body as a consequence.
And most of my friends, especially other girls, were in a similar situation. Eating disorders and body image issues were more the norm than the exception.
For the following 15 years things went kinda like this:
Find a new diet - you name it, I tried it: Dukan, a very strict high-protein regime; several different intermittent fasting patterns, from eating 500 calories one day to unrestricted eating the day after, etc.
Stick to it as long as humanly possible before various issues come up - from mood swings, to all-time energy lows.
Lose weight
Stop the diet
Regain the weight
Repeat
What I was effectively doing was starving my body and lowering my metabolism to record lows, so that the moment I stepped out of the crazy dietetic regime, I would gain the weight back - and with it lots of self-hate and rejection for how my body looked like.
I’m sure this sounds more familiar than you’d like it to be - but there’s a silver lining, just bear with me a little longer.
Running and the epiphany
When I moved to the UK in 2015, the change in food and the stress of the PhD made it all much worse. Add to the mix numerous boozy social outings and you have a winning “I-don’t-even-want-to-look-at-myself-in-the-mirror” situation. I started exercising here and there but I didn’t have a routine and I was getting easily discouraged by the lack of results. I was tying exercise to a specific weight loss goal which would never come fast enough or was never lasting.
Then about 2 years ago, right after moving to the outskirts of London and gifting myself a brand new Garmin, I picked up outdoor running.
And let me tell you - I absolutely hated it.
The first few months were awful: I made the mistake everyone makes with running, which is thinking “I just need to get out and do it”. No research into which gear is the right one for a beginner with messed up knees, no idea of pace or the 80/20 rule (80% of your runs are supposed to be low intensity and only 20% medium to high).
Despite this, the effects on my health were insane - I was naturally craving different types of foods, like proteins and healthy fats. I was eating as much as I wanted and losing weight. I started sleeping well. I started craving alcohol less. My mood was much more in control and my stress levels were at a record low.
So I kept at it religiously. I started adding strength training into the mix and making my weekly routine more balanced. I became the kind of person who looks for hotels with a gym when on holiday because I didn’t want to break my routine, like it was some sort of spell casted by a Disney witch.
That’s the point when things turned sour.
I started uploading my runs on Strava, looking a tad obsessively at other people’s paces. I was sharing my times with a few friends who were also running.
I remember one day a friend of mine made what should be considered a harmless joke after I sent them my latest run. “What happened to you, you broke a leg?”. It shouldn’t have meant anything, but it stayed with me like a niggling little voice at the back of my head.
So I kept pushing and pushing and pushing. I increased my mileage recklessly. I was terrified of missing a session - I started counting calories mentally again. I was very much part of the fitness craze club.
I was turning what was a good thing into yet another unhealthy obsession.
Until I broke myself.
Twice. In the span of 9 months I had 2 fairly serious injuries - my left knee gave in first, then my right leg. Both due to overuse, both absolutely avoidable.
I took a hard long look in the mirror.
And I realized I was doing this for the wrong reasons - and I was letting vanity take charge. I was becoming enslaved to the weight-loss goals first, to the high standards of a fitness culture I didn’t want to be part of after.
Now and why does it matter (more than you think)
This may have felt somewhat of a digression - but trust me, I’m going to bring it home.
What this whole experience taught me was that our relationship with exercise is not as straightforward as “Just do it”.
There’s a lot more bubbling underneath the surface of picking up a sport or increasing our daily steps. Typically this involves decades of complicated relationships with our bodies, with our self-image, societal expectations, the idea that we have to look a certain way to be into fitness, the we have to play by the rules set by a world we don’t necessarily belong to.
And we find excuses not to engage with all of this - I don’t have time, I don’t look sporty enough, I don’t know where to start.
But maybe all we need is the right tools in the right space. A space that fosters a healthy relationship with exercise whilst helping overcome the barriers that prevent you from engaging in the first place. Something that takes you by the hand and gives you a nudge - a good nudge - when motivation isn’t in sight.
Something that can show you how good it is to move, beyond the pace, the weight-loss goals, the vanity metrics.
And not because there’s something inherently wrong with the vanity metrics - but because, ultimately, they don’t work.
If we tie movement to a specific goal, once we reach the goal, our routine will go. And then we’re back to square one.
What if we find joy and purpose in movement itself?
Then we have a strategy for life.
And that’s when Outset was born.
Closing (finally, right?)
I hope this gave you something to think about or maybe kept you company during your commute.
I wanted to thank you, first for listening, second for being an integral part of our community. What we are trying to do is not easy - but I hope you agree it’s worth it.
I hope you’ll stick around for the next editions - I look forward to redefining fitness, together.
Thanks again, and please tell a few friends if you feel like it!
If you’d like to share your experience or your thoughts, please do so in the comments section.
See you next week!
Sonia Ponzo
CEO and Founder at Outset Wellness
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