Workout Culture & An Apology

Let’s take a quick moment to call out workout culture and what mainstream media has turned it into - 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. The hundreds of benefits that working out and exercise have on the body and mind have fallen to the wayside and been replaced by this desire to lose weight.

Let me tell you right now, if you workout only to lose weight, that’s your main goal and you don’t place an importance on any of the other benefits, nor choose to see those things as progress, you will forever continue on this yo-yo on/off love/hate relationship with working out and miss out on all the amazing things exercise can do for your body.

𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. I became a personal trainer to help people move better without pain. Show them what their body is capable of doing, build their confidence and self-esteem. Motivate them to show up for themselves. Inspire them to take better care of their bodies.

When I first came into the fitness world though, I did become consumed by the rhetoric, the lingo, how I was taught to sell training. Promising people that I could help them lose the weight they wanted quickly. Promising them I could help them look like their celebrity inspiration. 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 that I just looked at you and nodded as you’d grab parts of you that you didn’t like and said you wanted to change. 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 to everyone that sat in front of me and bought sessions in the hopes they’d look like someone else. 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 I didn’t place enough emphasis on the many other benefits of exercise so you could understand how good it is for you. 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 if I didn’t tell you that you were perfect the way you were, in that moment. 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒂 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚.

The rhetoric we see in a lot of the fitness world right now, “𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝟑𝟎 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬,” “𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭,” “𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤,” “𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲,” “𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠,” is detrimental to the entire industry and community. An industry that SHOULD and is MEANT to help you stay healthy and feel good above all else. Not feed off of your insecurities and vulnerabilities. 

So, in an effort to change that rhetoric a bit, I want to list some reasons to workout and exercise that have absolutely nothing to do with losing weight and everything to do with doing what’s best for you and your health.

• Pain free living

• Stress relief

• Decrease depression and anxiety

• Be able to go hiking with your friends and not stop

• Increase sex drive

• Increase energy throughout the day

• Be able to play with your kids longer

• Decrease fear when doing certain activities

• Decrease risk of disease

• Increase cardiovascular health, stronger heart and lungs

• Improve sleep

• Increase flexibility

• Prove to yourself you can do anything you set your mind on by creating lifting goals, movement goals, time goals, etc

• Make friends

• Build a community

• Decrease bone fragility, stronger bones

• Decrease risk of injury, stronger muscles

• Balance hormones

I can list so much more, but you get the idea.

Find a way to move that feels good to you, and do that consistently.

---

Hi, I’m Azul Corajoria, an Integrative Health Coach, Personal Trainer & Yoga Instructor. I support my clients in making step-by-step changes so that they can live a healthy and balanced life. By recognizing the interdependent roles of mindset, nutrition, and movement I educate and hold my clients accountable for achieving their health goals through lifestyle and behavior adjustments with an emphasis on self-care. Together, we navigate the contradictory world of nutrition through intuitive eating, practice mindful movement, and implement small mindset and lifestyle shifts that empower them to be their best selves in the easiest way possible.