The Truth about “Beach Bodies”

Don't believe your eyes. And don't believe the lies fit pros and gyms will try to sell you between now and June!

First, some good news and bad news:

The good news is no one you see in professional media or filtered Instagram actually looks that way in real life!

The bad news is even though it's highly unlikely anyone will ever look like "the ideal," we're still inundated with messaging every single day that makes us feel like we actually can look like the bodies we see in the media if we just try harder and use more discipline and buy a detox tea. (Note: Do NOT buy a detox tea unless you still have a large stockpile of toilet paper from quarantine. You'll need it. You've been warned.)

So what now?

Step one is to eliminate the phrase "beach body" from your vocabulary. It made me cringe just putting it in the subject line.
If you google it, you'll probably get a lot of lean, muscular, white people in skimpy swimsuits.
In reality, there is no specific body type that is a "beach body."
Every body is worthy and deserving of being on a beach. Take your body and put it on the beach and voilà, beach body.


"But I want to look good at the beach"

Me too!
So step two is get back to your basics.

Eat well, move your ass, sleep, drink water, and manage your stress.

Yes, I do write this in almost every single email I send you, and that is because these are the fundamentals.

If you are not doing them all consistently, your progress will be limited. Full stop.


"I am doing all these things, all the time! I still don't look how I want"

Wow! That's impressive. But honestly, I call b.s. and I'm gonna need proof.

Most people who are not professional or semi professional athletes, competitors, or fitness models are not checking all those boxes every single day. I know I don't!

To get to the level of leanness we see in advertising and movies and figure competitions, you have to do all those things and then some -- weigh food portions, eat things steamed or plain with few seasonings, follow a strict workout regimen very carefully, get enough recovery between training sessions, and have genetics on your side, among other things.

**For more, check out this infographic from Precision Nutrition: The Cost of Getting Lean

I know people who have done figure or bikini competitions. I know what they have to do in order to compete, and I know it's not fun or sustainable for most people. It can also be dangerous, especially if you already have a tricky relationship with diets. I also know that what you see on stage or in photos completely changes as soon as you start drinking water and eating food again (yup, those popping muscles are partly brought to you by dehydration.)


Here's the other trick advertisers and fitness companies don't want you to know...

Even the people in the movies don't look like the people in the movies.
(Read How Hollywood Gives Actors Plastic Surgery with a Mouse Click.)

Even the people in the ads don't look like the people in the ads.
(Read about why some companies are ditching digital distortion in ads.)

Even the "real people" on Instagram are use photo editing apps, filters, and lighting in their photos.
(Check out side-by-side images and the apps and editors used adjust them.)

In the Hollywood article I linked above, one of the special effects artists says: "If you leave the theater thinking your favorite actor has perfect skin and no body fat, then I did my job."

That's what we all think, right? I mean, I watched Justice League this weekend and wished I was as lean and jacked as one of the Amazon warriors, but I know I don't want to be as restrictive as I'd need to be, and even if I did, it wouldn't be enough because what's on the screen isn't real.

Even when someone puts in all the work because it's their job, sticks with the restrictive diet and exercise regimen, recovers well, and has lucky genetics...they usually don't end up looking exactly like the images we're used to seeing. They have help from technology. And for those of them who do get close to that ideal, it's usually just for a moment in time, a snapshot from a great angle right after a workout when the muscles are pumped up.


So what's a normal human without a team and effects crew to do?

The basics. Yup, those again!

Once you've mastered those skills and are doing them consistently (think 90-100% of the time), then you can dial in on your nutrition and adjust your training as needed to get you closer to that ideal.

Or you could stick with the basics, do them 80% of the time as best you can, and slap a swimsuit on your body and take it to the damn beach.