Making Exercise About Fit, Not Fat

“Come on, ladies!  Ten more to burn those extra calories!”  How many times have we heard an aerobics instructor shout something along those lines?

Women’s magazines hope to sell more copies with covers that shout “Get the Body You Want – in 15 minutes a day!” “The Easy ‘Sexypants’ Workout”, or “Shrink Your Inner Thighs – in Six Minutes!”

It’s enough to raise the question: what does our society think the purpose of exercise is?

And sometimes, the message that exercise is a means to achieve that ideal body shape is spelled out loud and clear.

This message is what Fat Talk Free Week, a national initiative that took place Oct. 18-22, looks to alleviate.  Fat Talk Free Week came to the 5Cs through multiple events at Scripps College’s Sallie Tiernan Field House. Tamsen Burke, director of the field house, said the concept of Fat Talk Free Week is all about changing gym and exercise discourse.

“It’s not about fat, it’s about being healthy,” said Burke.  Health—not size or weight—should be the primary reason to exercise.

Burke said it is impossible to tell how many women come to exercise at the field house in pursuit of an ideal body as opposed to health and fitness.  However, she said, “we do recognize all of the outside factors [media, magazines, culture] that are contributing to what girls believe is the ‘ideal look.’”

Exercising gone wrong

Viewing exercise as a tool to shape your body can lead to over-exercising.  The health library at Washington and Lee University defines over-exercising as “exercising to get rid of body fat, cellulite and pounds that goes beyond ‘healthy’ exercising by taking over your life.”

Sandra* is a student who has had problems with over-exercising in the past.

“It’s like a compulsive behavior,” she said.  “You start feeling really guilty when you can’t work out, the workouts just get ridiculous….I was spending over 15 hours in the gym each week.  The gym was one of my highest priorities.”

Sandra suffered from anorexia when she over-exercised.  She said her muscle mass deteriorated so much as a result of overexertion combined with low nutrient intake that she had to quit her varsity sport.

The field house at Scripps has a number of programs, including a personal trainer program, in place to educate women about how much exercise is too much.

“We have a number of people who think two hours is a really good workout – it’s not, unless you’re an elite athlete,” said Burke.  “We have a lot of people who think [working out] seven days a week is healthy – it’s not.”

Women are not always aware when their exercise habits begin to go awry.  Burke said that a woman’s friends are her “best allies” in noticing the signs of unhealthy exercise habits such as excessively long workouts, or missing out on other activities to go to the gym.

Over-exercising can be a symptom of disordered eating, as a purging method in bulimia nervosa or the purging type subset of anorexia nervosa. It can also lead to stress fractures, fatigue, weakening, dehydration, and heart palpitations.

Exercise done right

When done healthfully, exercising is a good thing for the body and mind; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services began promoting a healthy exercise regiment in 2008 when it started issuing physical activity guidelines to all Americans.

We can’t control the outside influences of popular culture.  But when we hit the gym, we can take the time to remind ourselves that exercise is something healthy, something fun, a stress relief, a physical outlet – not a ticket to a size [insert favorite number here] pair of jeans.

*Name has been changed

If you want to ensure a supportive workout environment, the field house at Scripps is “fat talk free” all year round.