Why? Just Why?: The Over Sexualization of the Fitness Industry

Sex sells.   It's true, it does.  Turn on any commercial and you are more likely to see a woman (mostly young 20's, white,  and with a toned physique) doing any of these:

eating food

putting on makeup 

any perfume ad, ever

 

aaaaaaannnnndd........selling anything remotely fitness related! 

It's our culture, I get it.  We are a patriarchal society,  it's bound to happen. But God damn,  it's getting to a point of ridiculousness!  When I see a blog about what the author's favorite workout Playlist is, and her accompanying photo is standing serenely at the window with her headphones on. ....wearing cheekie underwear and a tied up t-shirt, with knee high socks!  Who wears that crap to work out???!!!! It's past the point of saying "I look and feel amazing from my workouts and diet,  and so want to share with the  world.", and had definitely taken a huge leap across the line into "I'm so hot I want all of you to want to f*ck me." territory.  I love that particular blog and have been following the author since I was in my second trimester.  This,  however,  made me literally facepalm myself and  roll my eyes. 

I have modeled in the past (oh sigh how I miss my pre-baby body), and it was mostly nudes, posed in some very alluring and suggestive poses.  You know where those photos are?  In my portfolio.  On my modeling page.  In a photographer's portfolio.  NOT in a blog where I'm trying to help women lose weight and feel better about themselves after having a baby!  Yes, I know this particular picture is not nude,  but it's one loosely tied shirt away from being one.

And it's not just that photo.  It's the entire industry of fitness.  It's subconscious body shaming to get the person on the receiving end to buy/look at/use your product.  It's creating envy to plant subliminal messaging.  Enough is enough.  Not only for the customer,  but the Fitness Pro as well. I actually stopped watching Bodyrock.tv  because it became so overtly sexualized that I felt like I was watching amateur, soft core porn. And I was in the military at that time,  NOTHING phased me. All I could think to myself was "didn't any of that make her a little uncomfortable at exploiting herself for someone else's profit?"

No,  there is no need for baggy t-shirts and sweats,  nor even a need to cover the tummy. Let those shorts ride on up! Let the ladies be on display!  Guys,  flex those contractually shown abs! Stand serenely at the window with headphones!  But let's make it more realistic,  instead of looking like you just got done with a f*ck session.  As a consumer,  I'd be a lot more willing to look at/use/buy a product that showed a woman who looked powerful, and with that post workout glow, rather than a delicate and over sexualized girl.

Jussayin. And stepping down off my soapbox now. 

PiYo = Love

I am a self professed PiYo nerd.  After the baby was born, I hit a plateau. I had terrible Postpartum Depression, and Baby B had terrible reflux so I was getting absolutely no sleep. And as we all know, no sleep leads to no energy, which leads to no working out.  I was miserable.  After crying for a few days (weeks) over my body I started going for walks and jogs with the baby in the stroller.  I knew I needed more though, and so contacted my friend Gabriella Harrison who is also a Beachbody Coach, letting her know I wanted to check out PiYo, which I had heard her talk about on her coach Facebook page.  She hooked me up with the challenge pack, which included the PiYo workout series and Shakeology.

 I had done Shakeology before, but had gotten off the wagon for various reasons during the previous year.

Within a week of drinking Shakeology every morning on my way to classes, and fitting in PiYo after the baby went to bed, I started feeling better.  Within two weeks I started seeing some definition in my waist and thighs.  Within a month, my pre-pregnancy clothes were starting to be less tight, and I didn't want to cry or kill myself every time I put on a pair of pants.  Combined with walking 2-4 miles to and from classes each day, and not having time to eat because of studying and a demanding baby, I dropped about 12 lbs.  Then life got in the way, and my workouts dwindled.  I could tell a difference in how I felt emotionally, and how my clothes felt.  But, the great thing about PiYo is that is comes with a workout schedule so if you fall off track you can always pick back up in the program where you left off, or start the program back over.

The program is so easy to follow; a mix of yoga and pilates (hence, PiYo) and is challenging enough that you can always work on your form and moving up to a new level instead of just going through the motions over and over and over.  Rarely do I get bored with this program, even with starting it over.

If you are interested, you can either head on over to www.beachbody.com, or contact me to help set you up with a program!

Beachboy Challenge Pack