I saw this headline the other day, “Stars and their Trainers.” It made me think of a certain video I did a few years ago called The Photoshop Effect. It has over 12 million views which tells me, its shocking and people share it.
The reason this article about celebrities and the workouts that they do jogged my memory is because the article is basically useless. Sure celebrities may do these moves with their trainers, but what the reader forgets is that when they see this star in a glossy magazine, their image has been photoshopped and edited.
Yes, you can do the same workout as Jessica Biel as part of your New Years Resolution kick, but depending on your diet, your genetics and overall weight, the moves are not going to sculpt any identical body parts. No matter how hard you work at the gym, you will NEVER look like the actresses in the magazines because they do not look like that. The articles try to get you to believe this. It bothers me. Sometimes the trainer hasn’t even seen this client in years!
The part that stinks for normal people is that these images have created a norm and an expectation. This is why I believe I get so many fat comments on YouTube videos. That and trolls. Lots of trolls.
I do not trust these magazines. I do not trust the images the show. I do not trust the workouts the tell me celebrities complete 2 hours a day. I also do not trust the diet lies they spread. Yes, I’m sure Blake Lively loves Sprinkles cupcakes, but US Weekly acts like she eats 2 of them a day. Some people read that a model eats cake and champagne before a shoot while snickering that they must be lying. Chances are they are telling the truth, their pictures just get doctored to look like that are leaner. Sometimes celebrities lie about how much they eat to appear healthy. Either way, I never trust what I read or see. It kind of upsets me.
On the opposite hand, I wonder if the internet has exacerbated my trust issues. I cannot seem to let anyone cut my hair these days without the approval of Yelp. Same goes for touching my car or even just ordering dinner! Yes, I’ve gotten pretty bad. I guess when you get burned by a mechanic for $4K or receive orange highlights, you tend to think twice before trusting just anyone.
Do you have trust issues when it comes to what you read online and in magazines? Do you trust magazine workouts?
Great post, Sarah! Like you, I am a huge user of Yelp and sometimes I probably rely on the anonymous aggregation of online reviews to guide my choices on dining or even picking out a good yoga studio. While I don’t trust magazines to provide me with a workout that will help me attain the a certain celebrity’s butt or abs or lean legs, etc., I do like to incorporate some of the moves if only to shake up my workout routine.
I would never actually buy a fitness magazine with a supermodel or celebrity on the cover thinking that their workout would make me look like them because as you pointed out, so much photoshopping is done that they don’t even look that “perfect” (which is also such nonsense to think that they themselves need to be further perfected for magazine covers) and I know that my body type / genetics / diet all factor in as well. While I may never have the “perfect” body splashed all over fitness magazines, I am perfectly healthy and fit and happy.
Amazing post, you looked amazing prior to the photo shop! It would be amazing for one the major women’s health magazine’s like Women’s Health or Fitness to share what a issues looks like prior to all the touch ups!
I agree!
I’m curious about another aspect of this… I can imagine that the majority of magazines are heavily touched up, even something like Men’s Health I would guess is Photoshopped to a certain degree, but what I’m really wondering is when I pick up Runner’s World or Inside Triathlon and I see a picture of Deena Kastor or Ryan Hall or Chrissie Wellington or Tim deBoom, what degree of authenticity to these photos have? Pictures from a race seem to be genuine, but what about feature pictorials and cover photos? Can you share anything on those aspects of the photo ‘journalism’? Thanks!
I do know that even those images are in fact photoshopped. It’s just part of the industry. They do not give them thinner thighs but they may add definition. Most noticeably they get rid of under eye bags, wrinkles, color correction, sun sports and make them have a dewy fresh glow. So sadly all images have been edited on covers or in pictorials, including Runner’s World or Inside Triathlon.
Ahhh what a great video Sarah!!! Thankyou for being such a positive and responsible health and fitness blogger! 😀