Why We Lift!
On the left is Taryn Brumfitt, creator of "Embrace", on the right is Anita Herbert, a well known fitness/physique competitor.
I watched a documentary the other day, “Embrace”, it’s the brainchild of Taryn Brumfitt. She’s asking women to accept their body’s the way they are, and asking them to stop pandering to media generated stereotypes and values regarding female aesthetics. She feels diets don’t work, and it’s too much of a sacrifice. We don’t feel it’s a sacrifice, to us it’s a challenge, we strive to have amazing physiques, we never asked or expected it to be easy. It wouldn't have any value to us if it were easily attainable. Would Lamborghini's be sought after if it cost what a VW Polo cost, and everyone owned one? Of course not! There are many individuals in the fitness community who are able to maintain discipline and stay in unbelievable condition, without sacrificing their treats from time to time. In her documentary, she interviews a lot of women who have trouble with their own body image, and seem to suffer some psychological damage. They feel they're being put under pressure by a society that places a great deal of emphasis on aesthetics......and they'd be right! I think they're not in control of their perception of reality, but are rather victims of their reality, and I cannot attest to their level of Internal or External Locus of Control. I'm not sure how they expect this to change because it's not going to. On some level she wants us to forego our hard-coded behavior and change our value system. We're drawn to anything that is aesthetically appealing. I'm not going to change that, nor do I want to. Taryn Brumfitt's problem is that she feels victimized by the nature of society. She's throwing her toys because it doesn't suit her narrative. I can honestly say, there are very few things in life that have been as rewarding as sculpting a physique, like Michelangelo sculpting the statue of David. I can't understand why you wouldn't want to! I love traveling to Italy, Italians are obsessed with aesthetic beauty, they're passionate about turning the mundane into the beautiful.
WITHOUT SACRIFICING THEIR TREATS
No one frowns upon you studying for a degree or going on a course to learn a skill and improve your intellect, but as soon as you choose to improve your physique, you're seen as vain and narcissistic and it's often perceived as a shallow pursuit. Aside from the fact that it ties in with your longevity and would significantly improve most people's health and self-esteem! The reason most people don't like other people getting into shape is because it's a reflection of what they're NOT, and don't have the discipline and self-control to BE. Superficially most people can get away with not being super smart, it's much harder to get away with being fat and out of shape. You tend to be judged superficially, but no amount of whining about that will change it. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with people aspiring to mediocrity. They're entitled to squander their life however they choose. There is a general misperception that Bodybuilders and Physique competitors are dysmorphic, and have a skewed body image, much like an anorexic. In most cases, nothing could be further from the truth!
ASPIRING TO MEDIOCRITY
Bodybuilding and Physique Competition is a strive for perfection. These competitions are judged on muscularity and low body fat levels, but most importantly, PROPORTION AND SYMMETRY. If you’re dysmorphic, it would be impossible to generate a physique which is proportionate and symmetrical. Dysmorphia exists outside objective reality. Humans, like all animals, are hardwired to naturally select for aesthetic beauty. On a base level, we don’t function any differently from a Bird of Paradise, or a Peacock. The one with the most elaborate, symmetrical plumage would win over the female. Leonardo da Vinci drew Vitruvian Man, to elaborate the concepts of proportion, symmetry and golden ratios. Even in photography, we have the Rule of Thirds because the human brain finds certain visuals more appealing. Aston Martin has started using golden ratios in their design ethos, and not only in their cars but the layout of their showrooms. There is an objective beauty.
PROPORTION AND SYMMETRY
The girls in the following photos have been selected from every ethnicity around the world. All of them are considered beautiful, unless you have some inbuilt socially conditioned biases or are just a racist arsehole. In the girls seen above, an objective beauty exists, which will be identified by normal people as beautiful or varying degrees of beautiful. Their beauty lies in their proportion and symmetry, and possibly their degree of uniqueness ranked according to personal preference, The concept of beauty is in fact universal. Though not all people arrive looking beautiful, they have the potential to greatly improve themselves, to strive for perfection, and if not perfection, then a good deal of the way there. The alternative is accepting mediocrity! Beauty is very important for humans, after all, it's the first thing you notice, and the first thing that draws you to a potential partner. Studies show that even in job interviews, attractive people will fare better. Later, other values will become important, for example, Sapiosexuality(attraction to intellect), can I live with this person? Are we always at odds? Do we argue? Are we sexually compatible?
Aesthetics are what you notice first. No one walks into a nightclub and says "Let's look for the smartest person in the room". In the animal kingdom, generally the only animals that pair bond for life, are species where the male and female are identical. For example Macaw’s, Blue Footed Booby’s, Penguins etc. In the case of humans it’s even more extreme, not only do males and females not look the same, but each individual looks distinctly different, and if the rest of the animal kingdom is anything to go by, then humans place a very high value on aesthetic beauty. Just ask yourself, if you were planning an affair, would you be motivated to have an affair if every single potential partner looked identical to your current partner? All of us have consciously or unconsciously assigned ourselves a station or pecking order as it were. There’s a reason Brad Pitt married Angelina Jolie, they deemed one another to be on the same playing field. Average people wouldn’t attempt a date these people. Let’s assume Brad and Angelina are 9’s and you’re a 3. You have three options; go without a partner, because you’re not attracted to 3’s or strive to be more than a 3 by aiming to be a 6 or 7, where you enter a possible realm of what you deem acceptable in a mate. Or, your final option being the worst case for an individual, is to stay a 3 and be with a 3, this is self-denigrating and reinforces your own mediocrity. I can’t speak to the cruelty of the world, and the fact that most people don’t get a fair shake, but most people can be far better than they are. Humans are capable of amazing feats, we have triumphed over our environment, we've attempted to make everything more beautiful, from architecture to clothing, transportation, jewelry, food, you name it. From humble beginnings to where we are now, it’s why we reached for the stars, went to space, invented cars, flushing toilets, and hot showers. We push ourselves to go further, is it so terrible that we do it with our bodies? We don't do it because we feel compelled to, because of some misguided perception of self-worth, generated by mainstream media. Some of us want to supersede what mainstream media couldn't imagine, we wish to live healthier, younger, longer, with awesome physiques. If that's too hard for you, too much pressure, then "Embrace" your life of mediocrity, get swallowed up by the banal and mundane, have at it!
I just want to add that fat, or out of shape people are acutely aware of how this all works, and they do care very much, even if they pretend not to. They try really hard with their make-up, hair, nails, clothes etc. In reality, doing your hair, make-up, nails and clothing perfectly, but having a terrible body, is akin to having a crap painting with a beautiful frame! They just struggle with discipline, so they don't try and fight a battle they can't win, and then justify why people shouldn't be so vain and superficial. But we see the elephant in the room. Why bother with makeup and hair at all, do they really think that misdirection works?
"TETRIS HAS TAUGHT ME, ALL THOSE THAT FIT IN DISAPPEAR"
When you consider you had a 1 in 400 trillion chance of being here, and this is the only life you’ll have? Don’t you want it to be the best possible life you could have! Instead of moping around about how hard life is and how you feel victimized, don’t you want to be all you can be? The best you can be? Taryn Brumfitt is totally entitled to her mediocre body, and she's welcome to her gray, beige life! We're not in the gym to be average, we dream of more, we want it all in this one ride on the merry-go-round!