The Health and Wellness Forum Strong Process Returns in November

Rachele Pojednic, a professor of nutrition at Simmons College, is on a mission to bridge the gap in wellness between science and fads.


Strong Process

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Have you ever looked around at your group fitness class and noticed that about 99.9 percent of the class is composed of women? It’s no wonder the landscape of wellness has shifted to a largely female demographic. Much of the marketing, apparel, and experiences can skew feminine (think: barre class or all the athleisure leggings you’ve seen). But it’s not like men don’t need wellness opportunities, as well. That’s why, in November, the health and wellness forum Strong Process is returning to Boston with a mission to bring more men into the wellness conversation.

Rachele Pojednic, founder of Strong Process and an assistant nutrition professor at Simmons College, created the one-day health and wellness forum to bring fitness industry leaders (think: your Soul Cycle instructor and favorite nutrition bloggers) into the same room as researchers, scientists, and professors who spend most of their time with academic literature but little time in front of the masses. On November 3, Strong Process will be held at the 90FS building in downtown Boston with an emphasis on men’s health and mental health.

“Throughout my studies I’ve found that men aren’t good at asking for help,” Pojednic says. “And they feel bad unloading on other people. Which isn’t necessarily their fault—how many times has society told them that boys don’t cry?” While men may be likely to enjoy CrossFit and dark gyms with loud music, they can miss the slower, more mindful aspect of wellness.

There’s a disconnect, she goes on to say, between what they need and what they’re getting in the wellness space. Men need to address their mental health as much as anyone—it’s estimated that about 20 percent of men aged 26 to 29 suffered from some mental illness in 2017 and the suicide rate among men has been consistently higher than that of women since 1950.

As in years prior, Strong Process will be divided into three different panels (called Move, Eat, and Rest) focusing on three key areas of wellness—exercise, nutrition, and stress management. Each speaker’s presentation will have an emphasis on mental health and how those issues pertain to men. The move panel will feature speakers including George Foreman III the founder of EveryBody Fights, November Project co-leader Chris Capozzi, and Dave Nelson of Milestone Mind, and others who will speak to what is happening in your brain when you exercise and the importance of exercise for a strong mind.

The eat panel will feature wellness entrepreneur Dilan Gomih, chemical engineering professor Abigail Koppes, and others, who will talk about how what you eat affects your mood. Lastly, the rest panel will feature B/Spoke instructor Aly Raymer, Mass Gen physician Jacob Mirsky, and others, who will discuss the importance of mindfulness, and in particular the dangers of burnout and the importance of rest. Each panelist, Pojednic says, will offer not only insight and informational content, but also actionable steps attendees can implement into their own lives as soon as they walk out of the room.

The day will also include yoga to kick things off, breakfast, catered lunch from Dig Inn, and a cocktail hour to close out the evening.

$199, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., 90FS, 1 Federal St., Boston, strongprocess.com