I have recently been introduced to the "This Girl Can" campaign, and by recently I mean today. It's an exercise campaign originating is England to encourage women of all ages, shapes, and sizes to work-out. Apparently fear of judgement is what discourages most women from exercising, so this campaign's purpose is "to inspire women to wiggle, jiggle, move and prove that judgement is a barrier that can be overcome." I completely identify with the whole "fear of judgement" bit in regards to exercise. In high school I ran cross country and track and although I wasn't an all-star, I was pretty good. My running abilities have gradually lessened over the years and now going out for a run is difficult not just because I am out-of-shape and slow, but because I remember what it feels and looks like to be a good runner. What I am capable of now is a far cry from that. So, instead of going for a run to recover my former form and speed, I find myself caught in a perpetuation of inactivity that only serves to deepen my self-assessed judgement. I find this campaign well-timed, or at least my introduction to it, considering it is mid-January and I already have noticed some of my New Year's resolutions fading from good intentions to poor executions, one of which is to overcome my self-inflicted judgement and become more consistent in my work-out/running routine. The YouTube video that introduced me to this whole campaign is pretty motivating, so I invite you to watch it and then get moving! In the meantime, I am actually going for a run...#thisgirlcan!o
wiggle, jiggle, move and prove that judgement
is a barrier that can be overcome.
This is awesome! I didn't know about the "This Girl Can" campaign either, until I just read your blog post. Thank you for posting about this! I think it is so true, we all think that we have to already look "perfect and fit" before we start working out because we think other people are judging us. In reality, women are all different shapes and sizes, and what we should be focused on is being healthy rather than what other people think of us. I have never been a runner, so I workout to Insanity at home. But good for you for going running! You can do it! :)
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