Plus-sized fitness classes in Exeter to help people feel confident

Founders of the new Phat classes say they aim to be inclusive and help people gain confidence

New exercise classes specifically designed for plus-sized people who have felt uncomfortable going into traditional gyms have been set up.

The "phat" health classes are being funded by Exeter Live and Move, Wellbeing Exeter and Exeter City Football Club.

Programme organiser Jess Crew said the classes aimed to help those with larger bodies and "give people confidence".

The classes will run for five weeks from 2 November.

Ms Crew said "Phat with a ph means excellent and we run excellent classes for people who are plus-sized".

She was inspired to set up the classes after her and friends' experiences of struggling to find a comfortable, affordable and plus-size focused exercise group.

She said: "This is an inclusion issue really, health and fitness professionals who don't have experience living in a larger body don't actually know what bigger people need.

"So I was told to do couch to 5k but I damaged my knee because I had no idea what I was doing and knees actually take a lot of stress particularly when you're carrying a lot more weight.

"These classes are run by people who have personal experience of being larger or have a special interest in helping people with larger bodies. So they are bespoke, give people confidence and we don't have the thing of walking into a gym and you're the only bigger person there."