01 taster march 2019

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Thanks to the overwhelming iconography and unmatchable role models, it's safe to say there has
never been more pressure on us to consider our appearance. And it seems the impact of this is
being felt in some less obvious places.
Whilst wanting to look good for a party, dinner date or social occasion is a timeless trait of us vain
humans, you might think that when we hit the weights or running machine for a workout we'd be less
bothered about how we look. Well, according to a new survey, this couldn't be further from the truth,
as the UK population appears even more concerned about their projected image when building up a
sweat.
The research, by Bodybuilding Warehouse, shows that Britain's most feared public place in terms of
feeling self-conscious is the gym, with a staggering 58% of all respondents cited claiming they felt
more self-conscious here than anywhere else, even beating sunbathing in skimpy swimwear by almost
double the number of votes. Apparently, for every 30 minutes we spend on the treadmill the
majority of us will experience some form of social anxiety based on appearance at least once before
we leave to get changed.
A key reason for this is what has been dubbed 'body conspiring against person'. In short then, next
time you start becoming acutely aware of that guy grunting every time he bench presses, perhaps
consider how he feels about the noises he's making. The same goes for people with a tendency to
accidentally break wind during a workout, or walk away with unsightly sweat patches in areas
society has now deemed unacceptable (irrespective of how natural it is). In short, it's down to
embarrassment.
Obviously there's very little that can be done about such issues, if anything at all. In contrast,
though, another major cause of people feeling self-conscious in the gym can be stopped. The
clothes we wear, how our hair is tied and whether we have enough make up on are all genuine worries
for many gym users, which seems more than unfair when you consider the reason we're there
in the first place (i.e. to get ourselves in shape through often-brutal exercise regimes).
Of course there are some unpleasant elements that make this crazy scenario understandable, if not
acceptable. From leering blokes who only seem to turn up when you're in a particularly provocative
stance, to the girls who look like they're lined up for a glamour shoot rather than a sweat session, it's
no wonder average Joes and Josephines are feeling increasingly aware of how they look when
dressed for a workout. Consider this a call to arms for a redress of the situation, then, in the hope of
making everything from the spinning class to dumbbell rack a beauty- (or at least pressure-) free zone.
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