It’s safe to assume that Andia Winslow had a cool childhood. She is the granddaughter of a Tuskegee Airman who was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor but also had a passion for fitness that he shared with her. Winslow has carried that passion for fitness into her adult life in a way that is magic.
Today, Winslow works as a trainer and group instructor at the Sports Center at Chelsea Piers and she she honors her grandfather’s and other ancestor’s hard work with The Legacy Workout, just in time for Black History Month. The Black History-inspired workout features moves that we’ve probably seen before, but with names like Tuskegee Fly Sit-Ups, Mae Jemison jump squats, and lateral raises inspired by Thurgood Marshall.
“I’m inspired by these people, and I’m honoring them,” Winslow tells Well and Good NYC. “I think the big thing is that we are always trying to get people to understand that being active is a wonderful gift to yourself, and these things can inspire you to move in ways that aren’t traditional.”
An excerpt from The Legacy Workout’s website reads:
Thurgood Marshall (b.1908 – d.1993) was a Civil Rights Pioneer, Presidential Medal of Freedom Awardee and, in 1967, he became the first African-American Justice of the Supreme Court. He is most recognized for Brown v. Board of Education (of Topeka) —the 1954 ruling that ended de jure (legal) racial segregation— in which he fought for equal protection under the law and challenged the precedent of “separate but equal” established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).
Enter Lateral Raises whose anatomical focus is the shoulder(s), one of the most mobile joints in the human body. Its range of motion makes the shoulder responsible for important functional movements —pushing, pulling and lifting— but also makes it highly unstable. But upon some shoulders balances the weight of the world as was the case with our contemporary Titan, Thurgood Marshall who stood at the borders of mobility and stability. His scales of justice helped to engineer one of the greatest social transformations in American history. Stand that ground.
There’s also a sweet video demonstration that opens with a popular quote from Audre Lorde about self-preservation. You know the one. Check it out:
This is how I like to learn!
And yes to Nina Simone’s “See Line Woman.” Yeeeeesssssssss!
Do yourself a favor and keep up with this woman @AndiaWinslow.