A personal trainer has ignited a lively online argument after posting an Instagram video aimed at women who want what she called long, slender, model like legs. The clip racked up hundreds of thousands of views and quickly spilled beyond her followers, landing in wider fitness circles and sparking strong reactions. At the center of it is a familiar tension, training for a specific look versus training for strength, function, and long term health. The way the message was framed, especially the idea of avoiding certain lifts, is what set people off.
The trainer, Riley Jourdan, suggested that the leg shape many people associate with runway models is not built through classic heavy lower body staples like squats and deadlifts. Her point was that those movements can add noticeable muscle to the legs, which may not match the aesthetic some women are chasing. That message was instantly polarizing because it can sound like a warning against getting “too muscular,” even if that was not her intent. Fitness communities are especially sensitive to language that echoes old fears about women lifting heavy.
One of the loudest critics was online coach Brooke Sellers, who reposted Jourdan’s video with her own response in early December. Sellers argued that telling women to intentionally avoid building muscle, or to lose it, sends a harmful signal that appearance matters more than capability. She emphasized that muscle supports mobility and independence as people age, and she framed strength as a form of protection rather than something to minimize. In her view, the goal should be avoiding frailty, not shrinking a body part to fit a trend.
Jourdan, speaking to Newsweek, defended her approach by saying the video was meant for a very specific niche. She said she was not addressing general health, performance, or longevity, but women who openly prioritize a slimmer leg look as their main goal. Jourdan also stressed that she is not anti strength training and regularly encourages it for overall wellbeing. Her position was that training style influences body composition, and for people genetically prone to building muscle in the lower body, high volume heavy lifting can steer them away from the look they want.
The debate is unfolding alongside a broader cultural shift in body ideals, with weight loss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy often cited in conversations about a renewed obsession with thinness. Sellers connected this moment to an early 2000s style comeback, arguing that the speed of visible transformations among celebrities is shaping expectations again. She warned that the focus is drifting away from health and longevity and back toward being smaller at any cost. Research frequently shows high levels of body dissatisfaction among women in the US, with many wishing for a thinner figure, which adds fuel to the sensitivity around messaging like this.
Wherever someone lands, the conversation highlights how easily fitness advice can be interpreted as either empowering or restrictive depending on the framing. Training can be tailored to goals, but the language around those goals matters, especially when it touches insecurities that many people already carry. Should coaches prioritize aesthetics at all, or always steer clients toward strength first? Share your thoughts in the comments.
