“ I had no idea I would like exercising so much, and that it would do so much for me,” a power pacing class member of ours said. “You remember that my friend had to drag me here three months ago. Now I wouldn’t miss a class for the world! I thought that once I reached 50, I might as well give up on feeling good. Now I feel stronger, my posture is better and my muscles have some definition. I look better and move better, too. My friends tell me I look years younger. Your class has helped me become friends with my body again.”

You have probably heard many stories like this. Exercise often makes people feel better about their bodies and how their bodies look. But sometimes exercise can have the opposite effect, making people more aware of their physical shortcomings, and creating anxiety about appearance. Such anxiety often causes people to avoid exercise, and drop out of their exercise programs. Is there anything fitness professionals can do to make exercise a positive experience for our clients Ð something that leads to an improvement in body image?

How exercise affects body image. Body image is all about perception. People’s ideas and judgments about their bodies are influenced by many factors, most of which are outside of a fitness professional’s control. For example, basic self-esteem affects the way people perceive their physical attractiveness. So do cultural ideals of attractiveness, and how much people buy into them.

Positive effects. Exercise is most likely to improve body image when people notice and value the changes that occur as a result of the changes that occur as a result of the exercise program. People often report feeling better about their bodies when they perceive improvements in health, fitness or emotional well-being. People coping with healthy problems are especially responsive to exercise benefits when exercise helps them feel better and more energetic.

People who have more realistic expectations about how their bodies should look are generally more satisfied with, or at least less concerned about, their appearance. They are more likely to experience positive feelings about their physical selves with improvements in fitness. Many people report having a better body image following a regular exercise program, even in the absence of measurable changes in their appearance. They are more likely to experience positive feelings about their physical selves with improvements of fitness. Many people report having a better body image following a regular exercise program, even in the absence of measurable changes in their appearance. They feel stronger and fitter, even when there is no weight loss or change in body composition.

Negative effects. Exercise is most likely to have negative effects on body image when it reinforces or increases existing disparities between people’s ideals of physical attractiveness and their perceptions of their appearance. This occurs most often in adolescent’s young adults who value an unrealistically thin (often the case for women) or muscular (often the case for men) physique. Young people with low self-esteem are at great risk.

A negative body image can motivate people to begin an exercise program. Sometimes exercise consequently helps to improve body image, but sometimes the fitness environment makes a negative body image worse, if people feel they fall short of the fitness environment makes a negative body image worse, if people feel they fall short of the fitness ideals modeled by the instructors and clients at the fitness center. In some cases, people with a negative body image compulsively over-exercise to the point of injury.

How we try to help! We here at Healthy Changes provide a friendly atmosphere that welcomes all body types. As fitness professionals, we always try to communicate with our members making sure they are enjoying their experiences here. We are sure to ask our clients about their reasons for exercising, such as wanting to manage stress, have more energy, have fun or improve healthy, all of witch are positive reasons for exercising.