Does Fitspiration Really Inspire You To Be Fitter?

Whether you agree that it does so in a good way or not, fitspiration should surely be judged mainly on whether it does what it says on the tin. Does it actually inspire people to get fitter?

Fitspiration presents effort as both demanded and endless. You must make it, and keep making it. Push through those boundaries! Drive onward! That thing saying you should stop, because it hurts and you’re tired? That’s your mind, not your body! Work harder!

I personally find that kind of "Full Metal Jacket" school of inspiration entertaining. But taken as actual advice, it’s absolutely terrible.

If You’re Tired, Take A Break

If it burns and you’re tired, you’re working at an intensity that means your risk of injury is elevated. Don’t just keep banging out reps because some picture on the internet said you’re a loser if you don’t.

Bruce Lee once famously said, "If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." Rarely is this quote finished. Bruce said this while running in LA with a friend and the quote ends, "if it kills you, it kills you." Bruce Lee dropped dead less than three years later. I’m not saying Bruce’s death is funny, but it does suggest that even if you’re a preternaturally gifted and incredibly driven athlete it’s a bit risky. If you’re just trying to drop a few pounds, maybe you should ease off a bit.

It also shows off its ugly associations with thinspiration by presenting wildly unhealthy attitudes as good, and normalising them in the process.

OK. I do martial arts, and a lot of the stuff we do looks weird or downright silly to the outsider. When you read about the level of effort and dedication even amateur boxers, nak muay or BJJ players (I’m not any of these, by the way, but I take my hat off to those who are) have to put in, it does make you think your own training is pretty ropy. But here’s the thing: that’s the price for what they want. It’s not necessarily a good thing in itself to train six hours a day. If you’re presented with a choice between being "lazy" and being "obsessed", why wouldn’t you just stay away?

Just doing what you need to do to be fit and healthy isn’t bad, it isn’t evidence of moral weakness and it doesn’t mean that you lack the self-discipline to consider your body the enemy. It also doesn’t need the constant irrational reinforcement of fitspiration delivered to your social media a zillion times a day; life-changing results can come in just a few hours of sensible training a week, and you don’t have to spend them "overcoming all obstacles" or powering through fatigue (and into mental health problems, torn ligaments and ruined cardiovascular health).

See Also: HIIT Training Works To Improve Your Stamina

Fitspiration isn’t really all that inspiring most of the time, and it comes loaded with some pretty unpleasant baggage. Drop it, and just get healthy instead.

If you like what I've said here, or you've got a bone to pick, get hold of me in the comments section below!