The Hidden Truths of Social Media and Fitness

In the past exercise was never a real focus because it was integrated in our daily lives. We walked many miles to get water, lifted heavy items to help build, and so naturally we were fit. With the increasing technologization of our society, and increase in desk jobs, there is a massive surge in physical fitness interest and thus a huge market for profit opportunities, whether it be through promotion of weight-loss products and/or fitness routines. Not to mention, the use of social media platforms has skyrocketed and provided many fitness professionals, and many frauds, with the opportunity to make a living based on their follower count. This is not a good or a bad thing in of itself, but the implications of these crazy advancements are far-reaching and since we aren’t challenging them they will continue to perpetuate and influence our thoughts about what it truly means to be fit. Fitness right now is a trend. The same way that polo is worn to portray a certain image, the attempt to appear to be a “fitness freak” is a current desirable status to attain. So, before we soak in everything we’re exposed to in the media we need to remember this fact. Ultimately this means the information we are relayed will also affect our body-image and self-confidence if we compare the images we see, that often aren’t even real, to our own bodies.

Exercise for me was always a beautiful escape from reality, because it was through sport that I could focus my entire energy on the game and get lost in passion. I also started to enjoy the gym because my mother is such a positive influence, always guiding us to be active and make healthy living choices. But at some point in my past the relationship changed from a joy of movement to a form of punishment for my self-sabotaging eating habits. Even with such a supportive and healthy upbringing centred around physical activity and self-love, my life still revolved around a dysfunctional exercise routine and a shattered connection to my body’s needs. This just goes to show that influences beyond the home are very powerful in shaping our experiences of living and our emotional connection to our bodies as our temples. My family never encouraged comparison, never scrutinized body shape/weight yet I still fell into self-abuse patterns. I also barely used the internet and was not heavily influenced per say by media’s portrayal of what a “perfect female body is” at younger ages. Obviously in some regard we are all affected, however the upcoming generations are in for a drastic increase in a distorted perception of what their body should look like and how they can achieve the aesthetic look they desire. These are some of the most common misconceptions that we may overlook, that I often did and still do if I don’t take the time to critically reflect.

1.       The girl with the abs on Instagram is physically fit and thus knows how to train others.

Just because someone is lean and posts about being in the gym, that doesn’t mean that they actually have an education in anatomy and human movement.  Some of these women do and this is not to discredit their dedication. But some of these women are naturally lean with fast metabolisms. Some of these women promote healthy living but live an unhealthy lifestyle to get paid. Some of these women become so obsessive with their social media platform posting that they go to excessive measures to have that perfect stomach for their next post. ALL of these women do not look like this 24.7, especially not after they eat a large meal; they’re human just like the rest of us. We need to remember to be mindful that there is always more than meets the eye.

2.       She bought that flat tummy tea and waist trainer. She looks good so I should consider this purchase.

SHE IS PAID TO PROMOTE THIS TEA. SHE POSTS IT BECAUSE IT IS HELPING HER MAKE A LIVING, WHETHER IT PHYSICALLY POSITIVELY AFFECTED HER OR NOT. I’ve tried some detox teas before, and some of them do make you feel lighter overall. But many of those are temporary detoxes anyways that affect water weight. This is not a substitute for healthy eating and you will not look like that model after using the tea for a few weeks. That’s not to say you can’t experiment with different options to see what works well with you, but really keep in mind that marketing is the huge motivation behind many supportive posts on social media.

3.       She spends all her time in the gym, she’s so dedicated, I wish I had the motivation to be like that.

Props to all my go getter girls in the gym going hard daily, keep going hard. This again is not to bash down dedicated women who are working towards achieving any type of fitness related goal. This is just a reminder that there is more than meets the eye. Some women in this category are in the gym because they are channeling their lack of self-love into activity. Some of these women are struggling immensely on a spiritual and emotional level while trying to find comfort in a physical manifestation. Some of these women feel a loss of power in many areas of their lives so they resort to physical fitness to try to establish some sort of control. I was one of those “some women” for so long that it is engrained in my way of thinking and I must consciously break down my thoughts when I fall back into that pattern to remind myself that there is a life beyond control and living in peace is all about balance.

4.       She has great glutes and she’s selling her booty-builder program I should buy that.

I follow some of my favourite fitness females in the industry who have achieved amazing results and I admire their transformations and desire to help others. But I also constantly see images pop up on my popular page of photo-shopped, surgery-changed women who pretend that their bodies are self-made and try to promote the idea that if you follow their journey and/or buy their routines that you can look exactly like them. First off, many of these individuals themselves did not achieve the look they wanted so they turned to surgical procedures to trick you. Secondly, even if these amazing women do work hard naturally for their bodies they have to maintain a certain physique because they are using their body promotion as their full-time job, thus everything they do revolves around how they physically look to appeal to an audience. Not to mention the fact that we all have variety of genetics and anatomy so the same workout will cause a huge variation in results for anyone who completes it regularly. Again, this is not meant to be entirely negative this is just an attempt to remind you that there is so much going on behind the scenes that we need to remember when we feel negative about ourselves because of our comparisons to fitness professionals, whether they are real or not.

5.        The workout programs outlined and sold on people’s Instagram pages are less than half the battle, I would say they’re 25-30% of it. The super speedy 6-minute-high intensity workout posted by your favourite Instagram model is not entirely responsible for her results. She likely works out a couple times a day, a lot longer than 6 minutes and she also meal preps/ tracks macros. You’ve heard it a million times before but I’ll say it again, diet is CRUCIAL. Matter of fact I don’t even like the word diet because it insinuates restriction and suffering. The labeling and assumptions that go along with ‘diet’ are for an entire blog entry on another day. But whole food choices and portion awareness are what will define your outcomes, working out is like the side to the main dish. 

 

On that note, there are many positive women out there on social media as well. There are multiple fitness women using social media platforms to deliver healthy workout videos, nutritional information and more. Likewise, there are many amazing body positive accounts of women of all shapes and sizes embracing their body diversity and living in self-love. There are even women not posting transformation pictures that look backwards; going from smaller to larger weights and writing about how they gained their lives back when they stopped basing their worth on the shrinking numbers on the scale. I think the most important thing to remember is that there are multiple ways to define “fit” and “healthy”. Some of the strongest, most dedicated and educated female athletes/gym-girls I know are not aesthetically lean and ripped 24.7. They are not selling any product on their Instagram that they can make a profit from. We all know curvy, thick, slender, wide, tall, short women who are making healthy choices and incorporating healthy activities into their routines to improve their quality of life. We also all see perfect bodies on social media platforms and even when we’re conscious we unconsciously compare our physique to a dysfunctional standard. What is most scary about this phenomenon is that young girls growing up in this generation have access to the same social media platforms that we as adults do, and they are undeniably influenced by this false ideal of what a fit, healthy women’s body looks like. We must reach out to our children to help them develop the critical thinking skills and come to their own healthy conclusions about how media often promotes false advertising. We can teach them how to make healthy choices in their daily lives and how to find activities that they enjoy, to keep moving their bodies. But of equal importance is their education and practise of self-love. Undeniably we can start by living in a constant state of self-compassion, treating our own bodies with the respect they deserve. After all, leading by example is the most powerful expression of truth.