It’s finally happening. For nearly a decade now I am happy to have had my little say here each and every week about all aspects of exercise and fitness that spring to mind. The culture of fitness on our fair islands, or rather the lack thereof, has been fair game as a perennial topic of discussion. As little as two years ago, enthusing people to adopt the fitness lifestyle was a worthy pursuit, but the tide has started to turn.
Comparisons between our physical culture and that of our European neighbours have always left much to be desired, and maybe they still do. We are still scoring terribly on international obesity and inactivity rankings too, but despite these observations, for the first time in a very long time I can safely say withmy head held high, it is finally happening. Gyms and fitness clubs are sprouting up at a rate never before seen locally. The fitness revolution in Malta is finally underway.
Here to illustrate this subtle social change in plain sight for all to see are our faithful social media accounts. Newsfeeds of fitness buffs have always exhibited a healthy dose of fitness-related posts and material, it would seem that nowadays, even if you are not particularly inclined towards all things gym, you simply cannot escape the consistent barrage of motivational fitness quotes, gym pictures and links to websites and articles about training. Fitness fanatics seem to be so plentiful now that practically everyone shares a few of them on their friends’ lists.
Among the most prevalent material popping up on screens everywhere seems to be something we might regard as little less than a phenomenon: the fitness selfie.
Toned shoulders and arms, washboard abs and gravity-defying glutes are no longer the reserve of mass media. They are everywhere. With the spread of fitness knowledge and the ever-improving talents of fitness instructors and personal trainers, the physical condition of celebrities and fitness models is actually starting to be trumped by none other than the average Joe and Jane.
Clever sales and marketing perpetrated by fitness professionals themselves? Pure unadulterated narcissism? Some sort of beauty contest? Add in the dimension of how many likes a given selfie accumulates and a lot of the time it sure feels like the latter. It appears as though figure and physique competition has well and truly spilled over off the bodybuilding stage and on to the handheld devices we never leave home without.
Whether you look upon it with compliments or contempt, the fitness selfie revolution might actually serve some useful purpose. While many fitness converts possess distinctly aesthetic goals, the fitness selfie assumes the role of a potentially valid measurement tool.
The mirror has also been suggested as a useful progress guide, but the problem with mirrors is that you might be in completely different moods each time you look at them
We often suggest checking weight and taking girth measurements. You might even take body fat measurements if you’ve got the equipment. When the goal is to simply look better or look fitter, weight and size measurements are great, but what about simply looking?
The mirror has also been suggested as a useful progress guide, but the problem with mirrors is that you might be in completely different moods each time you look at them, and it is not always easy to remember exactly what you saw in them the last time you looked.
Mirrors do not guarantee good consistency and you cannot record the information accurately. Enter the fitness selfie. Taking pictures to measure progress towards aesthetic goals actually makes a lot of sense, and you do not have to share them with the world either, unless you really want to of course.
The trick is to take the picture in exactly the same way, in exactly the same place and in exactly the same lighting conditions every single time. If you can achieve this, then you’ve got a great way to charter your results.
Pick a pose or position that clearly shows the specific areas of your body you would like to improve. You could even pick a composition for your selfie similar to that of someone else you would like to emulate and, given the quantity out there to choose from, this could be pretty much anyone. Matching or surpassing this target image can then be achieved by stacking your own selfies side by side with it over time as you implement your lifestyle intervention.
Take a picture each week and save them in a folder unto themselves. Cycling through them in sequence will then give you a great illustration of your easily observable progress without the need for confusing numerical values that we normally end up representing visually anyway, through graphs or bar charts.
Seeing results with such clarity could prove quite inspiring. Noticing more progress than usual between shots could draw your attention to something you did right during that particular period of time, helping you to learn what is working in your diet and exercise regimen and what is not. A lack of progress may similarly signal the effects of unhealthy habits you might best avoid.
If you are intent on looking and feeling better, then remember that some of your most valuable tools could be as simple as your eyes along with that device we all seem to use for so much else.
By taking your first and final shots, you will have a great ‘before and after’ photo by the time your journey is complete. So do not be shy, join the fitness revolution, grab your phone and try your hand at taking a fitness selfie today.
matthew.muscat.inglott@mcast.edu.mt