So today I continued my Tracy Anderson love-fest with her Post Pregnancy DVD. Don't let the title mislead you...anyone woman can benefit from this workout.
My abs are on fire right now, and I often wonder how anyone can get through that workout in it's entirety without taking a break. This workout might be targeted towards mothers, old and new, but I've never had a baby and even I was cryin' for my mama several times. I must say, I do feel accomplished now that it's over. Let's see if I continue to (torture) push myself through this workout.
While I'm working out, I often contemplate why it is so important for me to exercise habitually and why I make it a priority in my hectic schedule. I do love the many benefits I get from it, such as increases in energy, stamina, strength, feeling of accomplishment, and the endorphin high I get from doing a tough, rigorous workout.
But I'd be lying if I said aesthetics weren't a priority as well.
I'm still relatively young, and I come from a generation that is so infatuated with looks and youth. Our society and civilization as a whole has always been infatuated with beauty, but it seems modern advancements in medicine have created an obsessive desire for many women (and men) to conform to unattainable standards very few people possess genetically. Why practice self-acceptance and love yourself, flaws and all, when you look like you just came off of an assembly line of plastic perfection, where no one girl looks different from the rest? I don't condone or condemn plastic surgery, makeup, tanning, any other types of aesthetics boosters...I just don't like how societal influences leaves very little room for acceptance of different kinds of beauty.
I try to avoid these societal and cultural pressures, but even I occasionally succumb to its appeal of elitism and exclusivity. And sadly, in today's world, being beautiful and thin isn't just about landing the hottest mate, it makes all difference between landing a job, getting a raise, being perceived as smart and likeable, and having a competitive socioeconomic edge.
Findings in studies like these make me constantly worry about my weight: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/life/3-strikes-against-curvy-women-2396311/
While I may not be interested in posing for a pin-up calender or competiting in a beauty pageant, how I look will make a difference in other areas of life that it shouldn't (and doesn't for men). It's moments like these that make me wish I was born a man. I could be fat and balding, but enjoying all the upperclass socioeconomic perks for A.) just being a man and, B.) for actually being acknowledged based on my ethic and achievements, and not for how I look.
Excuse me now while I torture--I mean work--myself through another round of Post Pregnancy. :(
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