I grew up in a very athletic family. I was doing something from as far back as I can remember. And once I got into high school, it was no different. I ran cross country, track and was a nordic (competitive cross country) skier for my high school, and that taught me a lot about health, exercise, training, and of course body image. Body image issues are something that comes along with a lot of teen girls nowadays, and it can be different from girl to girl. For me being so athletic, I wanted my body to be something different than what most girls were looking for. Being athletic taught me a lot about body image and common body image issues, so here are six things that being a jock taught me about body image:
1. You care a lot more about moving weight rather than losing it
When I was skiing, we would have weight lifting practices in the morning, which is what got me into weightlifting and CrossFit. When I would step into the weight room, I was more concerned with how much I could squat or deadlift more than if I could fit in the jeans I brought to wear to school. As I got older and got stronger, I would go into practice always wanting to lift just a little more, or do so many wall balls more than last time.
2. Your idea of a perfect body is different than other girls
I wasn't concerned with if my thighs touched or if my arms couldn't fit into jackets or sweaters. I thought the perfect body was having these perfectly toned arms and big quads. I wanted to look more like Allyson Felix than a runway model.
3.You're not worried about how the food I ate would affect my body
While I was out eating McDonald's or all the pasta I could, some of my friends were worried about having too many carbs in their diet or if they ate some fries it would make their thighs fat. Eating healthy was a priority to me but I knew I could enjoy something bad because I would just kill those calories the next day at practice.
4. Your body was going to look the way your sport wanted it to look
As many times as I have hoped for small, thin legs or a tiny body, being a skier and a sprinter was taking me down a different path. There was no way I was going to be fast without having strong big legs, and as much as I wanted to look thing and little, I wanted to be fast and win more.
5. Body image issues are still going to happen
No matter if you want to look like a model or a body builder or a healthy athlete, not looking the way you want is still going to make you feel bad. I always hated that my abs weren't as toned as I wanted, or that my legs just looked chubby, not strong. It's still going to happen but it's totally ok to be upset about it, just don't take it too far.
6. There's a point where you have to accept you're just not going to look like that
I remember when I was dancing in middle school, I really really wanted my middle splits and my coaches told me that my hips just weren't made to do that, and I had to accept it and try my hardest to get as close as I could. How you want your body to look is the same way. Sometimes your body isn't made to go any lower than a certain body fat percentage or get down to the weight you want, and at that time you just have to accept that maybe you love your body for what it is.
Body image can make some people seriously nervous and body image issues vary from person to person. Being an athlete made me have a different outlook on body image and made me more aware of how it can affect you in a dangerous way. Learning to love your body as it is or wanting to change it in a healthy way is always important and should be favored.
