Women's fitness has had a refresh. As the hashtag #strongwomen hits 1.8m (with #strongmen only a weedy 57,000), we're moving away from exercise being something we do to look slender, to something we do to be fit for life.
Back in 2015 Sport England found that the UK was suffering from a significant fitness gender gap, with 2m fewer 14 to 40-year-old women taking part in sport compared to men, which led to their 'This Girl Can' campaign and empowering slogans like 'I swim because I love my body. Not because I hate it.'
We move into 2017 understanding the importance of having a healthy, functional and strong body. That's why January's ELLE is our biggest fitness issue yet, with Britain's highest paid model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley starring on the cover.
Here, she shows us her guns, her abs, and why we need to think about the female body not as something decorative, but as something that is functional, healthy, fit and strong.
As Rosie told ELLE, 'I feel there are a lot of different things a woman's body is expected to be, but my favourite way to see mine is when it's being physical. That's when I feel my sexiest and most powerful.'
Film by Alyssa Boni of RSA
More Content From The Rosie Issue:
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Is Our Jan 2016 Cover Star: Her Best Quotes
What Does Rosie Huntington-Whitely Put In Her Green Juice?
