Have you ever felt good about yourself, then looked at Instagram, and instantly your mood shifted? Social media has a crazy ability to shatter any ounce of self-confidence you have. The girls we see look flawless, from their freshly painted toes, to their airbrushed skin. Not to mention their bodies! How can someone have perfectly toned abs, a sculpted booty, and awesome legs? The truth is, most of them don’t – not without hard work at least.
What Instagram neglects to mention is how much hard work a lot of these ladies put in. Abs don’t form overnight, and their glutes have certainly seen hundreds of squats. None of this process is pretty, or even glamorous. It takes sweat, and lots of it. What I’ve learned from going to the gym is that it takes TIME! I’m the type of person that loves to see results, and if I don’t have a six pack after an hour gym session then… what am I doing? 3 months later, and lots of falling “off the wagon”, I’m finally starting to see a difference within my body.
Now by no means do I have a six pack, or a JLo booty, but definitely a change. This change only happened because I overcame the many mental challenges I faced. When people say “the gym is all mental”, it’s true! If you can commit your mind to these challenges, then your body will follow. You might not realize how much of a difference it makes physically, but you will feel so much better. Working out gives you this feeling of improvement, and empowerment. Especially as a female.
The bodies of females are constantly criticized, ridiculed, and down right neglected. When we allow the media to decide how we should feel, or how we should look, our bodies are being stripped of its power. They are no longer “ours”, but the image that others project us to be. Whether that’s ‘too fat’, or ‘too skinny’, we’re automatically unhealthy and imperfect. The gym cancels that out completely. If you’re able to feel healthy, then the image of yourself will once again become your own. You will come to realize that your body is special, and can’t be placed into the box that society deems fit. This once again relates to the mental challenges that the gym poses. Once you overcome them, you’ll find a whole new you.
Dream bodies aren’t going to be achieved by the press of a button, and they won’t exactly look like those of fitness gurus, but they will come about through effort. You will find your dream body both physically and mentally when you commit yourself to the process of hard work. Not only will you love the skin you’re in more, but you will love the empowerment that comes with it. So get out there, and don’t look at those Instagram models with envy, but with appreciation, because that’s one hard-working woman!