[This article was originally published in UEA’s student newspaper, Concrete.]
What do you think about when you look back on being thirteen? Embarrassing haircuts? The emo phase you grew out of or continued for the unforeseen future? Or, perhaps a humiliating crush? In my case, it’s the anxiety I had around wanting to lose weight, and wanting to lose it fast. To have the perfect body, instead of one with stretch marks from going through puberty or bloating from periods and having endometriosis. I thought if I worked out hard enough in my room everyday I could one day look like someone else, someone pretty.
When girls are encouraged to exercise, we’re encouraged to lose weight and become thinner. It’s no wonder that by the time many girls get to secondary school, they lose interest in team sports or fitness, often out of anxiety surrounding body image issues. From a young age, we are encouraged to see exercise as punishment for eating cakes and biscuits, instead of a tool to aid our mental health and overall wellbeing. Unlike men, who are encouraged to become strong through strength-training, women are often looked down on for being ‘too manly’ or becoming ‘bulky’ if they begin weightlifting.
You may think I’m exaggerating, but I myself was in this camp. When I started exercising around thirteen-fourteen doing home workout videos in my room, I often looked for exercises which claimed they would give me abs or slim down my legs. The idea of doing exercises to strengthen my shoulders or gain muscle in my legs would have scared me into thinking I would somehow gain weight or look too masculine. I was uneducated about strength training and the amazing effects it can have for women, and so I stuck to exercises which were ultimately ineffective and promoted unhealthy habits.
With the resurgence of pilates on apps such as TikTok, many have flocked to exercise classes in the belief that doing an hour of pilates each week will give them J-Lo’s body. I hate to break it to you, but that’s not the case. There is no miracle exercise or class that will transform your body in a matter of weeks. It is simply impossible, and anyone who tells you that you can gain abs or an hourglass figure in two weeks is lying to you. Young girls are being force-fed this kind of content across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok on a daily basis, repeatedly sold lies about magic exercises which will eradicate their stretch marks and cellulite whilst giving them a flat stomach.
Like many women globally, I am in the middle of being diagnosed with endometriosis – a chronic illness whereby I experience regular pelvic pain and menstrual-related flare ups. I have always found it hard to know which forms of exercise will be safe for me to practise. It has taken me years to experiment and to discover that yoga and weightlifting are the safest and most effective forms of exercise for me. Weightlifting, or strength-training in particular, is something I would encourage all women to try out. It is empowering to be able to walk into a gym or practise weightlifting at home, and to see your strength increase week by week.
As women, we often feel we are intruding in a male space by even entering the gym, and because of our menstrual cycles, we have to approach exercise in a different way. I want to see more women and young girls educated about how movement can be something enjoyable instead of something forced. Exercise should be a way for women to improve their wellbeing and strength, not just to fit into size zero jeans.
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