Hands up who is SICK of hearing 12 week Summer Body… Summer Shred… get bikini ready… blah, blah nonsense?
We’re guessing all hands went up? We wish we had more than 4 hands to fly around in the air but we don’t, so this post will do.
Summer Body is a term that leads you to believe that your body is not enough in its current form. That you need to lose XYZ or gain XYZ in order to live through summer… um, can we pause for a moment and realise how ridiculous this is?
Want a Summer Body? Ok, well if it’s Summer and you have body… then hooray, you have a Summer body. You always have and always will.
You will NEVER hear us say anything about summer bodies, shreds, bikini, booty gains, nothing of the sorts… EVER.
Your body is important, your body is amazing NOW and ALL YEAR ROUND!
Let’s get Summer body ready… is something we will NEVER say.
And yeah, unfortunately, the list goes on. We’ve practised at our fair share of Studios and gyms and scrolled on countless Instagram handles to know how powerful words are. To know that when someone in a leadership position pieces together a certain few words how you can go from feeling AMAZING and on FIRE to feeling deflated and like you’re nowhere near enough.
So here’s a list of things we NEVER say, so when you hear them next time, you can either choose to ignore the statement OR use our totally awesome, and lame comebacks.
We will NEVER SAY: working that muffin top girl! Burn that muffin top gurrrl!
Oh so sorry… is it illegal now to have some skin and fat that may potentially be grab-worthy on the hip area? Is it so terribly shocking that this area of our body might (GASP) hang over the sides of our leggings?! Last time we heard hips are pretty important for well, walking, jumping, standing, oh life-ing.
Your comeback: I prefer to eat my muffin tops! (Emma actually said this in a class once… she thinks she is a comedian).
We will NEVER SAY: no one wants a short neck! Keep your neck NICE and LONG! You don’t want to walk out of here with traps for earrings.
Um, excuse us? Is there some sort of guideline as to what makes a nice neck and a not-so-nice neck? And also… who made this guideline? We shall punch them in the head (or worse give them death stares). But also, we love our necks. We’re actually so grateful for our necks. So in fact… we DO want our short necks… thank you very much.
Your comeback: better than no neck (you could also add dumb dumb after :P).
We will NEVER say: let’s burn the calories so we can eat all the food! Let’s burn all those weekend calories!
Can we please please please stop using exercise as punishment for eating? Last time we heard, we all need to eat in order to live. Oh and also the age-old calories in vs. out is so 1999. Fat is your friend. Remember that ok next time you hear someone bang on about burning calories.
Your comeback: an eye roll will suffice here.
We will NEVER say: let’s get those LOVELY LONG legs working…
Why is it that when legs are ever complimented that they’re usually combined with the word long? Can we have lovely short legs? Lovely thin legs? Lovely thick legs? Can we just have lovely legs? Oh wait… can we just have… LEGS? Legs help us walk. Legs are amazing, no matter what size, shape, colour, form. If you don’t have legs… you’re equally amazing. Legs are not lovely. They’re legs.
Your comeback: my legs are short… (wait for the awkward pause and smile).
We will NEVER say: let’s work the pouch… come on, no one wants a saggy pouch!
Wait… are you talking about the lower belly and calling it a pouch? Are we kangaroos now? Oh, we had no idea.
Your comeback: starts to hop like a kangaroo (wow, that one was really lame).
We will NEVER say: let’s work those tuck shop lady arms! Get rid of those bingo wings!
Ok… can we all just hold out our arm and sway it back and forth. Did your lower arm wobble? YEAH, we bet it did… because EVERYONE’S arms do this. In order to bend we need muscle, which when not flexed, wobbles. Capiche? Also, Bingo is a fun game… don’t ruin it.
Your comeback: Bingo!!!!! Sway arm around the air for extra drama.
We will NEVER say: werrrking that inner thigh to make that thigh gap… oh yeahhh!
It’s technically impossible for some people to have a thigh gap. But also, why is it even important? It’s not. Got a thigh gap? Cool. Thighs touch? Cool. The fact that you have thighs is the celebration here.
Your comeback: please mind the gap between the train and the platform.
We will NEVER say: we gotta get rid of those saddle bags!
We didn’t even know what ‘saddle bags’ referred to, we had to google it… but it’s a term we’ve seen thrown around and apparently it relates to the back of the legs, under the butt. This is so confusing… why do we have a saddle? And why are there bags on the saddle? Huh?
Your comeback: wtaf are saddle bags?
We hope we made you giggle. We hope you feel empowered… to either ignore the words or stand up for your body. Afterall, it’s amazing.
Our goal and mission in our MerryBody Online Yoga and Pilates Studio is to celebrate EVERY body. To make every BODY feel welcome and accepted… just as they are.
In MerryBody…
… move your body now to create and maintain a healthy life (not just a summer body!).
…move your body to show respect and gratitude for your body.
…exercise so you can move with greater ease and have fewer injuries later in life.
…move for the JOY of movement itself!
AHHH now THAT sounds and feels good!
If you want to experience all of this, we’d LOVE to welcome you in! You can head on over HERE to join.
Always merrymaking,
Emma + Carla
Photo by Ewa Gillen on Unsplash
Photo by Photo Lily on Unsplash
Photo by jonathan ocampo on Unsplash
Feature photo by Vicko Mozara on Unsplash