UMass Amherst Alumni Association
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Alumni Profile - Rochelle Rice '83
Rochelle Rice ’83 has always been interested in movement. She studied dance while at UMass Amherst and then went on to work in the health and exercise field. As an exercise instructor, she found that there was very little understanding of the needs of—and virtually no programs designed for—the plus-size woman. Compounding this situation was the excessive focus and pressure to be thin in our society, rather than physically and emotionally fit through natural movement. To address this void, she began graduate studies at New York University with the focus of designing a fitness regime specifically for women of size. The result was the Plus-Size Exercise Technique.
In 1990, Rice founded her business In Fitness & In Health, which is dedicated to sharing the Plus-Size Exercise Technique with plus-size women and fitness professionals. Providing a variety of tips & techniques through classes, workshops, and events all over the country, Rice helps clients to integrate the material presented into their daily lives. The focus is to address physical needs through music, breath-work, and activities specific to each client’s situation, while stressing a safe environment where women can exercise physically and feel emotionally secure.
“There is still a lot of size discrimination and prejudice towards larger people, without even knowing their personal history,” said Rice. “I’ve seen people who’ve had a trauma, like a car accident where the body wasn’t able to move, or who’ve had a life-changing event that created imbalance in their life, that resulted in weight gain. It’s important to take the time to understand the underlying cause.” Rice is currently undergoing traumatic experience training to better understand the psychological/ physiological connection. “Basically, the whole central nervous system can get either very activated or very suppressed after a traumatic experience. We try to bring it into a nice regulated state that is even-flowing.
In 2001, Rice published her first book titled, Real Fitness for Real Women. She has appeared on a number of national television programs, including CBS Sunday Morning, ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, NBC Evening News, CBS The Early Show, QVC, and many more.
Rice’s latest project is a fitness trainer’s manual for the overweight client. The manual, due to be released this month, provides exercise programs, environmental considerations, and sensitivity training for fitness professionals. “The goal is to organize a structured movement program that will build a solid foundation so that other activity will come into place very naturally…because the body wants to move,” said Rice. “There has to be pleasure associated with movement.”
Rice will be a panelist at the upcoming Alumni Career Services event, “Work, Life, Sanity: Mastering the Balance!” on February 27 at the Williams Club in New York City. For more information on Rice’s programs and publications visit http://www.rochellerice.com.
By Elena Lamontagne
2/6/08
