Body Image and Workouts

Research says that the exercise women select may contribute to attitudes about their bodies. Although I encourage you to do whatever exercises you enjoy, it’s interesting to consider which of those might—and might not—help improve your body image.

 

 

Studies at Australia’s Flinders University surveyed women who attend health clubs. Their findings might surprise you: “Taking cardio classes was linked with mood uplift, but greater time[italics mine] spent on individual cardio workouts predicted body image concerns. Women who spent more time lifting weights and taking yoga or other mind/body-oriented classes were less likely to perceive the body as an object to be modified for the judgment of others.” Researchers concluded that activities which focus on body awareness, mental health, centering, and calmness are more likely to help women connect to the reason they exercise (for fitness and to feel good) and, therefore, work to improve their body image. 

 

Of course, women (and men) spend time on cardio machines for many (healthy and unhealthy) reasons—fitness, sports training, to burn off that chocolate sundae they ate the night before, struggling to be or stay thin, or to rev up endorphins and brighten their mood. The point is that excessive individual cardio exercise appears to correlate to body dissatisfaction, perhaps because it is goal, not in-the-moment, oriented.

 

Hopefully, mind-body activities don’t help people just focus on the reasonsthey exercise, but forge connections with their bodies as well. It’s easy to go through a cardio workout thinking of your body as a machine, an extension of the stair-stepper, stationary bike, or treadmill. These exercises are intense and, therefore, can disconnect you from body sensations (perhaps because of the opiate-like nature of endorphins). On the other hand, slow, precise, more finely tuned activities such as yoga or Pilates in which you intently focus on every move you make, force you to pay attention to how your body feels and works and enhance the link between mind and body.

 

Think about why you exercise and choose particular activities, and make sure that they contribute to eliminating negative self-judgment and increasing, not decreasing, the connection with your body. Vary your routine so that you include activities which make you feel good about your body from the inside out. The more you feel connected to your body in general, the more in tune you will be with your appetite. And, remember, just as you want to eat for the right reasons, you want to exercise for the right ones as well.

 

Best,

Karen

Normal Eating web site

Normal Eating talks and workshops

PLEASE NOTE: I encourage you to comment on my blogs and will do my best to address topics/questions you raise in future blogs. I cannot provide individual responses, but encourage you to post your questions and comments on The Food and Feelings Workbook message board at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/foodandfeelings.

 

Comments

[Lori]

Karen,
Thanks for this article. I recently purchased my first Qigong DVD "Qigong for Stress Relief" which has been wonderful. As I did this 'workout' over the course of a week I realized that my body acceptance had improved in a way I'd never experienced. As you say, there is something about focusing on the movement and internal states that gets away from the obsession with appearance. I then read in a book, "The Way of Qigong" by Cohen a passage on the history of Qigong that contrasted it with the western view of fitness with its focus on appearance, cut muscles etc. Thanks for all your help on this blog.
Lori

[DeirdreKM]

I feel like walking on a treadmill is the only thing I can do. I would love to do yoga or Pilates, but I am too big! Either I can't do the movements at all or they are very uncomfortable. I would love to hear anyone's suggestions!