Social media is an integral part of most people's lives. Odds are, if you have started working out, or are thinking about starting to work out, social media may have been one of your main inspirations to do so. No matter which platform you step foot in, from Instagram to TikTok, Facebook to youtube, or anything else in between, you’re bound to come across the fabled “fitness influencer”. Beautiful people with physiques built from twisted steel and sex appeal, these adonis creatures walk around with single digit body fat living lifestyles that you can only dream of.

The plastic world of social media is a distorted reflection of fitness. Mirror mirror on the wall, use my code “damolifts” for 15% off it all.

While I could write a thesis on the rabbit hole that is the fitness industry's relationship with social media, it does not negate the fact that inspiring people to get strong, fit and healthy is a great thing in my book. I’m not going to shit on “influencers”. My main gripe with social media being the push for many people to start looking after themselves is the limited scope of what is considered “being in shape”.

Social media’s shallow representation of fitness may strike a desire in you to build a muscular and lean physique. This desire is most likely going to lead you down the road of bodybuilding, a road full of potholes and pitfalls that has the potential to detract from your life, rather than enhance it.

Bodybuilding is not Hypertrophy Training

Building muscle, or hypertrophy, is awesome. Other than looking swole and cracking sidewalks as you walk down the street, there are plenty of health benefits from holding muscle on your frame. Having more muscle allows you to manage your blood sugar levels. It’s metabolically demanding, granting you greater control over your body fat. Building muscle protects your joints, increases bone density and regulates your hormonal levels to make you feel better.

No matter what training discipline you choose to follow, building muscle will most likely benefit it.

Now that I have made this caveat, let me explain my thoughts on bodybuilding. You might think I’m completely wrong because bodybuilding requires having an aesthetic amount of muscle. Therefore, it is hypertrophy training. This is the train of thought most people go down, but I challenge you to see the full picture of bodybuilding.

Bodybuilding is the sport in which you attempt to starve yourself as much as you can while simultaneously trying to hold onto as much muscle as possible. It is the only sport (that I’m aware of) that “peak performance”, whether that's stepping on stage or getting a photoshoot done, requires the athlete to be scraping the bottom of the barrel of health. Dehydrated, hormones on the brink of collapse, and weak. These oiled up mass monsters may look impressive as hell, but they are a mere shadow of their former selves. An empty, vascular shell.

Now quick! Take photos and release them on social media for the next year to convince your followers that, not only do you look like this year round, but that you are also able to live a normal life while doing so.

Unfortunately, because of the illusion that bodybuilding casts over the majority of the fitness industry, many people are unable to untangle the benefits of hypertrophy training from the unhealthy lifestyle that is associated with bodybuilding.

Sacrificing Everything For a Six Pack

By what you’ve read, you may think that I am completely anti-bodybuilding. This is not true. I tip my hat to those that have the discipline to adhere to a strict diet and training regime. Those that are willing to do whatever it takes, to take themselves to the brink of death, for a moment of glory stepping onto the stage. It is a commitment to a lifestyle of sacrifice. Sacrifice that, for the majority of people, just isn't worth it.

I’ve seen it too many times over the years of being a personal trainer. A desire to look like a physique athlete. People step into my studio with a fire in their eyes, high on the repetitive rhetoric that spouts from the mouths of the people that inspire them

“Train insane or remain the same”

“No pain, no gain”

“YEAH BUDDY! Light weight”

People that have been fed the lie that being healthy is inherently masochistic. Diet protocols that yoyo between eating big to get big and caloric deficits to get peeled. Flexing and squinting at any reflective surface in an attempt to see if their physique has improved. Squeezing as much volume into a training session as possible to set their muscles on fire. Jumping from programme to programme in an attempt to find new stimulus in the uphill battle for muscle growth. Wondering why they can’t put on any more mass, even though they are in a caloric deficit and are now too scared to lose their hard earned 6 pack.

Physical Health Should Compliment Mental Health, Not Inhibit it.

As a beginner, if the bodybuilding lifestyle is your introduction to bettering yourself physically, there are usually three outcomes I have observed with people over time.

Person number 1: Developing Narcissistic Tendencies - often known as the gym bro or gym rat, these people are able to stick to the bodybuilding lifestyle long term. Because training purely for aesthetic reasons is subjective to how you perceive yourself, a person who is self involved may be successful following a traditional bodybuilding approach without the mental hurdles others may face (more on this later). Making themselves the centre of the universe, selfish, and obsessed with their physical appearance means that factors that other people would deem detrimental to the enjoyment of their lives just don’t exist. Swole is the goal, size is the prize. These people possess a strong enough ego that the insecurities brought on by constantly staring at yourself in a mirror just aren’t there.

Person 2: Spinning Their Wheels - This person is all-go to begin with. Their commitment comes in waves. They may have successfully put on some size, run a successful bulk and cut cycle, and are generally familiar with their way around the gym. When they first started training, they saw impressive improvement, and the week to week gain of muscle and loss of body fat kept them going. Their newbie gains successfully allowed them to recompose their body conditioning and they looked awesome...for a bit. Once the newbie gains had run dry, they plateaued in the gym. While they were able to stick to the diet and lifestyle restrictions when they could see consistent progress, once the “wow” factor of their aesthetic progress slowed down, their motivation weined. The restrictions they placed on their lives just no longer seemed worth it. They’re tired of eating out of tupperware, they miss being able to socialise with friends without worrying about what they eat or drink. They may continue to go to the gym, chasing more and more volume in an attempt to recapture that earlier magic, but without adhering to all the other lifestyle factors, progress slows. They back slide, and their physiques reverse over winter. Then when summer is on the horizon, they attempt to fire the will power back up and get to training again. This cycle repeats itself potentially for years, and the person maintains mediocre results until they just give up completely.

Person 3: Detrimental to Their Mental Health - The final person falls somewhere in between person 1 and 2. They have stuck to the bodybuilding lifestyle and may even have incredible results. However, unlike person 1, they lack the narcissistic tendencies to contend with the mental hurdles of constant self assessment. Sometimes the mirror lies. On the flip side, unlike person 2, they are so motivated by the fear of losing what they have built that they just continue the cycle, rather than addressing the imbalances they have created in their life.

We are very quick to notice if a woman has an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa, but many men who do everything to maintain a low body fat percentage have eating disorders that go unnoticed

What is Ortharexia Nervosa?

Otherxia is an eating disorder that causes people to have an obsession with eating healthy foods. While having a well rounded diet that contains a balanced macro profile and sufficient micronutrients is great, constantly focussing on it to an unhealthy degree until it affects your physical and mental wellbeing can be a sign of orthorexia. If you feel anxious at the thought of not having control over your food, whether it's because you’ve been invited out for dinner with friends or are placed in a situation that doesn’t allow it, it may be time to reexamine your relationship with food and exercise.

What is Body Dysmorphia?

I touched on the idea that bodybuilding relies heavily on assessing how you look. Unfortunately, what we see with our eyes is often heavily influenced by our minds. Body dysmorphia is a condition when you have an impaired perception of your body's appearance. It is often referred to as “bigorexia” in the fitness industry, where you perceive yourself smaller than you are in reality. Your relationship with yourself can quickly spiral, trapping you in a cycle of trying to improve a body that is perfectly fine and can lead to more extreme methods to try and fix what isn’t broken.

What is Anorexia Athlitica?

“I’m eating this now, but I’ll do extra cardio tomorrow”.

Also known as sports anorexia and hypergymasia, it is an eating disorder that involves being obsessed with exercise to lose weight or prevent the onset of gaining weight.

What Should Beginners Focus on in The Gym?

Setting yourself up for an obsession with how your body looks is a trap. At best, it often involves practises that are not sustainable, and at worse, can create a battlefield for your mental health. This is why a focus on performance metrics are much better suited to keep you grounded in reality. I am personally an advocate for strength training, as no matter whether I am happy or depressed, 1kg is always 1kg. It is not subjective or open for interpretation. Focusing on being able to move more weight, enjoying the art of proper programming which provides a clear path to my next success creates the perfect environment for consistent improvement in my life. Beginners should learn to build a base of strength, learn how progressive overload works, increase their quality of movement, and learn to enjoy the training process itself. Goals based around performance don’t waiver with your mental health because they can be measured. You’ll still gain muscle, and you’ll still look great, but you’ll have created a sustainable habit that you can pursue for the rest of your life. Feeling unmotivated? Tweak your training and your performance goals to set yourself up for a win. Over time, all these small wins and consistent application of exercise in your life will lead to nothing but success and happiness.

If you’re looking to get started on your journey to a stronger you, check out my online training programme “Becoming Unkillable” and get started today. If you’re looking for a 1-on-1 private personal training session in Auckland, feel free to send me a message!