A few weeks ago, I have started to work out at home by subscribing to YouTube fitness channels. If you are already familiar with the basic ideas of exercise duration, form, posture and intensity, these instructional videos do offer a much cheaper alternative to expensive gym memberships and proves to be very useful on the days when I feel like saving travelling time to the gym and instead focus on the actual exercise routine itself.
Fitness industry is one of the fastest growing economy in the world right now, reaching a total revenue of $78.17B as per the latest Statista reports. Apart from the usual proliferation of gyms, trained instructors, online fitness websites and startups like Jawbone or Fitmob, every apparel store now-a-days has a special fitness section, sporting everything from Zumba capris in bright fluorescent green to skin tight pants meant for Yoga. You may have just done fine wearing your pyjamas while working out at home, but the clothes are intentionally marketed to make you believe that buying these ‘comfortable’ clothes will make your workout more effective. By the way, this trend is present in India also. The number of neighborhood auntys taking a stroll in the nearby greenbelt wearing a casual salwar-kurta and sneakers is decreasing.
I admit that the online workout videos can be very effective. But I could not help noticing the way only super-fit models with extremely toned abs, pecs and glutes were used to demonstrate those exercises. Most of them would put the size zero Bollywood actresses to shame not because they are thin but because they have the ideal toned look which every woman desires. Here lies the problem. In the guise of trying to promote fitness, the workouts instead send out the wrong notion that exercise is meant for fit people only. Superfit models, coupled with tantalizing close-up shots of sweat dripping from their backs while she is showing off an expensive tank top provides the perfect ingredient for what I call ‘Exercise Porn’. Some of you may be already familiar with the word “Food Porn”, which consists of these numerous Pinterest photos of dal-chawal taken from ludicrous angles and exorbitant amount of time of effort spent in adjusting the ‘mood’ lighitng. These sort of sensationalization fit into the other definition of ‘Porn’ which I Googled: “Television programs, magazine, books, etc. that are regarded as emphasizing the sensuous or sensational aspects of a nonsexual subject and stimulating a compulsive interest in their audience.”
If we open our eyes to any gym, we do not see models working out. Instead we see the fifty year old man trying to train for a marathon, we might see a young mother getting back in shape after her recent childbirth, we see the teenager attempting Yoga in order to deal with her asthma problem. None of them are in designer clothes, but all of them are high on motivation that is the key not only to a successful workout but also maintaining the overall quality of life. They are the people who tells us that exercise is not meant for fit people, rather exercise is the way to become fit people. It is okay to be aware of the fitness trends, but the practitioners should take very health advice with a pinch of salt and common sense.
kheyalkhushi 