Is it realistic to look like a fitness girl from Instagram? Nicola Vachova will tell you!

A phrase that I have heard more than once from female clients, or I have read a discussion on a similar topic, where women (or even men) argued about what they need to do to achieve the same look as their idol on social media. How is it really in reality with our motivation photos in the form of female and male fitness enthusiasts on Instagram? And if someone is trying to exercise and eat the same way as their motivator, how is it possible that they don't look exactly like them?

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First, it's important to realize that these profiles feature the photos, posts and videos that the person wants their followers to see. In the example, this means that the role model is probably not going to post just any photo, but the best possible one out of several taken. He wants to show himself in the best light for others (often literally), showing his best form in the most conducive environment to create such an image. So what does this actually mean? From my own experience, I can confirm that I rarely manage to take a photo the first time so that I like it and then post it as my profile post. So several such photos will be taken, from different angles, in different poses and positions. I then choose the one that best captures what I took the photo for.

If I want to take a photo and write a post about exercise, it seems most appropriate to take such a photo in a gym, where the environment will suggest the content of the post. If we take such a photo at home, it will probably be quite detracting from the environment, which is not related to the content of the post, and the whole package you post will be meaningless on first impression (you may not even read the post and just glance over the photo). Fitness is also associated with appropriate lighting, which adds atmosphere to the photo, and you simply can't overlook such a post. What does it mean? She (the fitness person) most likely posts such photos, which she first carefully thinks about, chooses the best one out of several taken and only then adds the post to social networks. And you don't look like that in the evening when you come back tired from work and look at your form in the bathroom between the towels? Don't worry about it, they might look the same too. That photo of your idol you were lamenting yesterday could have been taken in the morning, before breakfast, in an empty gym.

Another important thing to remember is that we are all different. If we put three different fitness experts (or fitness people) side by side to admire, each one will be different. You will admire the worked out legs on one, the arms on another and the abs on another. Yet they eat and exercise the same. So how is it possible that everyone is different? It's simple. Each person has individually different predispositions that they are born with. In some female athletes we can see a powerful, well-developed lower body and they have only used their potential to develop their dominance even further. In another fitness girl we can see a narrow, wasp waist (probably she had a narrow waist when she was a child and it has followed her into adulthood).

It works the same way for men who desire broad shoulders, a manly chest and big arms. How is it possible that one man can just lift weights a few times and develop a powerful upper body, while another has shoulders that are too narrow for a man? Unfortunately, genetics plays a role here too. However, it is always possible to work on our weaknesses and if we persevere, the results will come. I just want to point out that they may be nothing like what we see in photos of another athlete. We are all different and everyone has been "gifted" something different. So there is no point in beating ourselves up on social media and despairing that we will never look like that. We can always create the best possible version of ourselves and maybe motivate someone else, the same way someone on Instagram motivates us.

The last point that comes to mind for sure for all of us, and belongs to the modern age of the internet and social media, is the sophisticated editing of photos. It happens nowadays and daily that before a photo sees the light of day (on the main Instagram page), the owner runs it through several different apps to edit not only the colors, shadows, highlights, etc., but also the aforementioned waistline can be edited quite easily, creating the illusion of a wasp waistline for his fans. If one of the fitness ladies doesn't have nice buttocks, this too can be worked on with a few adjustments to create the (sometimes unnatural) round butt we all envy and complain that we will never look like that. And that men are slowly bursting out of their shirt sleeves and you can try as hard as you want and still not create that arm volume?

Believe me, we wouldn't find photo editing apps only in women's mobile phones. And if we're being honest with ourselves, do you really eat 100% strictly like your role model on instagram? Do you exercise as hard? Are you just as consistent in your food preparation for each day? Are you consistent? Do you have the willpower? Here too, you can find the answer to why you don't look like your idol. And if you really want to compare yourself to someone, it's yourself. You and the latest version of you. So get over it!

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