Trigger warning: the following article contains content about eating disorders and body image
The gym is a fantastic place for people to get in shape and enjoy some healthy exercise. With the rise of “wellness culture,” the amount of people going to the gym has nearly doubled since before the pandemic. However, in the pursuit of fitness, the line between gym-goers being healthy and unhealthy can blur.
The picture painted on social media by influencers is one of lean yet muscular individuals. That being said, the image is just that: an image. While many of these fitness influencers are quick to admit that they do not look like they do in their videos 24/7, many also do not. Many also do not admit to how much time they spend in the gym daily. Many post their “what I eat in a day” videos, revealing green juices and expensive supplements. The truth is that many of these influencers can afford more than the average person, thus being able to afford more time in the gym.
Ultimately, influencers' videos can lead to extremely skewed expectations for a gym routine. Many people leave the gym feeling dejected after just a few workouts, simply because they are not seeing results. In fact, within the first half of the year, over 50% of new gym members cancel their membership. While there are a variety of reasons for someone to quit a gym, it is safe to assume people not seeing results could affect their decision to continue going to the gym. If someone is doing five workouts per week, then he or she would typically see results within two to three months.
When looking at the influencers on a screen, comparison is imminent. Comparison can drive many to obsessively work out until he or she achieves desired results, even if it is not physically possible to achieve. It can also lead to overexercising, which can cause problems such as extreme soreness and underperformance.
One user on Tiktok expressed concern for people, particularly men, who do this. The majority of the comments either disagreed or ignored her concern, instead, the comments alluded to wanting to look like popular fitness influencers rather than pursue health and wellness.
Another dark facet of gym culture is the excessive control over food consumption. While it is relatively normal to cut down a bit to lose a few pounds or to add a couple more calorie-dense foods to a diet to bulk up, the calorie counting and tracking in the gym community can often become borderline obsessive.
Cycles of bulking and cutting are relatively normal for people who lift weights. Bulking and cutting is when people go through cycles lasting from a few weeks to a few months where they eat more calories than they burn to put on weight to turn into muscle. Then, these people eat fewer calories to lose the fat they gained during the bulk. All the while, the person undergoing cutting or bulking continues with his or her normal workout routine.
However, what begins as a simple way to gain muscle and lean out can quickly lead to an obsession with food and control. One TikTok creator named Natalia Loren even brought a scale to a restaurant to weigh out her food to ensure she was getting her macronutrients without consuming too many calories.
While many of the comments appropriately recognized Loren’s behavior as one that borders on disordered eating, many others defended it, with the consensus being that weighing food was just an average part of gym life for many.
However, the disordered eating habits of gym-goers go much deeper than just cycles of bulking and cutting and a constant pursuit of “enough” protein. Many fitness influencers will bring up that they are in recovery from an eating disorder. While the gym is a great way to rebuild a healthy relationship with your body, it can be a slippery slope into another form of calorie and portion control. Ultimately, many swap out their previous disorders for orthorexia, which is an unhealthy focus on healthy eating.
It is not just speculation. A study from 2015 found that 22% of male and 59% of female fitness instructors can be classified as having eating disorders. The constant desire to be in “peak condition” can push people into a mental health spiral, preventing them from getting the proper nutrients needed to sustain themselves.
The gym is a fantastic place to get in shape and stay healthy. However, it can also be full of negativity: full of skewed expectations, questionable-at-best habits and a mental health crisis.
