This article is sponsored by TITLE Boxing Club Frisco.
Ladies, do you feel good enough, thin enough, and pretty enough? Are you constantly comparing yourself to other women?
According to one study, 80% of women feel negative about their appearance, 50% are not happy with their current weight, and another 70% of women considered to be of a normal body weight want to be thinner.
These issues trickle down to our daughters as well! Approximately 80% of girls over 10 years old are stressed about being fat.
Perception vs Reality
Body image is defined as how you think and feel about yourself. Having a negative body image has the potential to lead to depression, social anxiety, and eating disorders. Unfortunately, throughout life, we’ve been ingrained with societal beauty ideals that stem from family, the media, and peers.
Mass and social media have an extreme influence on how you perceive yourself. It can be quite challenging to feel confident and positive about your body image when the majority of women featured are depicted as thin, beautiful, young, and tall.
In reality, the average woman is approximately 5’3” – 5’4” and weighs around 140 pounds – not the 5’10” – 5’11” woman weighing under 120 pounds that’s portrayed everywhere!
We’re bombarded with the newest body type trends through television shows and commercials, magazines, and social media (Instagram, Snap Chat, and Twitter, in particular). But let’s be realistic, the majority of women are not born this way. To achieve this type of body one must either do certain exercises or obtain cosmetic surgery. Ugh!
Also, don’t forget to factor in all of the altered and enhanced images on social media. If you’re the type that compares these doctored images to yourself, be careful because it can really kill your self-confidence and sense of worth!
Peer Comparison
Yep, we all do it! Although I live an active lifestyle and write about the health and fitness industry, I sometimes grapple with not feeling thin enough, toned enough, or pretty enough.
Most recently I found myself struggling with these issues after attending a fitness class. Although I was attending class to get a good workout and become stronger – I felt like one of the heaviest and untoned people in the room. I didn’t even realize that I was comparing myself to others!
Despite the fact that the workout was good, I walked away feeling mentally depleted, when I should have felt like a stronger, healthier, fitter me!
Empower Thyself
When I need to feel empowered and blast those negative body image issues floating around in my head I hit a boxing class at TITLE Boxing Club Frisco. Just the sound of the bell alone makes me feel enthusiastic and invigorated, and it gives me an adrenaline rush both mentally and physically.
The sheer sound of my gloves smacking against the trainers during focus mitt training is enough to make me feel fierce and feisty! In essence, all of those negative images about my body get crushed with each punch I toss.
Throw a Punch at Negativity
Trainer Jeremie ‘Hitemholloway’ will keep you moving for a solid sixty minutes. First, he guides you through a 15-minute warm-up consisting of dynamic stretching with some mobility drills and shadow boxing.
This is where you throw punches into the air to prepare the muscles for the physical portion of punching against the 100 pound bag.
Then you’ll go through 8 high-intensity boxing rounds that are 3 minutes each followed by a 1 minute active rest period. (Active rest means you’re still moving but only utilizing 60-70% of your maximum effort.)
During these rounds, you’ll throw jabs, crosses, hooks, and uppercut combinations. Who doesn’t feel strong when throwing a punch?
Time for a cool down? While you might be envisioning a nice, slow cool down on a treadmill, walking at a moderate pace – don’t! For 15 minutes Jeremie will have you perform a core session.
These sessions will change but on the day I went, we did TRX rows, squats on a ball, dumbbell curls and overhead presses.
By the end of class, you’ll feel strong and empowered to take on the world!
If you need to crush all those negative body images in your head hit a class at Title Boxing Club Frisco. The first punch is on the house!