“Fitspo” is used all over social media as “motivation” to move more and be healthier. Is it a healthy and effective tool though? Or is it missing the mark?
Fitspo: What is it?
We’ve all seen them. Quotes about how being thinner will feel so much better than being sore from the gym. Messages that there’s “no excuse” not to exercise. Comments about how you should workout and eat “healthy” for the validation from other people. Even comparisons between what you eat and your self-worth. This is the land of “fitspo” or “fit inspiration”. Often shared as an attempt to be motivational, fitspo is everywhere online.
“Fit” as the new “skinny”
The idea of being “fit” sounds like it can only be positive, right? You’re not telling people to be skinny or lose weight directly, you’re just telling them to be “fit”. My first issue with this, however, is that fitspo almost exclusively features thin bodies. It still promotes this idea that being “fit” means being skinny, even though this flat-out isn’t true. Yes, some people who frequently exercise are going to have a smaller body. You’re also going to have people who frequently exercise who don’t have a six-pack. You’ll have those who are regular exercisers who have larger bodies. Not to mention the fact that there are people who look thin who don’t exercise at all. Being “fit” does not equal being thin. Period.
Appearance based rather than information based
My other main issue with fitspo is that it really doesn’t tell you anything. You may see an athletic looking person with a quote about working hard, but it’s what you don’t see that intrigues me. Does that person actually work out? What are they really eating? Are they even a good comparison for what you should be doing? The message becomes that looking a certain way means being healthy. First of all, just because some looks healthy, doesn’t mean that they are. Secondly, how is that supposed to genuinely help a person build healthy lifestyle behaviors? It provides you with zero helpful information. “Work hard”…okay, doing what? “No excuses”…okay, but what type of exercise should I be doing? “Eat clean”…what does that even mean? “Sweat is fat crying”…okay, that’s just incredibly factually inaccurate…
Your body is telling you important things that fitspo isn’t
One of the more dangerous sides of fitspo is this idea of “mind over matter”. Fitspo encourages people to ignore feelings of fatigue, soreness, and even pain. It promotes this idea that exercise can never be harmful and is always healthy. Yes, absolutely, making time to move is incredibly important, however, pushing yourself too hard is absolutely not a good thing. Exercise is only effective and health-promoting if done safely. When you feel really tired or something hurts that’s a good sign that it’s time to check-in with your body and what’s going on. Ask yourself, “Can I continue the exercises that I’m doing safely?”. Keep in mind, if you’re too tired to keep running you can always finish out your workout with a walk. It’s still movement, and still health promoting. If you keep running and end up rolling an ankle because you ignored signs from your body that you were pushing it too hard, now you have to take weeks off in order to heal properly. I’m not saying that the second you feel even a little bit tired you should just call it quits. What I’m saying is that listening to your body, trusting it, and learning when it’s a good idea to keep going and when it’s a good idea to relax a little is important. You shouldn’t feel guilty for making the best choice for yourself and your body.
Where are the faces???
While some fitspo models have faces, the majority don’t. Images feature backs, butts, and stomachs with a glaring lack of faces. It’s depersonalization at its finest. Is that actually a person, or just a six-pack floating in space?
Fitspo makes people feel bad about themselves
Rather than truly being motivating and empowering, fitspo has this nasty habit of just making people feel bad about themselves. And is this really that surprising? Take the “no excuses” fitspo for example. It suggests that there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t be able to hit the gym everyday. Except that there are. People’s lives are busy, and you can’t possibly understand what someone else’s day-to-day looks like. Yes, it’s still important to try to find ways to be more active, but that’s not the only thing in life that’s important. Telling people point-blank that there’s “no excuse” is opening them up to feel guilty when they do take a much needed rest day, or have other more pressing issues to attend to. Basically, it’s emphasizing someone’s physical health is more important than their mental health. This isn’t true, and isn’t helpful.
Compassionate health and fitness messaging
One gleaming light of hope in this sad world of fitspo, however, is the emergence of more affirming, body positive health messaging. Things like “I exercise because it makes me feel good”, and “I’m proud of everything my body does for me”. Messaging that focuses on doing things that are health-promoting for both body and mind that focuses less on how you look and more on how you feel. I think it’s important to remember that how you look has nothing to do with how healthy you are. Practicing self-compassion is one step you can take towards living a happier, and healthier life. Fitspo not required.
Do you like fitspo? Why or why not? What types of health and fitness messaging do you find most inspiring?
Want to know more about how I view food as a dietitian? My Radical Food Philosophy delves into my views on how to find optimal health and happiness through food.