If you’re reading this and you have ever used the hashtag #motivation, take a moment to think on that post and consider if it was something that would have motivated you when you were first starting out on your own fitness journey.
In my humble opinion, I think the fitspo currently filling our timelines is incredibly unmotivating. It’s the individual’s method of ego boosting, and if that makes said ‘fitness influencer’ feel better for posting it, then that becomes a totally different agenda. As a fast growing, incredibly powerful community which is arguably pushing one of the world’s most important and longstanding agendas, why are those with power not taking the opportunity to change the world?
It’s not real
Be real, humans respond to what they can relate to. Fake, perfect moments, photoshopped pictures and videos don’t allow us to connect with influencers and set our own goals.
Acknowledge difference in priorities
‘It’s not fitness, it’s lifestyle’ – no mate, its your lifestyle, it’s simply one part of mine and my personal goals. Making me feel that if I don’t dedicate every breathing moment towards my physique then I won’t achieve anything, is not motivational. I want to be a good boss, a good boyfriend and I want to feel good physically and mentally. These are MY priorities but they are not everybody’s. Difference should be praised and encouraged.
The rise of Zyzz and co – anti performance
I don’t want to be a douche bag, I want to be me – just maybe with better abs. The aesthetics ‘crew’ now make me feel like that’s bundled together with idiocy. It’s as if the rest of the world will associate a guy in ‘good shape’ with that kind of bullshit simply because he works out and takes pride is his appearance. Note the rise of the dadbod* for this exact reason. Girls don’t want to be with a guy that is so into himself, and thanks to ego-fed testosterone driven marketing, these things have become synonymous, which only demotivates those looking to join the fitness buzz.
Faddy Marketing
When I was just a kid throwing dumbbells around after rugby training, I’d literally study magazines full of fitness professionals pushing the next big thing in supplements. Worse yet, I’d buy into it, believing it was the ‘secret to gains’. These days it’s only getting worse, with the fitness industry pushing everything from teatox to super-hardcore-pre-workout all promising the same thing… abs. Let’s motivate by talking about the hours of hard work required to build a physique, the journey one takes from novice to pro, not the ‘quick fix’ fat burners.
Your workouts aren’t my workouts
Your heaviest ‘best’ set of curls isn’t how you got in incredible shape. We’re quick to copy, it’s human nature. This is only inviting injury or poor performance, while demotivating us as we aren’t throwing around the biggest weights in the gym every set. We are quick to find hope that if it works for one, it’s bound to work for the other but unfortunately this is not always the case. Fitness professionals may swear by a certain type of workout, but without their impressive background knowledge, specific macros and firm understanding of recovery their results would be nothing. Be aware of the context you are sharing, as well as the information.
‘Beast Mode’ is not the only mode
Let’s remember why we began this fitness journey. It wasn’t to become a beast, or capture the ‘gritted teeth, vein popping’ picture. It was to feel better, to be better, and ultimately live longer. To do that, us ‘followers’ need to feel motivated, inspired and educated, not alienated, confused and lost. We need tangible information, and to be inspired through informed and educated posts, those which come from experience and understanding, in order to reach someone who is working on their own set of goals, not mimicking yours.
Your content creates your audience
Robert Kegan, author and professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education, is at the forefront of stage development research and theory. He suggests when we move through our teenage years we are within the Egocentric Self, therefore we are motivated and attracted to the concept that acceptance and self love comes from working on yourself to impress others. If it’s teenagers and blokes who haven’t moved through to the socialized (reactive) or independent self that you would like to impress, then keep at it, but personally I think the fitness community can do better. It’s time the industry aimed to achieve more, by moving away from these cheap and easily influenced demographics, and moving towards motivating and helping real people achieve their real health and fitness goals in amongst their busy lives.
