I’m calling out all of the athletes and fitness people who are comparing their bodies to Donald Trump – we get it, you don’t like the president.
But unless you’re in your 70’s as well, it’s kinda silly.
Even if you are a buff senior citizen, when did it become OK to make fun of someone elses body?
This will be the first time I’ve come out and defended the president online, but people shouldn’t be cutting the man down because he’s 15lbs overweight.
For the athletes out there, you get paid to use your body, and I’m a fan of your work. You are the “man in the arena” as Teddy Roosevelt said. Don’t be the critic!
[To be fair, it’s mostly twitter users and trolls that are creating these memes like the Kaepernick / Trump one above, but the fact that it’s happening is too bad.]
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
For the fitness people, if you’re a trainer posting shirtless selfies next to Trump to sell your product… that’s a cheap trick.
You’re taking my industry and polluting it with vanity and self absorption.
You claim to be selling health and fitness but your image doesn’t fit everyone. Especially not senior citizens, which Trump is.
If I’ve learned anything as a trainer, it’s that everyone has different life experiences. Everyone comes with their own list of injuries and inabilities, and those things only accumulate as you age.
People also go through different stages of life. We all have highs and lows, and struggles that nobody else knows about (sometimes not even ourselves).
Sometimes we eat good, sometimes we eat bad. Sometimes we get tied up in family issues, and sometimes we’re busy with work.
Being the leader of the free world might be one of those jobs that take up your time and energy.
So if someone doesn’t meet YOUR fitness standards, unless you’re their coach or trainer, just keep your mouth shut. It reflects poorly.
I will continue to reject the shallow attempts to sell fitness to people. Digging at peoples sense of self worth because of the way they look is a dirty tactic.
If you thought this post was going to be political, sorry, but that was just to get you to read my blog 🙂
That doesn’t mean I didn’t want to take the opportunity to talk about something real.
Call it fat shaming, call it mud slinging or call it fitness marketing. It doesn’t belong in an industry that is meant to promote health.
-Dan Cenidoza
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Very well said.I was a Nautilus trainer back in the late 70’s and I hated the way fitness clubs marketed their “product” at the time. Every January the club was full and by March many people had given up trying to attain some arbitrary standard of fitness. It is a life long journey; none of us has the right to negatively comment about another’s path along the way.
Thanks for the comments Ted. I’m guess you’re friends with (or at least know) Kim Wood.
Dan, I am not going to disagree with your premise that we should not body shame period. I think your point of an unfair comparison of a 20 something athlete to a 70 something non-athlete are particularly fair.
I would like to add that you also should take some offense to the presidents report that he is in “overall excellent health.” President Trump in many respects in the picture of American aging. He is overweight/obese according to BMI. (I would love to have a DEXA scan for body fat measurement) He carries central adipose deposits with dyslypedmia, likely has impaired glucose tolerance, and is sedentary with a self admitted poor diet. This is not “excellent health” and is an insult to those that are making the effort to improve their health even if they are not what they want or need to be from a health perspective.
I think if I find this funny…I find it funny that a medical professional can look the United States in the face and say excellent health. It is a mockery to the folks that work in your facility or mine that are trying to put the best foot forward in healthy aging. OK, I am now stepping off my soap box. Just to be clear, this is not a statement about politics either.
Fair point Jeff! Thanks for the comment.