WHEN GYM WON’T FIX IT
Most women have it, even if we don’t admit it. Hands upwho has put off buying that gym membership until we’re fit – and most importantly thin enough – to show off our bodies? Yes, ridiculous as it sounds, few of us are confident enough to tackle our muffin top or work out in a public gym for the fear of being judged.
The list of daunting excuses not to go are endless: we’re scared of the gym junkies thinking we’re fat (even if we are, it’s the reason we’re there, for goodness’ sake!), the trainers, the equipment or the very tight kit that clings to all the curves we’re trying to lose. It’s a phenomenon whose name I probably should have coined, because I’ve always suffered from gymtimidation. And I’m far from alone.
Nearly half of women – a staggering 47 per cent – suffer from such low self-esteem, from being bombarded by selfies and unrealistic images of the perfect body, that they believe they’re not good enough to belong to a gym. Thanks to Photoshopped pictures of celebrities, advertising campaigns and selfies taken from flattering angles with filters, we normalise looks we can’t possibly hope to achieve. ‘It is the same sort of culture,’ says one expert, ‘that makes young people anorexic.’
It’s dangerous, especially in a country with an obesity and diabetes problem where we need to get and keep in shape for the sake of our health. Luckily, our special report on
page 34 gives expert advice on how to tackle your fear of the gym so you won’t find it so intimidating.
Letme know what you think of this feature and the rest of the issue. Until next week,
ThelistofEXCUSESnottogotothegymareENDLESS: we’rescaredof gymJUNKIESthinkingwe’reFAT(it’swhywe’rethere, forgoodness’ sake!), theEQUIPMENTortheTIGHTkitthatCLINGStothecurves