How Constantly Varied Gear United Over 80,000 Women Worldwide

Constantly Varied Gear, the brand known for its fun leggings and workout gear is worn by women throughout the country as they squat, run, row and sweat. 

One thing, however, that completely sets them apart, and continues to distinguish them from their counterparts is their emphasis on connectivity, empowerment and transparency.  

Over the last nine years, Constantly Varied Gear, through their Facebook group, their Thick Thighs Save Lives Podcast, online programming and free app, has formed a fitness community of over 80,000 women that have come together to train, support one another and grow. 

How it began: Having already established a brand producing premium apparel for athletes and gym-goers, Constantly Varied Gear looked to expand its reach and give back through group fitness. Leading the way, sisters Rachael Arruda and Kelsea Hellyar started the group by giving away free leggings for participating in a workout released every week. They wanted to give their community the chance to win clothes, free workouts, and support each other.  

• “The goal was to just expose women to functional fitness movements if they didn’t have access to a gym or coaches for free.   What was missing for many women were three things:  feeling confident in their clothes, knowing what to do in the gym and support. What I wanted to do was fill these gaps for them” Hellyar explained.   

• “My sister and I gave free coaching to anyone doing the workouts and created an environment where women were cheering each other on every week for getting in some movement.  We introduced the idea that our bodies were worth so much more than what they looked like and we could be proud of what they could do,” Hellyar explained.  

The idea caught fire, and went from five participants to over 80,000 women today. The workouts were all free, they ran nutrition challenges, provided free coaching and started a podcast to educate and talk about the issues women face in the fitness space, with their mental health and body issues.  They learned that there is so much misinformation coursing throughout the fitness and diet industry, setting women up for failure. Rachel and Kelsea wanted to educate fellow athletes and reach as many as they could. Through their podcast, they were able to spread their message farther.

Their first episode, “F*ck the scale” was released in 2018 and now has over 3.5 million downloads. 

Over the years, the community has touched many lives and inspires women to pursue fitness and strive for their healthiest selves. One such community member is Janine Andrews. 

Andrews’s fitness journey began with a bump in the night. After stumbling into a wall, in the dark, a cervical disc had dislodged from her spine and wedged against her spinal cord. 

Through her recovery, Andrews began training at a local gym and later went on to pursue a certification as a personal trainer. She continued educating herself and strengthening her core and muscle structures that support her spine. 

This led her to the CVG community, of which she has become an integral member. 

• “Being a part of the community has changed my life in many ways. It has changed the way I speak to myself and others. It has changed the way I view my body. It has allowed me a place to be seen and take up space when I am feeling really small. It has helped me stay true to my goals and really hone in on creating and maintaining habits for life.  Even while I was recovering from surgeries, I would tap into the group for inspiration and motivation regularly,” said Andrews.

Andrews then went on to express how empowering it is for someone to begin a fitness regimen. Stepping outside of one’s comfort zone is a powerful thing. 

• “We are all out here trying to grow old gracefully with as little limitations as possible. Why not have an army of like-minded individuals behind you to celebrate your successes, help you learn from your failures, and remind you who you are when you forget?” Andrews asks. 

The bottom line: While Constantly Varied Gear is a clothing brand outfitting women in trendy and functional leggings, bras, shorts, and tops, the pillars of that brand are the community that they built, from the beginning, and have been able to continually strengthen through the years. 

Through their community workouts, their online coaching and programming, and their podcast, the tight-knit team behind the brand set out to create a dialogue amongst women, one that promotes connectivity, self-betterment, and support. That dialogue continues to spread as their community grows, while women along the way are inspired to discover fitness and gain empowerment.