The Fitness Fallacy.
In order for strength training to truly become something everyone will participate in and understand that they must do throughout the entirety of their life, a major perception shift must take place.
We have to turn back the clock and once again look at the process of becoming strong, getting fit, and exercising not solely as a means to a better-looking body, but as a critical life-supporting activity that enhances our health, our resilience, our vitality, our youth and the very quality of our existence.
Somewhere throughout the history of the past 100 years, the public perception of fitness and strength training became completely convoluted.
In the early 1900s, those who took their involvement in physical culture seriously were relatively rare but the lifestyle of the time was more than adequate to keep those who didn’t, the average Joe or Jane very fit from the view that they were typically strong, capable and by most standards healthy.
People of the era who did engage in physical training rarely if ever did so out of the desire to look good for a wedding or their 20-year high school reunion. They trained to become Stronger and more skillful in use of their physical capacities so that they could perform at a higher level in their given profession, whether they were a carpenter, a farmer, a soldier, a caregiver, a homemaker, a mother, or even a stockbroker or salesman …They understood that having a strong, healthy body made them better at anything they had to do, a strong body meant they could better meet life’s challenges and thrive in the face of hardship. Having an enviable physique was merely a by-product of the efforts they put forth in pursuit of physical health.
Fast forward 40 or so years, and the fascination with the aesthetics of a strong body becomes more prevalent as Hollywood’s early stars displayed magnificent-looking bodies on the screen and for the first time, millions of people were exposed to these idealized body images. It was still very novel but the stage was set for what was to come.
Little by little, the idea of training for the purposes of health and strength, resilience and usefulness was overshadowed by training to look good, and while there is absolutely nothing wrong with training with that goal in mind, I too enjoy a nice-looking physique and am proud of the one I have built but the focus on vanity has unfortunately prevented many millions or even billions of people from ever even considering lifting a weight. The comparison trap is quite powerful and if all you see of fitness and strength is something you think is unattainable, you will shut down your efforts.
After the 1960s, when a young man named Arnold hit the scene, all bets were off…Weight lifting and strength training became forever bound to bodybuilding and the very idea of what “fit” looks like changed in the American psyche forever as 22-inch guns, a chiseled 8-pack, massive pecs, and tight little butts became the new “picture of health “ and our obsession with the mirror and the reflection in it came to define “ fitness”...
This was a turning point and to this day it remains a MASSIVE PROBLEM.
From Arnold and Franco to Jane Fonda, Rich Piana, The Rock, the entire cast of Jersey Shore, and the now endless stream of “fitness influencers “ online…the saga continues.
If we believe that the only purpose of exercise is to look good on the beach, and it’s all these people preach and what advertisers sell us, we are completely missing the point.
The reality is, that there was nothing healthy about many of these icons who helped to instill this image in the collective consciousness. There are certainly exceptions but especially in today’s world where performance-enhancing drug use is rampant with “fitness models” dropping dead at 22 years old, pumped full of illicit substances, vanity, ego, and narcissism, it is clear that health was never a priority…and we can’t blame them. It is what the industry and the consumers demand because again, we got ourselves attached to the superficial.
Research study after countless research studies have shown just how impactful physical exercise and in particular strength training is in preventing, reducing, and mitigating many age-related health conditions including metabolic syndrome, osteopenia, type II diabetes, cognitive decline, frailty, and loss of independence. In youth, training builds confidence, improves self-esteem, and teaches one the value of hard work and how to reach goals. As you enter your 30s and early 40s, being physically active helps you be a better parent, you can be more involved in a child’s life when you are energetic and strong, you can enjoy more activities together with your children and connect with them more deeply. Training through all phases of life helps you combat the effects of anxiety, depression, fear, and stress when all of the demands of being a parent, building a career, and getting your finances in order are all piling on.
There is SO, SO much more to Strength training than what meets the average eye. It’s not about being a meathead, a beach babe, or insta-famous.
Training for strength is life enrichment. It is protection from many of life’s less desirable conditions and outcomes, it is a tool to learn about these amazing bodies our creator gave us and realize through the physical, how to engage the mental, emotional, and spiritual best of ourselves.
Being strong is being kind to yourself and others, being strong and fit is being useful and helpful, and being strong is being loving, peaceful, content, courageous, independent, and free. These should be the goals and driving motivators for getting strong, fit, and taking care of your health.
When you meet a truly fit person, you know it in the way they carry themself, and the way they interact with the world and those around them. You will recognize a person not only strong in body and mind but of character. Real Strength makes you a better Human being and that is why Strength training IS FOR EVERYONE and why EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE STRONG.
Everyone does not need to be bulked up, shredded , ripped jacked or whatever idiotic catch phrase they’re using this month. Strong people come in many forms so forget about the image the fitness industrial complex is selling you, resist the fallacy. Focus on yourself and becoming stronger today than you were yesterday and you will be on your way to becoming the person the World needs you to be.
Stay Strong, Stay Supple- Coach Q.
