Exercise and movement is important to looking after your mental and physical well being.
However, there is a lot of toxicity to be found within exercise and fitness environments, particularly when you tune in to some of the language used.
I’ve been enjoying working out and going to exercise classes at my gym for a while now but occasionally things are said there which I find unnecessary, unhelpful and plain off-putting. Exercise has so many glorious benefits and thus should be accessible to all, yet a significant barrier to that inclusivity is some of the language used.
These are some sayings I have frequently picked up on which I think need calling out and addressing within the exercise world:
“No pain no gain”
Hang on, why are we glorifying pain?
In most other instances, pain is a red flag, pointing out that something ought to be addressed and rectified!
Exercise may require us to be stretched outside of our comfort zone, and discomfort often marks progression. However, this saying fuels the attitude that exercise is a form of punishment for your body, which it should never be!
Pain may also be your body telling you to stop - that you’re burnt out, that you need to slow down or take it easy. Therefore to ignore it won’t be getting you any gains!
“Think of all that *insert food here* that you are burning off!”
Again, exercise shouldn't be a punishment of your body and comments such as these encourage feelings of guilt around eating.
Food is fuel! Food is vital for your body and in order to be strong, healthy and happy!
Comments about calorie burning implies that the main reason people are moving their bodies is to burn off food when there is much more to exercise than that.
“Rest days are a step backwards”
Resting doesn’t mean failure. Rest is an essential way for you to respect your boundaries and avoid burnout.
It is okay to take time off exercise, if that’s a day, a week, a month - if you don’t feel physically or mentally up for it, forcing yourself through won’t be fun. Movement should be enjoyable, or at least the after effects should be rewarding and positive.
Taking a break also does not invalidate previous exercise achievements. I used to run so much earlier in the year and I haven’t run for months now. That doesn’t mean that all of my personal achievements and the pleasure I got from that exercise was for nothing. If I feel inspired and motivated to go back to it again, I will! In the meantime I can still recognise how good that was for my mental health and fitness at the time while I focus on doing other sorts of movement now.
Most importantly, you deserve rest. And it enables your body to come back stronger!
“That’s X amount of calories that you’ve just burnt off”
Diet culture alarm bells!
We don’t need to base the value of exercise on how many calories it burns. Sayings like this can be so triggering. How about we consider that some people may not show up to move their body because they want to change how they look or lose weight? I find that this mentality is particularly centred around women, suggesting the only reason they would exercise is because of food guilt and body shame. I’m not here for that.
Why are so few people talking about how exercise can be an appreciation, or even a celebration, of all of your body’s brilliant capabilities?
I’m not motivated by diet culture, thank you very much.
“It doesn’t count if you’re not totally exhausted”
Sometimes it seems like there’s an exercise hierarchy with intense cardio at the top and less strenuous exercise like walking or yoga further down the ladder.
I call bullshit.
Certain exercise forms aren’t superior to others! If you love long walks, if you’re a pilates pro or you’re a gymnast, we shouldn’t be comparing and ranking some forms of exercise as better than others.
When we consider the mental health benefits of physical movement - all exercise is valid. It definitely all counts. If you’re mainly prioritising exercise that is very cardio intense, it may be worth checking in with yourself about whether you’re doing that sort of movement because you feel you ought to or because it is really what you enjoy and what makes you feel good.
I respect that we all respond to different motivations. Some people find a more brutal, tough love approach to exercise discourse is what allows them to move to the best of their ability, whereas others may need something different.
There is no right or wrong to the language people use and my thoughts here are my opinion not a dictation. Therefore if any of these sayings I have quoted are helpful to you - that is brilliant and worth holding on to. My intention in writing is to dissect some of the, perhaps unintentional, messages that come across here.
However, tapping into diet culture as a means to motivate seems inherently toxic to me. The societal obsession and fear of calories and weight gain urgently needs to change and therefore should be called out across the board.
By all means, assess the calories burned from a workout if you find that to be personally useful, but let’s not project the message that people should want to exercise in order to burn away meals and change their appearance, because this assumption isn’t always true!
There are so many joys of exercise - how about we centre our mindset on that rather than encouraging food guilt and body shame.
We should all feel able to care for and honour our bodies in whatever way works best for us. Unfortunately attitudes towards fitness, and exercise environments themselves, aren’t always advertised in a way that makes them inclusive or accessible. As ever, I feel conversation and language is one of many keys to opening up these doors.
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