I've got quite a few online pals who are involved with various workout programs. Crossfit and Beach Body (P90X, T25, ect) are just a couple of them. The stated mission is always the same, "To be fit, active, and healthy..." yada, yada. But the real goal seems to be that Greek sculpted body. Those amazing abs, beautiful biceps, ass you can bounce quarters off of, and that sexy suggestive "V" just above the waste band of your shorts that makes everyone of every gender have to change their pants.
Whatever gets people to work out and enjoy working out is great. And I definitely wouldn't mind having some awesome abs, although mine would be all scratched up with stretch marks.
My caveats aren't with the workout communities goals, it's in their version of inspiration after the goal has been achieved. Yep, I'm bringing her up since she's been all over the internet lately.
That picture could be so inspirational if it were just captioned differently. But now I just think I'm fat and that I'll never look like that. She did an interview about the whole thing. She seems like a nice enough lady and explained that she wanted to show women that they can do this too, bla bla bla.... Fail.
The reason that I love and belong in the running community is because the objectives are different. The objective goes much deeper than appearance. Here's something fantastic from Another Mother Runner's page...
And things like this, that tell even the most out of shape person that, they too, can be a part of this.
And then there's this that I saw on Steve in a Speedo's blog...
I'm not trying to bash those who have the muscles and love their workouts. That's fantastic! Go you! But I will ask that you not be a condescending prick about it.
I was feeling really down about myself earlier last week. I kept looking in the mirror at my "mom flap" on my lower abdominal and thinking "I'm never going to look like those after photos". So I skipped a couple of my T25's and went running instead. It just felt good. I am a runner. I still like T25, but I need to use it as a supplement/cross training tool instead of a main focus. The workout world isn't good for my mental state. Maybe one day I will have a muscled up hard body. If I do, it will be a byproduct of training for an Iron Man, or trying to BQ or something.
-Hugh Jass
The woman who's been all over the internet lately makes me angry- way to make a bunch of women feel like crap!! Plus, some mommies have stretch marks, so they're never going to look like her and then she's making them feel bad for that too. Ouch. I definitely love the running community- so supportive!! Our town just had its 4th annual 1/2 marathon and they had a different band playing at EVERY MILE! How cool is that?? I want to run again SO badly but I am having major knee issues right now- hoping a visit to the orthopedic dr this week will help get me back on the running track. The weather is cool and I want to RUN!!
ReplyDeleteI've tried them both; back in 2003 I really got into heavy weightlifting/bodybuilding style stuff. Trying to gain weight and add loads of muscle was interesting. But I could only do it for about a year before I really felt like I was adding on too much body fat and it just wasn't healthy. Triathlon has stuck around for 6 years now, so I'd say that's a much better fit for me. Now go do that ironman!
ReplyDeleteI have heard that people with tattoo's will never amount to anything.
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