In a world where body image is shoved in our faces on a daily basis, how do we overcome negative body image? The magazines will have you believing that to wear a bikini over summer you must have a ‘beach bod’. What is a beach bod? Well if I’m at the beach and I’m a body then I have a beach bod! Last summer I threw all my insecurities out the window and actually purchased a bikini and yep I wore it all summer. Did i feel as though people were judging me when I was out swimming? Nope, everyone was just as interested in cooling off as I was, no one cared what I looked like. Over the years there has been so much focus on women and their figures but it is increasingly evident that men are now under just as much pressure to have the perfect muscle bod. I think one of the saddest results of this is the death of a 15 yo boy trying to bench press 95kg unassisted at a gym a couple of weeks ago. For what? A life lost for the gain of what? Unfortunately the only gain he made was a lifetime of heartache for his family and an innocent life lost.
Unfortunately this isn’t going to change. The tabloids will keep pushing the perfect figure, the fitness industry will keep pushing the 12 week programs over complete year round lifestyle change. What I will change though is my mindset. Over the past few months it has been very hectic at work and it hasn’t allowed me the time I would like to train. I am probably carrying about 4kg extra than I was this time last year. I feel it that’s for sure, but instead of looking in the mirror every morning with negative thoughts, I think about what my body CAN do. On Saturday and Sunday this week I teamed up with Em to pump out some P2P training up at the Domain. There are so many tracks up there that you start pumping out the kms without really noticing. We did 12.5km on Sat and followed it up with 12km including hill reps on Sunday. Regardless of how I feel about the look of my body, the physical strength of my body is what I love. I love that I can back up 2 days in a row and run those trails. It’s not super fast that’s for sure but while I run and it hurts I remind myself that I have a strong body and strong mind. It gets me to the finish line, wherever we decide that is. I would love it if we could walk past magazine racks and see something on the cover other than men and women’s ‘perfect’ bodies, or the mag thinking it’s ok to make money out of peoples eating disorders that they help create! Unfortunately the reality is that people still buy this rubbish therefor, they will continue to print it.
Lets go beyond the rubbish as human beings and forget about the magazines and the media and the crappy people in this world who think it’s ok to bully people for being a certain size or for looking a certain way. Every body is different, physically and mentally. Focus on what your body CAN do not what it can’t, once you change your mindset happiness will always follow. I love bodies, all bodies are awesome. As a massage therapist I always hear apologies from women about their bodies. Really? I am not here to judge you, I am here to help you. Anyone who has been putting off getting a massage because they are worried about their bodies, please give your therapist a call and get yourself some TLC. We are all the same, we see a body and we help it heal, nothing more, nothing less.
Keep on being awesome and don’t forget to move, your internal body will thank you for it.
Nik
