How has a place defined by respect, discipline, and hard work warped itself into the endorsement of scarfing down protein-packed powders and injecting physically enhancing drugs into one’s body?
What used to be an outlet for stress, a bad day, or simply a place to exercise has hit rock bottom. Gym culture moves only further away from the personal empowerment values it once promoted to ones filled with ego, greed, and power. Toxic gym culture refers to the harmful and unrealistic expectations and behaviors within the fitness industry. This term has recently gained much more attention, in part due to social media’s glamorization of the harmful actions associated with this term. Platforms such as Instagram and TikTok have led to the rise of fitness influencers who showcase Greek statue-like physiques, promoting specific, often unhealthy, body types as the epitome of health and attractiveness.
With new terms being coined from "gymrat" to "gymcel", it is apparent that gym culture and exercise have become much more than a hobby to some influencers, it’s now their entire personality. During the isolationist COVID era, we saw a shift where health and beauty influencers became more popular as they grew traction on several social media apps. Their main content began to follow trends that popularized exercise and dieting, such as the famous Chloe Ting video workouts you’ve likely heard of before. Being essentially locked up, common gym-goers turned to these YouTube workouts to fill the hole left by their lack of gym access. While a much more complex issue, the pandemic also created an unfortunately wide range of mental and health issues. Some of these issues related to body image and restrictive eating, which in turn created a bigger audience for the toxic fitness influencer world to leech off of. To people new to the fitness world, these workouts presented the idea of a self-improvement journey or essentially a “cure” to any fitness or body struggle they had been facing. Whether you were familiar with or new to the fitness world, almost everyone involved was now online, consuming whatever influencer was trending. This community, as most trends do, quickly morphed into something not so health-improving with this online culture shifting into one revolving strictly around one’s physical appearance, especially in regards to how it dictates one’s masculinity. Eventually, despite gyms opening back up, influencers' followings stuck and so did this harmful culture.
The Australian fitness influencer @ChloeTing
Historically, such ideas are deeply ingrained in cultural norms across the globe as we see traditional notions of masculinity often associate strength, dominance, and stoicism with societal success and attractiveness. This idea is then pushed further with the rise of social media, cultural narratives, and the toxic gym culture mindset that is propagated on various platforms. On a societal level, the perpetuation of such narrow masculine ideals contributes to the reinforcement of harmful gender norms which allows for an environment where emotional expression and vulnerability in men are negatively stigmatized. This not only hinders men from seeking help when needed but also creates an atmosphere that restricts the emotional development and well-being of everyone. Recently, these standards have led to increased promotion of the "alpha male mindset", a personality type reflecting that often toxic ideals are necessary to create a highly intelligent, confident, and therefore successful man. While. on the surface. such a mindset doesn’t sound harmful, many influencers have taken it too far. This idea has especially been seen on many “alpha male” podcasts, where many discussions focus on how masculinity cannot exist without fitness, in turn glorifying a specific look that idealizes muscular physique.
However, this isn’t just a “male issue,” as women find themselves taking the boot as a result of the rise of these toxic cultures. The portrayal of women within the toxic gym culture often reduces them to mere physical attributes, reinforcing harmful gender stereotypes. Especially within the “alpha male mindset” women find themselves being whittled down to accessories only valued for their physical appearance. The purpose of such a culture is to focus on aesthetics over substance which washes over everyone’s accomplishments.
While the harm to women’s mental health caused by such a culture is still talked about, men, who also struggle with mental health due to this mindset, are typically left out of the discussion. This huge fixation on achieving such a physique can create an environment where vulnerability and mental health concerns are silenced, effectively hindering open conversations and support systems for men facing these challenges. Scott Murray was a young Irish fitness influencer who took the boot of this toxic culture. Despite having a Bachelor’s in health and performance, his infatuation with the “perfect body” resulted in a crazed, intense regime. With his form deteriorating and his health ignored, Murray’s body couldn’t take it anymore and he unfortunately passed away. Steroids, performance-enhancing drugs (IPED), and synthetic supplements had all promised to gift him the ideal body. This highlights the more intense side of toxic gym culture, especially the usage of anabolic steroids which raises many concerns with its risks. An increase in aggressiveness, termed "roid rage", risk of acne, liver tumors, and blood clotting as well as heart disease and strokes are all possible risks of such usage. With the rise in demand for such products—possibly due to the rise in toxic gym culture—these products are becoming more readily available, making the risk of such harm to the body higher.
Toxic gym culture is a much bigger issue than many realize. The first step is recognizing the problem. Going against ages of expectations of unrealistic standards is much harder than a simple discussion, but, by openly acknowledging these impacts on mental health and well-being, a cultural shift away from accepting such expectations as the norm can begin. It is the responsibility of not only fitness institutions, but also the influencers who are heard by a huge audience to put their foot down. Gyms and other fitness institutions, the primary spaces where these ideals often manifest, have a significant role in turning away from this harmful way of thinking. They have a job to create an environment that prioritizes mental health, diversity, and individual well-being over superficial standards. Insecurity sells, but it also kills, so recognizing the impact of this toxic culture is the first step towards getting over these narrow standards.
Olivia Woitach
Contributor to Project Invisible String
July 10, 2024
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