Is fitspo just as counterproductive as thinspo?
September 17, 2015 Ashley 0 Comments
Back when the Beatles hired a hippie instructor (Maharishi Mahesh Yogi) to teach them some inner peace, homeboy showed ’em all this practice that’s kinda like fitness for your mind: transcendental meditation. And how? Well, in a documentary years later, he shared something to the effect of: “Tell someone that they have to run ten miles, and they’ll get started. Tell them they only have to run one, and they won’t even get up.” This was the idea behind what he wanted for his students. It’s the same idea I like to employ when I opt to make a fitness routine an everyday thing (if I skip a day, then I’ve got the other one trillion and twelve to fall back on).
And, I believe, it’s the same concept behind fit-spiration featuring lovely ladies like this:
By telling someone they’ve got further to go than they really do, they’ll think: “No time to dawdle. Better get to steppin’.” And, it’s funny, I tend to find this applies in another type of meditation us fitness nuts do: what we meditate on to motivate us for our exercise routine. (Particularly if half of it’s some external, aesthetic goal.) Take fitspo, for example (like the pic above). As the suffix implies, it’s meant to inspire us toward what the root word implies: “fitness”. But, the other day, as I wandered across this Psych Today article discussing the diff between “fitspo” and “thinspo”, it got me doubting myself (ever so slightly). Quick 101 for you, though: if you dunno what “thinspo” is, it’s basically pics of bony chicks and phrases championing anorexia. The difference, obv, between the two is that fitspo is meant to promote “strength/fitness” while thinspo’s focus on external goals toward motorcycle-handlebar hipbones and xylophone ribs gets accused of inducing eating disorders or exacerbating existing ones.
But now some are saying that fitspo ain’t much better than the “just say no to nomming” stuff.
In one study, for example, lady folk who witnessed images of superslim fitspo models – even though they weren’t underweight models – felt as badly as they did looking at classic thinspo (never thought I’d be calling it “classic”, but let’s move on). And why? Some researchers surmised that it may, in some instances, have to do with what sort of “info” went with the “graphics”. That is to say – what motivational phrases were paired with the pics. If it seemed to hardcore (“Nobody ever drowned in sweat…”), then those who’d never exercised might see the whole thing as too daunting, the model as some impossible, unattainable ideal, and exercise itself as pointless. Which, therefore made them feel that hopelessness many of us do when we desire something for ourselves that we believe we can’t have.
And what do I say?
I say we choose to feel badly about ourselves when doing exactly that’s easier than getting up off our rumps.
And, if you took that personally, you may want to ask yourself why.
(I know I sure as shiz had to several years back when my own belief system needed massive renovating).
Because zero point zero of those images were generated with you in mind.
But – the good news?
You don’t have to feel badly. You get to choose.
So how can you turn any fitspiration clogging up your social media feeds into a good thing instead? How can you let it motivate you? Well, to its credit, fitspo is inviting a health and internal aspect into your fitness path – versus thinspo’s message of “you’ll be happy when you’re thin. The end.” I tend to think that those of us who negatively react to fitspo’s slender images have that unfavorable mindset already. But we don’t have to. Every day’s an opportunity to change our bodies – starting with our minds, and how we receive the information we’re seeing. You’re allowed to acknowledge it’s not true – anything saying that you have be or believe a certain way or concept. Once you do that, you don’t have to feel badly about yourself. It’s not the fitspiration that needs to change. We need to change our own inspiration sources – or else the filter through which we receive them.
Much like I said in my Alexis Ren posts, we can still appreciate a nearly-blinding beauty and use it to motivate us toward our own personal best while accepting ourselves for who we are. We don’t have to feel desirous or jealous. So why wouldn’t an e’ryday chick like me work as well as a Kate Sullivan for an infographic? Well, maybe because the formula is slightly built on that whole “rhino aiming to be a unicorn” delusion. The delusion that we could ever attain the same level of these genetic heirs who’ve made bank. And that that then would bring our happiness. But, TBH, there’s always some level of delusion going on in most of our brains that promise happiness or relief from pain. (“Just five more minutes of this run I’m hating till it’s over” when you have another three miles left – or “Just five more minutes of sleep will totally refresh me.”) The thing about fitspo is that – even after you don’t end up looking like a young Cameron Diaz – when all your hard work pays off, you’re still pretty pleased that a ripe looking rump has supplanted the lava lamp contents that were filling your drawz a month or two ago. You might not have gotten happiness the way you’d aimed for. But you sure got it. Via validating, confidence boosting, body molding.
In fact, this dawned on me when I used Alexis Ren as motivation – to try Barre.
(Though I didn’t turn into a 20 year old with a succulent backside, Barbie waist, and beach hair…
…it detracted zero percent from the reward I actually received.)
That said, however, in the end maybe it’s not fitspo or thinspo we really need so much of.
I mean, clearly, an overdose on either is fodder for some percentage of y’all to habitually feel poorly about yourselves. While you can indeed choose your reaction, why make it harder on yourselves if you know you tend to get envy fever? Even I , a fan of the sweatspiration, can start to feel a bit anxious if I’m overloaded with the stuff. But you wanna know what I realized that means? That it’s time for me to get the fluff up and work out. Thus, mayhaps instead’a lambasting these fitness memes, the answer’s to jettison all of the “inspiration” altogether after a certain point. (Namely once it stops “inspiring” you.) Think of it as motivational medication you meditate on. You toss is out right away if you’ve got an allergy to it. And you only pop it in motivational doses, as needed, otherwise. Do we really need it beyond that? Beyond a reminder of where we wanna go? If we’re looking at it in the first place, the answer is likely no. We know what we want. But knowing what you desire isn’t enough if you’re only willing to go after some idea of it with nada other than your eyes and Instagram account. The time for searching externally is over. The time for gandering at slender gams or ogling amazing abs is done. The time now is to let what we’ve seen externally meet the inspiration that’s already within us – and actually get moving. ’cause we’ve gotta ways to go if we want to reach any of our goals at all – be they serenity or sexiness.
In a way, it’s kinda like that Yogi dude said.
Sometimes it just takes telling ourselves that we have to run 10 miles to accomplish the few we need.
Now, there’s some factspiration to fuel your perspiration.
(K. That was the last one. Now, move!)