An Open Letter to the Fitness Industry:
Dear Fitness Industry…..
We see your ads every day, your online stuff, your slick clothing, your promises of lean-nes and 6-packs, but we think you’ve got it all wrong. Really wrong.
See, we are the 40+ female crowd, and well, while you ‘talk’ a good line about how us ‘older’ women are so important to your work, you kinda aren’t really listening to us.
We can see you but you can’t see us…
And the fitness industry is NOT the health industry, to be sure.
See, while you espouse the supposed desire to have the coveted 6-pack abs, we’re fine with having a little bit of fluff over top. And we don’t want to wear those cropped t-tops anyways, that shows our bellies. We can leave that to the 20-somethings out there.
And speaking of clothing, it would be nice if you offered sexy, age-appropriate clothing, stuff that isn’t necessarily skin tight. See, our skin HAS changed, along with other bodyparts, and we’re actually coming to a place of being OK with it all. Really. But it would really, really be nice if you came to a place where you were OK with it too.
And what about all those butt videos…sorry to say, but our ‘perkiness’ went awhile ago. This doesn’t mean we don’t work our glutes…we know – truly know – how things change with time. But we really don’t need to see a young-ish girl, squatting into the camera lens, pushing that perfect little tush straight at me…it’s kinda, well, weird!
And the diet thing…how about just taking REAL language to us. We are soooo done with the math. We’ve lived the foodie math equation for years, no, decades, through more fads than you can shake a dumbell at, and, well, it really comes down to SELF, not macro’s, not apps, not trendy diets (see, we can tell how long you’ve been in the fitness field by how fast you jump on to the latest food trend, and try to make us jump on it too. The faster the jump, the shorter your time has been spent here, and, well, we really, really want ‘seasoned’ trainers, coaches, moreso, maybe females OUR age, that ‘get us’. Is that asking too much?
We want to eat with our family, enjoy our food, but know HOW to enjoy it, with a glass of wine perhaps (we are way too old to not have a glass of wine at night…we have earned it, darn it).
While we’re at it, can we pleeeaasse stop blaming everything on ‘hormones’? It is SUCH a wastebasket approach, to dump it all onto our poor hormones. Can we look at other factors, please?
And if the weight doesn’t come off, don’t tell us that we just have to ‘work harder’ or cut more carbs or do more cardio. Our metabolisms have been hard hit for decades, with all this nonsense, and, well, we’re learning, REALLY learning about how to balance it all, how Whole Foods are the real answer (a protein bar and a protein shake are NOT whole foods, really…please don’t sell me any more of your packaged goods from the gym shelf. I’m trying to lay off fast food! And well, it smacks of fast food to me!
The supplements, please, don’t get me started! The ‘science’ is still not in. You may think you can ‘pop’ your way to a better body, but I’ve worked hard for my money. I just don’t think that little shaker ball in the bottom of my cute shaker cup is the answer. Or BCAA’s in my water. Just ’cause you buy into it as the elixir of health doesn’t mean that it IS the elixir of health. It’s just good marketing!
Then there’s the adage of ‘leave it all on the gym floor’. Nooo….not for us! See, our nervous systems are sensitive, especially at this age, and we need to take care of it, because it’s the nervous system that really runs the show, leading the muscles into their muscle-building potential. But hey, our nervous systems are doing double time, given our age, and, well, we have kids, families to look after, community work etc etc. Us women are still under the assumption that we have to be Super Women, and, well, it’s wearing. So don’t pile more stuff on top, be thoughtful and mindful when you create a program for us. “Less is more” comes to mind here. We don’t want to be pummeled into oblivion.
See, us ‘older women’ with the unsightly muffin tops and the now-getting-loose-skin are here to stay, but we have a hard time fitting in. There seems to be no real place for us. We are tired of an industry that covertly tells us to hate our aging bodies, and we work tirelessly (yes, we work hard on the gym too) to try to find and create the perfect body in an industry that says it’s out there, you just have to work harder for it, spend more money, and maybe, if you’re lucky, you can reverse the aging effect.
But here’s the deal: We don’t WANT to reverse aging. Oh sure, we would love to have tight, high glutes again (some of us never had them anyway, so are we really going to get them now?), or sit at 17% bodyfat for life, and be able to wear skinny stuff at the gym and look great, but that’s likely not going to happen.
And that 70+ female bodybuilder whose Instagram pics are circulating around all over the place…yeah, she looks great, but she has been at it awhile, and here’s the thing a lot of people never really get – GENETICS!. Some have it, most don’t. Most of us will simply will not be IFBB pro’s no matter how hard we try. And this glorious, muscle-loving older woman is not the norm. She’s a freak of nature, and we love her, but she isn’t necessarily reflective of us, and what is attainable for us ‘vintage’ women. So stop flashing us her picture, as if ‘we’ should strive to be ‘her’.
While we’re at it, can we PLEASE stop saying “50 is the new 30?” No it’s not. 50 (or 60 or whatever) is the new 50. We LIKE how we look and perform. We are NOT ashamed. Hopefully when you get to be our age, you won’t be either. It’s a skill, a life lesson, and we are just getting into our groove here.
‘Age is just a number’. Untrue. Can we talk about this too? Sorry, but we have learned that our metabolisms aren’t as robust, our joints are achy, cold, wet weather hurts us more, our parts are more jiggly and don’t seem to tighten no matter what we do. And warm ups…man, do we need to warm up. Soooo much. Boring? Perhaps. But if we don’t, we will have to pay BIG TIME tomorrow. And the next day. Our recovery isn’t what it used to be. So can we ‘train our age’ please? This doesn’t mean we don’t want to work hard. We do. We have lived a life of hard. We know it intimately, on many levels. We just want to honour and support these amazing bodies of ours that we have come to respect and know all our lives. Brilliant works of nature really. It took us this long to appreciate them. We’d like you to nurture and appreciate them too!
Us older women don’t think you are evil, Fitness Industry, and all the teachers, trainers, and nutritionists that are in it. We know you are incredible, hard working people that are trying to make a difference, and trying to help us become healthier and happier. Why are there so few fitness companies speaking to US? What’s wrong with us? We’re not elite athletes, and we don’t want to be. Crossfit makes us hurt too much, and well, it’s kinda scary. And we HATE, I mean HATE burpees. And so do our aging backs, knees and hips. We don’t need to wear them out any faster than they already are. They’ve lived a lifetime, and they’re keeping us upright and fairly healthy. We need those bodyparts to last!
We don’t really need to hear the latest science on this workout or that, this diet or that…there is too much ‘stuff’ out there anyway, and it’s so confusing, we don’t trust all the conflicting info, and it’s just confusing us MORE! We really want simplicity. Keeping it real. To suit US, our lifestyle, our lives. Can you help us keep it simple? With no jargon, no app, no calorie counts, and no math quizzes at the end?
Teach us ‘vintage women’ what we need to know to get results and nothing more. And know that there is a wide continuum of what ‘results’ look like. Our idea of it may not be yours, so please listen to us! We want to be listened to, not educated. Really. We have lives, we are busy, and, well, we want to go have a glass of wine with our women friends. Are we done yet?
So, Fitness Industry, can you learn to really ‘see’ us? We really would like that.
Signed,
…us older, aging, ‘vintage’ women out there.
Join us on our next Master your Metabolism course starting November 16th and learn to Live Lean for LIFE! (Yes you can!)PLUS, you will receive our December Warrior Woman E-Workout FREE! Lovingly crafted for the 40+ woman!
