Freshers' Edition 2020

Page 14

FASHION AND BEAUTY At its core, body positivity is all about having a positive body image and trying not to concern yourself with Society’s view of what the perfect ideal body type is. Understandably this is difficult when the hourglass female body and males with bulging biceps and a six-pack are plastered all over social media. But with many people wanting to work on the physique for themselves and their own mental well-being, they will more than likely encounter the gym, which can come with its own set of body positivity hurdles.

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Simply put, gyms do promote ideal body types for males and females that are all over social platforms and in magazines, and so it can be difficult to feel as body-positive as you could when you are trying to work up a sweat and reach your personal fitness goals. And because of this, gyms can be one of the most daunting environments to be in. With tons of strong-looking people in every direction, squatting, benching and lifting super heavy weights, it is not surprising that ‘gymtimidation’ is an actual thing and it gets in the way of many people from being as confident as they can be whilst working out. Therefore it is really important to not lose sight of what you joined the gym for and how you are going to achieve your personal fitness goals, rather than associating the gym environment as somewhere that you don’t fit in. This is sometimes easier said than done, especially when the encouraging posters and personal trainers

about the place are typical representations of the ‘body goals’ that you are attempting to ignore. Avoiding making any comparisons between you and others in the gym will make a substantial difference to your own body confidence when you are doing your workout. As tempting as it is, not checking yourself to other people’s physiques, routines or techniques will have a massive positive impact on your body confidence as you can focus on your own progress.

HOW TO FEEL BODY PO This can be considerably difficult to do as a beginner at the gym. No matter what your gym goals are, as a beginner you are only just starting out and will not see results overnight. Therefore being bombarded with ‘perfect’ bodies all over the gym can be very disheartening and, from experience, set you back.

A good way to keep your body positivity up whilst you are on your fitness journey is keeping a picture log of you progress. No this doesn’t mean taking a dreaded gym selfie. By keeping a personal log of your progress it will help you to understand

“Dropping the pressur put on yourself will rea confidence yo


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