Virtual Fitness

Are Fitness Models Role Models? For simplicity’s sake, I will focus only on female fitness models famous on Instagram for this post. The prevalence of fitness models or “fitspo” accounts online has recently skyrocketed. Several female fitness influencers have hundreds of thousands - some even millions - of followers tuning in to see what exercise they will display next. But are they role models? Are they influencing these masses of onlookers in a positive way? Let’s explore. Obviously, sex sells. And one could assume that the sexiness of these fitness posts is the foundation leading to their huge success. If you scroll through any popular fitness bloggers feed, you’ll find that many, if not all pictures and videos feature the model in scantily clad or skin-tight workout attire. The cameras are angled giving the viewer close ups of the model’s breasts and butt. This is no accident. If you search the hashtag #buttworkout, you’ll see it currently has over 100,000 posts fea...

Many of us feel similarly about exercise – it sucks. It’s a tedious chore that can more often yield soreness rather than desired results. But, one could argue that working out used to be a lot harder, or more inconvenient, than it is today. Before the Instagram fitness niche burgeoned and before anyone could post any kind of video they pleased to YouTube, those wanting to ensure that their workouts were worthwhile would have to put in more effort than a few mouse clicks. One possibility of guaranteeing your fitness routine is legitimate would be buying multiple DVD exercise programs. These typically fell into general categories of interest, such as cardio or yoga, limiting you to one concentration at a time. Alternatively, you could hire a personal trainer (expensive) or opt to take a group class (inconvenient), or you could just go to the gym and wing it — an extremely daunting scenario. There’s nothing like the good ol’ fear of the unknown. If you’re not sure what you are doing ...