The Paradox Of Body Image

 

People exercise or “workout” for lots of reasons.

I conducted a survey s few years ago and found there were five main reasons:

  1. Positive health (to have a healthy body)
  2. Strength and Endurance (to have a good body)
  3. Revitalization (because it makes me feel good)
  4. Nimbleness (to become more agile)
  5. Weight management (to stay slim)

The International Health, Racquet, and Sports Club Association’s (IHRSA) survey of its members revealed that the number one reason women exercised was weight control and for men it was to increase muscle tone.

So which is it? To have a healthy body or to lose weight and increase muscle tone?

Why You Workout Depends On Your Age

IHRSA survey results failed to share the average age of the survey respondents. The majority of health club members are under the age of 34 and positive health is not a major concern for the younger age brackets. Their focus is on an improved or maintained body image.

A major concern of people over the age of forty though is improving or keeping their health. And, based on research from the Centers for Disease Control, I understand why. The average lifespan of a US citizen is 76 years and the last 12 of those years are spent in ill health. That’s nearly 71,000 of your wakeful hours filled with disease and / or disability and most of these problems are derived from your lifestyle.

The problem people face in the 40+ age bracket is that most fitness regimens are built for the under 40 crowd whose interests are more aligned with appearance than with the health benefits.

Yet, with the right kind of physical training (and diet), you can improve your health AND change your appearance. The body image changes – lower body fat, improve posture, muscle tone – are the fringe benefits of the training.

Train not to shape your body but to get your body in shape.

If your goal is to have a healthy body, the best way to achieve that is to adopt a lifestyle that supports a healthy body: healthy eating, smart exercise, being mindful of your choices, getting restorative sleep, and having some fun.

So, how do the survey results fit with your expectations of why you exercise? And what are your goals?

Jennifer Doig says

I just read a great article that parallels this subject By Team ICG®
Master Trainer Jim Karanas @ ICI/Pro, The Four Levels of Motivation. I
believe it’s members only content, but a great layout on what motivates
people to exercise: Physical, Emotional, Mental, Spiritual.

As a fitness instructor, I coach my participants primarily from the perspective of #3 in your survey list. Most participants (women especially) get hung up on a certain body part not looking like they want it. This becomes psychologically self-defeating (speaking from experience). When I can open people up to the idea that feeling good as a primary objective will lead to sustained results, it takes away the “quick-fix” mentality and actually allows for a more fun and effective class, as well as, repeat customers….good for me, even better for them 🙂
There’s a greater sense of satisfaction and commitment when participants can enjoy the experience. There is a reaping of some instant gratification– the endorphin rush that influences positive thoughts/feelings, meeting new friends, finishing a challenging set. And an incredible building of confidence in the process. The mirror comes to reflect the smiles on their faces as they steadily create a stronger, healthier, leaner body.

    DD Kelsey says

    Jennifer –

    Thanks for your thoughts and experiences. I agree with you and I imagine that once your clients do, you have some very connected people. Great work!

ATTENTION WOMEN: How Much Fat is Enough? - FusionPerformanceTraining - Get Your Body Armor On. says

[…] get it. Body image is important. It’s one way we measure our health. If we look healthy and fit then maybe we […]

DD Kelsey says

Man, was that 20 years? Seriously? I’m impressed you remembered that one!
No transformation without perturbation.
Then we adapt and need to be perturbed again 🙂

    Jimtigerpt says

    You would be surprised at some things I remember about those 2 years of the program. As I reflect, such an influential time of my life and career but I did not realize it at that time. I will NEVER forget the time I attended one of you “Unloading Level 1” courses and I arrived early and walked around in your clinic. Let’s just say it intrigued me and that is where “the journey” began for me.. But there was a time when I first met you in Gulfport, Mississippi co-teaching a MET course at Mike Rogers clinic with Bjorn…… you had a ponytail!! Remember that? I suspect not……Ha ha!….

      DD Kelsey says

      I think you must have me confused with maybe Bjorn Borg…pony tail? Me? Have you looked at my pic lately? Yeah, ok, you busted me.
      Good thing you don’t have pics…I KNOW they would be all over Facebook 🙂

JimTigerPT says

I think we all have unique purposes on why we choose to live and work FUSION style or we would have not seeked out this in the first place. Mine is to live healthier and longer, set an example for my profession, look and feel good about myself, and able to be there for my family now and in the future. I have learned in life there are some things you can control and some things you just cannot. I figure take the things you have control over and work it the best way you can. I get great satisfaction from knowing that I have worked hard for something and get positive results; certainly take pride in this and that makes me happy. As far as my profession, I really get angry when other PT’s get lazy and do not practice what they preach or let their body go in total disarray such as obesity. How can a client or patient take them seriously when they do not appear to take themselves seriously? Just my pet peeve.

I can remember years ago when I met Kelsey he was always on a quest to dunk a basketball. He told us stories about how he would try in so many way to manipulate gravity while unloading himself to improve his vertical leap. Some were very amusing, entertaining, and always put a spin on it that would turn into a learning opportunity. One time he gave us a lesson about the body and how it adapted in an anti gravity environment with jumping. He went on to tell us at the time he was using a weight stack attached to some mechanism in the ceiling to help offset his bodyweight while jumping. Well after 5 or 10 minutes of jumping (at least that’s what I remember) the weight stack broke from the ceiling and he fell down. His body was so used to weighing less that the sudden abrupt change in gravity was too much for his muscle and tendons to handle so he collapsed. Thus a lesson in golgi tendon-muscle spindle relationships and how the body adapts to the environment. An awesome story on specificity of training and why you may NOT want to make sudden and abrupt changes in peoples training programs which could lead to injuries. Sound familiar Tribesters? That story has stuck with me for years and has taught me certainly how to tweak peoples program progressions safely. And maybe this story has lead him to the knowledge of creating specific medical and training medical equipment such as the ZUNI and the Newton Speed Trainer, etc… for those of you that are PT’s or former clients certainly know what I am talking about

The PURPOSE of this rant by me is to reiterate to never lose sight of your purpose and goals. Always have a plan and work toward it. Sometimes you are successful and sometimes not. Even after 20 years, Kelsey still is after that quest of dunking a basketball. I am not sure if he has been successful even 1 time, but the point is he is still working toward it and has a plan and has obviously created many other “fringe” benefits along the way. And with that, certainly practicing what he preaches and has my respect of never losing sight of the prize. So DK, have you dunked a basketball? Or at least a tennis ball?

So my question to all of you Tribesters, what is your plan and purpose? Has it worked out? Any unforeseen benefits on the way?

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