Yesterday Rebecca Holman wrote in the Telegraph about how she hates exercising and how even though she’s getting stronger, she cannot stand the extra ‘bulk’ she’s gained.
… I realised that doing more exercise has made me better at running up hills and touching my toes, yes, but it’s also made me put on five kilos, and go up two dress sizes from sheer increased bulk. Which was entirely the opposite reason for why I was doing it. …
I was going to let this nonsense go and not rant about it. Cathy already wrote a great post about it, her feelings about this are exactly mine AND exactly those of so many other women who have actually found the sport that they LOVE to do, who are NOT obsessed with how their bodies (or anyone else’s) look and who love what their bodies can DO and don’t give a rat’s ass about whether the Whole Wide World think they are bikini ready or not.
As I said, I was going to let it go but then I flipped open this morning’s Times Magazine and read Lesley Thomas’ “My get fit kit”. Other than the ridiculous tip to put conditioner in your hair while doing Bikram (who the hell wants conditioner running into their eyes along with all the sweat?!?), she is yet another woman who exercises even though she hates it:
At this point I’m going to swear in all caps: FOR FUCK’S SAKE, WOMEN, FIND A SPORT THAT YOU LOVE AND STOP TORTURING YOURSELF WITH EXERCISE THAT YOU HATE!
Fitness / sport / exercise is a beautiful thing. It can be so empowering, so exhilarating, so exciting, SO MUCH FUN. Just freaking find what you love!
Life is too short to sweat away at the treadmill if you hate it just because you want to be bikini ready (even though NO ONE ELSE will actually care whether your hips are a few cms smaller or larger than they are in the winter).
There are so many different types of exercise out there, try as many of them as it takes for you to find the one that puts a smile on your face.
20 Comments
JenJ
May 15, 2014 at 5:36 pmSo, so true! x
Muriel
May 12, 2014 at 1:19 pmI think that the only reason why she was bulking up is because she was stuffing her face at the same time. I can’t see any other explanation, really.
G
May 11, 2014 at 11:14 pmLove this! Hating exercise but doing it because you desire to have a certain appearance is soul-sucking, it’s so much better to find something you love to do.
Laura
May 11, 2014 at 5:51 pm*standing ovation*
MrsB
May 11, 2014 at 8:48 pmNothing revolutionary here! 🙂 I actually saw a great quote today: “If tomorrow, women woke up and decided they really liked their bodies, just think how many industries would go out of business.”
— Dr. Gail Dines (via thatkindofwoman)
Laura
May 12, 2014 at 8:41 amIt’s not revolutionary but it’s not very often expressed! And that’s so right about the diet industry – it relies on women hating themselves.
Busy. - Diary of a Newbie StrongWomen
May 11, 2014 at 5:28 pm[…] how she hates exercising and the cost and wanted to scream then this is the blog post for you Warning: this post is about women and fitness but it includes swearing . As you can imagine my take on it is start exercising for yourself, use your old t-shirts to […]
QueenofBiscuits
May 11, 2014 at 5:02 pmWarning: this post is about women and fitness but it includes swearing – http://t.co/DqBkvDHwFO http://t.co/dTpXKbW7O0
MrsB_LDN
May 11, 2014 at 8:45 pm@QueenofBiscuits Thank you for sharing 🙂
Jenn
May 11, 2014 at 12:09 pmNicely said.
Kay Steen
May 11, 2014 at 6:32 amKay Steen liked this on Facebook.
Azra Zakir
May 11, 2014 at 6:32 amAzra Zakir liked this on Facebook.
Azra Zakir
May 11, 2014 at 4:12 amI don’t understand how the first writer has bulked up and gone up two dress sizes by exercising? She might be developing muscle tone and getting stronger but at the same time, she’ll be shedding fat by exercising. Two dress sizes is quite substantial and you’d need to be doing some serious body building to achieve that!
MrsB
May 11, 2014 at 12:55 pmThat is weird indeed. I have gained 5kg in the last few years but have not gone up in dress size.
Triin_Sikk
May 11, 2014 at 4:01 amWomen and training, Couldn’t agree more: http://t.co/gNw9rmnkOw
MrsB_LDN
May 11, 2014 at 12:55 pm@Triin_Sikk Thanks for spreading the word 🙂
nylonruns
May 10, 2014 at 11:41 am@MrsB_LDN well said!
lizpharoah
May 10, 2014 at 10:06 am@MrsB_LDN another great blog post 🙂
kat_walk01
May 10, 2014 at 10:04 am@MrsB_LDN This post is amazing! So very well said!
jbeccx
May 10, 2014 at 9:55 am@MrsB_LDN Too bloody right. Well said!