“Fitness”—what is it? Of course, a body with six-pack abs and visible veins. I'd respond to those six to eight years ago. With limitless access to thousands of social media accounts and websites, the fitness sector has expanded its reach. Our fascination with the "ideal physique" leads us to start imitating Bollywood superstars, social media influencers, and models. We also come to believe that someone with the "ideal physique" is the fittest of all. Growing up in the 1990s, I was in admiration of Salman Khan's physique and dreamed of a physique similar to his. As time went on, I came to the realization that no matter how hard I worked, my body may not look the same as his. The bulk of fitness enthusiasts nowadays aspire to have a body similar to that of their ideal bodybuilders and social media stars. However, people like me are unable to distinguish between real life and the real life of our idols. Consequently, our motivation fades away and give up on our objectives.
The topic of conversation today is not how to keep up motivation or how to get a "Certified" physique in less than a month. A broad assessment of "why we shouldn't just follow the trend to get an ideal body getting influenced by social media" will be presented.
The term "fitness" describes the state of being in good physical as well as mental health. Cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and endurance, body composition, and flexibility are all factors in fitness (for additional information, see Dr. Thomas Cohn's blog post, "What does it mean to be Physically fit?"). We are aware of a variety of sports to stay in shape. Sports like bodybuilding and callisthenics are very familiar and can improve an individual's strength, mass, and overall fitness. People make the mistake of equating these sports with fitness here. These are only another way, like other athletic activities, to build general fitness.
Not everyone who is fit has a six-pack:
Get your abs in 15 days or less. And that is insufficient. Some shorts and videos promise we will have abs in just one week. The majority of fitness influencers' social media thumbnails feature vascularity and abs. And it's obvious, after watching those, we realize each and every time that this is the video/short that I was searching for.
In the modern fitness sector, being aesthetically fit is a prerequisite for certification. Because of this, we are easily influenced by social media influencers. Both mental and physical health are components of fitness. A person with good body definition and abs can be considered aesthetically physically fit. That does not, however, result in an overall fitness. Our celebrities and influencers have mainstreamed aesthetic body types. Having a body like that may not always be advantageous. Due to severe hip and back problems, bodybuilding icon Ronnie Coleman is currently unable to walk. He has won Mr. Olympia titles eight times over his career and now, in his 60s, he is wheelchair-dependent. The list of instances will continue.
Influencers are might not trainers:
What qualifies someone as a trainer?
The initial standard We'll insist that they have a certificate. Indeed, they ought to have. But in addition to a certificate, individuals often require other things. If somebody possesses theoretical knowledge but never works on cars, practically, they cannot be considered a car mechanic. The same applies to the trainers. In addition to a certificate, the years of practice turned them into a trainer. You have to know all the muscles and joints, how they work in each exercise or many things. A trainer is made after experimenting with bodies with exercises. Even though they might seem suitable, influencers may lack the knowledge or skills necessary to instruct others. in their videos, they recommend doing certain workouts as those working on them. That does not imply that you will benefit from the same workout. Undoubtedly, these influencers changed their physical appearance through basic training programs, but it only gave them the knowledge of what was ideal for them and not for others. That isn't the case with a trainer, who knows which exercises are appropriate for different people.
You may not get the body as you ideal:
Every person is unique from the others in both their physical and mental makeup. Genetics and metabolism play important roles in determining your body type, size, and degree of fitness. That's why some people's exercise regimens may not work for others. On the other hand, not everyone will have the same level of success as other exercise regimes. People lose motivation as a result and fail to achieve the objectives. Imitating someone else's routine might lead to harm as well, which will exacerbate mental health issues. One could find a variety of advanced training methods in social media. Exercises that are performed without understanding the foundations and basics of physical training have a negative impact on our bodies.
Once you understand how to shift gears in a vehicle, you can do so at the appropriate pace. Likewise with the exercises. After you understand the fundamentals, you can change the exercises or see which ones are more beneficial for your body.
And last, there is no shortcut:
Seeing celebrities' toned bodies inspires us and makes us crave a body similar to theirs. However, we don't have a lot of time to invest. Subsequently, we discovered on YouTube that some superstars took only six months or less to prepare their bodies for their upcoming projects. On the other hand, we found YouTube videos and Instagram clips that were meant to teach us how to be shredded just in a month. We tried and tried. Did not receive the outcome within a month. Feeling unmotivated, thus quit the work.
The majority of us who don't meet the requirements for celebrity status ought to think about how useful their habit is. Models and celebrities are compensated for being shredded, or so their profession requires. What about us? We are regular people. Neither our area of work requires nor does it pay us for having a defined body. Do you flaunt your abs and biceps when you're at work? Think about yourself.
Your physique takes time to shape. The outcome varies according to how much time is spent exercising and what you eat. However, there isn't a shortcut. Along with other things, practice is something you must invest in. Taking a shortcut could potentially have long-term negative effects on one's health.
If it functions properly, an enthusiast can try any kind of sports activity to keep their fitness. Making a defined body is not the only option to be fit. Visible abs or exposed veins are not necessary for someone to have a fit body. The unrealistic body size standards of photo-shopped models or celebrities will lead to needless comparisons if you follow them blindly. Furthermore, we may feel unsatisfied with our body type in the majority of situations, which further erodes our self-esteem. Before deciding on an exercise program that suits us, we must first understand our bodies. That is something we can discover on our own, which is beneficial; if not, we have trainers for us—not role models or influencers.
(The author is an elephant biologist and project officer with the WWF-India. All views and opinions expressed are the author’s own).