Vain is not a four letter word. ( But we need to start calling it by its name)

Are you working out to achieve a certain look, perhaps mimic a certain celebrity, or wanting to fit into a certain clothing size? 

Then congratulations you are working out for the sake of vanity!  Be proud of it own it,  because while it is not a popular word it describes 90% of the health and fitness industry.  Vanity sells ab trainers, supplements, and magazines. Also another 90% of these things  become a coat rack, expensive pee, and filler for the recycling bin.  

When a client mentions that they want to lose fat, have a body like (insert celeb here), or enlarge specific muscle groups  I say that vanity is motivating them and watch them back track immediately. ( and also unnecessarily) 

No,no they say I want to lose weight to be healthier.  (As a note there is little to no evidence that "fat" really affects "health")  But that is another blog post. 

You want to work out for vanity, fantastic lets hit that road!  You want to look a certain way? Lets hit it hard and drop those pounds, build that muscle, and fit into those clothes.   But we aren't going to shy away from the word. We are not going to pretend that we are not putting the icing on the cupcake of your body.   

Because I am the bubble popper  I am going to lay out three common traps that are going to pop up for you. Because if you are  working out for vanity you are going to need to know these. 

TIME: Throw out every page and article that promises abs in 7 weeks or killer arms in a month.  It is click bait that is almost immediately followed up by a product to buy.  If your still reading via magazines they want those subscription dollars.  They don't care about you or your results.  People looking to achieve immediate gains  most likely didn't give themselves enough time to achieve them.  Think about if you are trying to fit into a new pair of pants before your high school reunion. Every story you actually hear about is a rush job and usually ends up being ok but not great.  Time is your friend not your enemy utilize it properly. 

Genetics:  These are tricky and you have ( at the moment )  zero control over them.  Body type, muscle proportion, pre disposed weight all play a factor in working out with vanity as the motivator. Some of these things you can not change.  Muscle insertion and origination points for example, that dictate the shape and form/ function of the muscle and thus its appearance.   ( Notice I did not say strength.  We aren't talking strength we are taking vanity and shape)   

Comparison:  While there are other places to get stuck  comparison is the big green monster. It is where vanity becomes dangerous as a motivator.  Primarily because you don't have all the information.  Any article I have read only gives me the first week or two of that celeb/ fitness model/ bodybuilder workout. Primarily because  it is pretty hard to begin with and the next eight months of absolute SUCK they endure to look like a spartan is more a nightmare than a dream.  So who wants to buy a nightmare? No one ! It is much easier to sell the dream and then have you blame yourself when the dream does not come to fruition. Two if they gave you the whole thing what would you buy next month? In reality they bet that you will move on to the next big thing next month and move on.

Lets give you all the information. Prepare to peek behind the Curtain of the mighty OZ; be prepared to be disappointed.   

Time: These individuals make a living off of looking BETTER than everyone else. It is written into a contract that they will  Look like ( insert body type)  and they will look like it by (insert Date) and they will look like that until (insert date 2) They sign a legally binding contract and turn themselves over to professionals who will make them achieve that goal.  The day is set up a certain way, they will eat a certain thing, and they will achieve.  

Genetics: These people are usually down this path because of their genetics in the first place.  No one wanted to look like Chris Pratt in Parks and Rec.  But lets call it what it is he is  pretty tall and was attractive to begin with. But, give that man a flattering hair cut and a year of working out to be STAR-LORD and he is on the cover of MENs HEALTH cross armed and showing off his photoshopped biceps and tight shirt.  Scarlet Johansson has always looked like Scarlet Johansson without the tight leather of Black Widow.  Genetics folks. 

Comparisons: People do not look like this all the time.  Body Builders, Fitness models, Celebrities you are only seeing snapshots of their fitness levels on days they think they look their best.  Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook .. no one posts a photo that they think looks horrible. Professionals getting paid to make people look good edit the heck out out of them to get paid.  That is the problem with comparison you only get snapshots of success.   Oh and there is a whole other blog on the steroid problem in hollywood and why you should be more than aware of it.   Feel free to google images of Hugh Jackman then and now. But for now let's leave that as the last reason you should stop comparing yourself to  SO and SO. 

Lets wrap this up with some caring words here.

There is nothing wrong with working out for vanity. You will get some health benefits and you can achieve some wonderful things.  Don't shy away from the word or the concept. Own it and balance it out with a solid foundation of self esteem and feeling good about who you are.  

REFIT couldn't exist without our clients. Feel free to check out the rest of the site and if you like what we are about feel free to visit our Facebook Twitter or Instagram for more content. If you think that REFIT might be a good fit for you to train with send us an email or a phone call and we can give you more information on how to get started.  

Christopher 

REthink REtrain REsults