Train Like an Athlete This Summer, Not for Aesthetics
Now that it’s Summer, as women we’re getting all kinds of fucked-up messaging about our body. Trainers, brands, and fitness influencers are selling us “Build a Back Workshop” programs for backless dresses, “Glute Pump Projects” for bikini season, and “Six Week Summer Sculpt Challenges” to prepare for wedding season.
Training for aesthetics isn’t inherently wrong. But when it is never backed up with a focus on building capability, functionality, strength, and skill in a physical practice that’s meaningful to you, it reinforces the message that the only thing that matters about our body as women is how it looks to others and how other people feel about it. THIS IS WRONG AND DAMAGING and it keeps us all playing small.
Liberate yourself! This summer I challenge you to train like an athlete. Not just for aesthetics. Train for an activity you love, a sport you want to try. Hell, train to be better at pickleball or to be able to be on your feet all day with your kids at Disneyworld or for when you hike Mount Rushmore on that family road trip. Choose a sport or a recreational activity that requires you to build power, speed, agility, quickness, and compound functional movements in both transverse and lateral planes. Think athleticism and POWER.
When we focus on what our body DOES for us, we feel strong. When we focus on how we feel doing something, we feel embodied. When we focus on building skills in a sport or activity we find meaningful, suddenly we have a meaningful WHY for our training that is not based on other people’s opinions of our body or on being liked or being approved. We train for pleasure. For fun. For enjoyment. To be in community with other people. To get better. To see our skills develop. To compete. To win!
What are you training for this summer? What are you living for in this season of your life? What skills and activities do you want to build up to being able to do? For me, I want to continue rehabbing my hip so I can return to easy runs and eventually tennis! In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the activities that don’t flare my hip like swimming and walking and strength training and studio classes.
YOU ARE POWERFUL. YOUR BODY IS A GIFT. YOU ONLY HAVE SO MANY SUMMERS IN YOUR LIFETIME. YOUR BODY IS THE ENGINE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO TRAVEL THIS WORLDLY PLANE. IT IS NOT A MANNEQUIN TO BEAT INTO SUBMISSION. IT IS A VINTAGE SPORTSCAR YOU’VE BEEN GIFTED THE RESPONSIBILITY TO MAINTAIN SO IT CAN TAKE YOU PLACES. SO DRIVE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT!
