#ThisGirlCan
It’s time to get moving. Time to let go of your inhibitions. Why? Because #ThisGirlCan. Yes, that means you.
What’s getting in the way of your exercise goals? Do you find it hard to go for a jog because you’re pooped by the end of the road? Are you stuck for time? Or are you feeling self-conscious – worried about being the fattest woman at the gym among sylph-like powerhouses, or about getting jeers from schoolboys as you jog around the park?
For many of us, our fitness efforts are hampered by our heads, not our bodies. We fear that others will judge our jiggle at the local pool, or that yoga classes are only populated by double-jointed gazelles. We fear that we’re not runners, not athletes – just… not sporty.
A survey released by Sport England at the end of January showed that 125,000 fewer women were regularly taking part in sport – worrying figures suggesting that the boost from the London Olympics has run out of steam. It wasn’t all bad news, though – the figures for both running and netball are up, according to England Athletics. The number of club athletes registered with England Athletics stands at just under 135,000 for 2014-15, already more than 2,000 up on the previous record set in the year of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
And a Sport England ad campaign has already made huge inroads when it comes to inspiring women to get out there.
The campaign is called This Girl Can. And it’s the sassiest thing we’ve seen on the Corrie ad break in quite a long time. When the ad first aired, thousands took to Twitter to voice their approval. It features women – real women, not fitness models – taking part in real sports, with taglines such as ‘I jiggle, therefore I am’ and Missy Elliot’s ‘Get Ur Freak On’ rocking over the top.
Here’s the best bit. The women in the campaign are sweating. Not glowing, not mildly perspiring – real goddamn sweat, with a bit of heavy breathing thrown in for good measure. ‘Sweat like a pig, feel like a fox’ is another tagline, as they Zumba, spin and, yes, jiggle themselves out of breath. There’s some cellulite and some functional but not necessarily designer sports gear. And overall there’s an air of ferocity, power and true girl power.
We Heart Living – #thisgirlcan
It’s been a welcome antidote to the growing ‘fitspo,’ or fitness inspiration trends on social media. Although this too started as a positive campaign, it was quickly hijacked by the super fit, and started to slip worryingly close to the more harmful ‘thinspo’ trend, now associated with extreme dieting and pro-anorexia groups. The yoga selfie quickly saturated our Instagram feeds too – with celebrities joining the race to upload shots of a toned, tanned tummy in headstand mode on a tropical beach. A backlash campaign emerged, with yogis that were – gasp – bigger than a size eight informing us ‘this is what a yoga body looks like.’ Somehow, though, none have gained the traction of #thisgirlcan and its ‘I kick balls, deal with it’ mantra.
We Heart Living – #thisgirlcan
Annalisa Alexander from Surrey is one woman who can attest to the fact that exercise is something everyone can do. The mum of two was in recovery from breast cancer in 2011 when her friend dragged her out for a run. ‘It was the last thing I wanted to do. I was not at one with my body at the time, and massively self-conscious. She said, come on you’re miserable. When I protested that I couldn’t run, she replied, ‘Course you can, it’s one foot in front of the other!”
Four years on, Annalisa, 37, is training for her second marathon and leads a beginner-level Run England group at her club, Haslemere Border AC. She’s running the London Marathon 2015 for Breast Cancer Care to celebrate five years of remission. ‘Joining a running club is great – it’s so supportive,’ Annalisa says. ‘You always think running clubs will be full of the elite ‘greyhound’ type – but it’s all types of people and levels of fitness.’
Annalisa now says she loves inspiring people to run. ‘It helped me to come back from a really dark place when I really needed it,’ she says. ‘I’m not an ‘elite athlete’ – I’m still one of the slowest people out there but I’m just happy to do it. It’s the cheapest sport you can do, and will leave you full of endorphins. So step outside your front door and take a leap of faith. Exercise isn’t about being the fastest or the best – it’s just you against yourself, and getting your body to where you want it to be.’
In a world of fat-shaming, airbrushing and extreme diets, it’s a nice idea – no competition, just you looking after your body and keeping it healthy. Another of the #thisgirlcan mantras reads: ‘I swim because I love my body, not because I hate it.’ Perhaps it’s the first step for all of us to make a more positive move. So instead of looking sideways in yoga to see if the girl next to you has a better body, or cringing at the thoughts of your cellulite before leaving the pool, just remember you can and you will. Deal with it.