Thursday, October 2, 2014

For or Against: The Case of Fitspo

We're working under the assumption that you know what "fitspo" (short for "fitspiration") is - but if not, in short, fitspo is images of active, strong, and fit women that promote proper exercise and diet; it may also include images healthy foods or motivational words. Sounds pretty good, right? Sounds like awesome visual motivation, yeah? Wellllll....a quick Google search would lead you to think it's the exact opposite; that it is sent from the depths of hell to ruin us all. Go ahead and look, we'll wait...





In researching for this post, it was honestly virtually impossible to find anything of good substance that made a case FOR fitspo....which lead to some second-guessing of our own thoughts/feelings on the subject. You see,we both operate under the assumption that there is some good fitspo out there and that as originally created, it was made with good intention. Are we naive? Maybe so....but people could (and probably do) consider our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages fitspo.

Could we get into a huge, lofty, philosophical argument on the dark side of fitspo? Sure. And we completely recognize that we sometime see things labeled as fitspo on social media, Pinterest, etc. and cringe. Things most could consider demeaning to women, memes insulting one fitness activity in favor of another (you know the "Zumba? Bitch, I Crossfit" one...), etc.

But, how about making a case for fitspo?

How about acknowledging that a lot of folks are visually motivated?

Can't there be all forms of fitspo? Not every person finds the same body type a goal, attainable, etc.



P.S. - they are all showing skin because they're all gorgeous and wanted to,
but fitspo doesn't have to be in revealing clothes. And we used all women
as example since most fitspo is geared to that sex.


And can one be one's own fitspo, i.e., getting back to when one felt the best/most healthy?

All in all, we think when used for good, fitspo can be a good, healthy thing! And as with most things....when used for evil, it has the potential to be seriously detrimental.

We are REALLY curious about your thoughts - please comment below!

In Health,

Lindsay and Tim