Gym girls

[youcanthandlethetruth]

Two of my friends have taken to posting gym selfies.

One has not long had her baby and hit the gym hard, which I applaud. She has taken her wellbeing seriously but I can’t help but think she doesn’t need to post pictures on social media. It’s like a stealth brag. Particularly showing off images of her stomach and she’s wearing a full face of makeup whilst in gym gear.

Another friend has became gym obsessed in the last year. Again I think lockdown might have been a big catalyst but she constantly posts on Facebook about fitness. Constant selfies in the gym. Constant posts about calories, what she’s eaten etc. It’s becoming tedious.

I don’t want to have to unfriend them online. The selfie culture and what I feel is stealth bragging has just became annoying now. Yes, I get that you’re looking well. I recognise you are taking positive steps to maintain your health and well-being but please can you stop posting about your amazing body.

And no I’m not jealous, I’m a size 8 myself. I just hate people who feel the need to show off. Tell me I’m not the only one

I can’t say it bothers me. And I am guilty of posting a gym selfie or two. I’m 43, autoimmune, have had two kids, and yes, I do put the work in and look good.

Sounds like social media in general is not for you (it’s not for me either)

You can unfollow rather than unfriend
You can keep,scrolling past .....and I do agree it’s a bit tedious. And I say that as a keen gym goer. I don’t post the minutiae of my workouts or gains. Nobody cares.

Nothing wrong with full face of makeup and gym gear though.

I’m with you. It’s vain and annoying! Mute their social media! In the future people will be mortified at being such exhibitionists!

I think YABU sorry. Good for them for putting the effort in and it's lovely to get that validation from your social media friends when you've done something you're proud of. And they pop up on your Facebook memories then which is great to look back on.

I get that the constant posts about calories etc might be annoying but you don't need to un-friend, you can stop a friend's posts appearing on your news feed.

Just don’t understand it. I manage to go the gym and come home. Not take selfies to show off how fit i am. It’s all vanity

I have seen said people taking pictures of themselves in the gym. I do find it weird... why stop what you are doing to take a pic?
I suppose they have taking an interest into fitness and this motivates them to keep going, maybe they do like see the difference in their body.
I am not into this, but have seen someones pics all together in a fitness video, and well it was quite a thing to see how much his body had changed. Surely it helped him to keep at it when he could see the results, as you do lose track of how you looked in the mirror a few months back.

I just feel like all we see now is people taking pictures of themselves on every opportunity, speaking about how they feel, what they did, why they did it, where they are, what they achieved, where they went.

What ever happened to doing something because you wanted to or just enjoy it.

For me- gym pics and hospital tags are the worst

Try not to be too hard with your thoughts on them. Almost always people are doing this because they are low on confidence and seeking validation from likes and comments. They might not even realise they are low on confidence, its sometimes a subconscious affliction. Unfollow them but dont mention it to them if you are intending to keep your friendship. Its not doing you any harm.

People can post whatever they like on their social media. I personally find the millions of photos of people’s children annoying and completely unnecessary and agree re: hospital tags, gym selfies don’t bother me so much. Thankfully there are mute, unfollow and unfriend options to get around it!

Just scroll past? Or check in on them ask if they are ok if they are friends?

I've been training for 5 years and admit when I first started seeming those newbie gains I got excited and shared. Trust me it's well earnt boasting, if you are a real friend say " wow, amazing all that hard work pays" and move on.

It's the buzz the endorphins and the sense of why didn't I do this sooner that they are posting about, it's something to really celebrate with them. And be so happy they have found a way to spend quality time, so much more exciting than the pictures of wine and gin on my feed.

You’re not unreasonable. I would hasten a guess it comes from a place of deep insecurity and a need for validation though. The ‘odd’ fitness pic to show a transformation - fine. Constant - no. There are some girls at the gym I go to who just seem to hang out there, posing, for hours. They don’t actually seem to do much in the way of workouts either 🤷‍♀️

Quick look at my social media shows me the following unnecessary things:

• happy birthday message to a granny (who isn't on social media)
• gym selfies
• Spotify Unwrapped list
• pictures of food
• pictures of children
• photo of a new tattoo

So much of social media is built around stealth bragging and keeping up with the Kardashians Joneses. I can't see why a few gym selfies are that much worse than anything else.

Maybe they're bragging, maybe they're proud, maybe they're using it for accountability - who gives a flying fuck? Mute them if it really bothers you.

To add: I actually hate the pictures of kid and birthday wishes to elderly relatives the most. At least the gym girls are consenting to what they post.

The thing is, everyone takes pride in different things and sees different things as worth the hard work.
A friend of mine who does (very beautiful) craft projects and constantly posts pics of them on all social media is very scathing about another friend of ours who works very seriously and posts regular progress updates/pics of her (frankly amazing) muscle tone and amazing running PBS.
I see them as being the same, keen to show off the results of their hard work and talent but craft friend is so rude about fitness friend, saying to me that she's vain, self-obsessed etc.
I think it boils down to snobbery really.

That's bang on @louderthan1 and something I've noticed too. Why is craft girl any better than fitness girl? They're both ploughing hours into hobbies.

Dhisreadingmypostsagain has nailed it.
Don't diminish other people's achievements just because you don't think they're worthwhile.

@louderthan1

The thing is, everyone takes pride in different things and sees different things as worth the hard work. A friend of mine who does (very beautiful) craft projects and constantly posts pics of them on all social media is very scathing about another friend of ours who works very seriously and posts regular progress updates/pics of her (frankly amazing) muscle tone and amazing running PBS. I see them as being the same, keen to show off the results of their hard work and talent but craft friend is so rude about fitness friend, saying to me that she's vain, self-obsessed etc. I think it boils down to snobbery really.

Beautifully said @louderthan1. People don't usually assign "stealth bragging" to those who post their knitting, only to those who post around beauty, body/working out, etc. Gee, I wonder why? It's like a form of inverted snobbery and low self-esteem. They accuse the person posting their gym pictures of having low confidence or being a braggart but they themselves are spending their time tearing down a person working on their health and body. If you don't like your body, that's fine. Leave someone else to be happy about themselves and their health though. Sheesh.

I don't want to see endless pics of babies and toddlers, they bore me to shit but I understand that it's important to the people who have posted them.
Stop being so bloody judgmental about how other people articulate what's important to them.

I would just find it inspiring but I don’t compare myself with others.

I always used to be on SM but as time has gone on I’ve realised how weird it is - taking pictures of myself/child/whatever is going on that day and then uploading them to the internet for whoever to see. Really no one actually cares that much. Let alone a status detailing my day/event. I suppose it’s nice in cases for long distance relatives/friends but generally I would just text them instead of upload whatever onto the internet anyway. Who really knows who is seeing your details??
I did also get fed up of seeing gym selfies / butt pics every 5 minutes especially. ‘Hi everyone, friends, family, Steve down the road and Mary from work, this is my butt 🍑’.

Gym selfies are a bit hun for me. Very self righteous. Guys who do it are dicks too. Sad. Whatever happened to doing something without telling everyone about it?

Delete the social media. Simple

@youcanthandlethetruth
What ever happened to doing something because you wanted to or just enjoy it.

Whatever happened to people being interested in something other than themselves?

@minipie

Sounds like social media in general is not for you (it’s not for me either)

I'm the same.