Identity & Fitness

The fitness community has experienced a whole load of L's the past year or so- whether that's due to compromising with limited equipment or by the social aspects of isolation.

No matter what your privileges or resources, I think we've all suffered somehow and it's no doubt had a massive effect on our training, mental health and identity, as a whole. Pre-lockdown, lifting has always been a sole outlet in my life, for balancing my mental and physical health. For me, lifting gives me a purpose, with micro-goals to work towards. So, even though I ensured that I stayed consistent (in some shape or form) with my training the past year, the chaos of the unknowingness and major life-transitioning phases, inevitably made me feel lost.

Internal & external factors that may affect identity.

What is (an) identity (crisis)?

In the simplest terms, identity refers to a sense of self; who you are, the way you see yourself and characteristics (either abstract or physical) that define you.

Meanwhile, the term 'identity crisis' is described as "a developmental event that involves a person questioning their sense of self or place in the world".

Along with the physical struggles of the pandemic- for many of us- we have also experienced a type of identity crisis. In fact, a poll I posted on Instagram said that 79% of people of voted have had an 'identity crisis', in some way, in the last year...

Fitness identity- why is it important to us?

With the loss of the gym (as we knew it), an important factor of fitness is the people you meet, relating through an analogous lifestyle. People you meet at the gym or through fitness (usually) share the same basic beliefs as us- as we're all collectively turning up and putting in the work to become better in some way. For many of us, conventions of fitness are responsible for moulding our personalities, with traits such as discipline, motivation and dedication. For me, it's also been about building my self-esteem and forming healthier relationships with food and my body.

With a society obsessed with identity it can be hard to identify exactly who you are and find your 'tribe'. As being apart of a collective identity means to be part of a community; to feel accepted, seen and valued. And fitness culture can do this. This is important to our identities as this is a high priority for our psychological needs. With shared values and outlooks on life, a sense of belongingness can then help us progress onto individual fulfilment needs.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (1962).

Powerlifting identity, specifically, resonates with me because you can be anyone or look like anything and lift (ignoring the stereotypical meat-head powerlifter image). It's objective and it's not primarily about aesthetics; it's about strength training; can you lift the weight or not (and well)?

Who are you without fitness?

So, who are we without a barbell, weights and all the gimmicks? Whilst fitness is a significant tool for generally just being a better person, it is only a baseline feature to what makes you, you.

In reflection of the past year, the pandemic has definitely made me question this. As important as lifting is to me- for various reasons- it's put into perspective a lot of things...

The modern world, with social media, comparison culture and all the other external factors, can be hard and may encourage you to judge yourself (and others) through unhealthy expectations. We're told our whole lives to categorise and to put ourselves into boxes. We're too caught up on being liked and external validation instead of self-accepting and embracing our uniqueness. The thing is, you don't need to make yourself 'smaller' to be more digestible- you're fine exactly as you choose to be.

However, realise that identity is not fixed. Basically, I think it's important to find a sense of self without it revolving around just one key convention and to find a plethora of sources that make you happy. It's important to know you can incorporate different elements of all sorts of likes, preferences, styles, hobbies, genres, etc.

You can create your own identity and path, as you are in charge of your 'journey', whatever that may look like. What I realise now and that gives me peace (after years of trying to 'fInD mYsElf') is that identity is a fluid concept. It's also reassuring to understand that you can change, reinvent and recreate yourself, at any time. Good news: you are entirely up to you!