In recent years, our social media feeds have contributed to a fitness revolution that cannot be avoided.
With images of the ideal body perpetuating through society, there has been a change in attitudes towards exercise, fitness, nutrition and fashion.
Social media apps such as Facebook and Instagram have provided personal trainers and fitness fanatics with a platform to offer advice and support for others trying to achieve their fitness goals and adhere to the ideal.
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Why is Instagram So Popular Within the Fitness Industry?
Instagram has become societies go-to platform for inspiration and motivation, whether you are working towards a bikini body, training towards your next bodybuilding competition, or simply trying to lose/gain weight and get in shape.
Thanks to Instagram, there is a constant stream of motivation to drawn on, with a plethora of fitness and sports brands capitalising on users on-going quests for self-improvement.
But why is Instagram so successful at doing so?
People are drawn to the consistency of photographic evidence that demonstrates progression and results, giving people the encouragement and hope that such goals are possible.
The Promotion of a Lifestyle
Some of the most successful brands on Instagram take a subtle approach to selling by focusing on posts that tap into the users desire for a particular lifestyle – not just a product.
It is very likely that if a consumer is interested in sport, then they are going to be interested in nutrition, health and general well-being too.
Consequently, brands recognize the importance of viewing users in this light, ensuring that their posts aren’t too repetitive, dull or just trying to sell a product.
Just How Powerful is Instagram?
Instagram statistics demonstrate immense power showing that 1 billion active users a month, and around 100 million pictures and videos uploaded every single day.
So, it is no surprise that Instagram holds immense power to connect people from all over the world.
Such power has enabled Instagram to become the ultimate platform for businesses and organisations to gain more coverage for their brand and products.
In fact, it’s not uncommon for the average search engine optimisation company to now switch their attentions to using social media as their primary marketing tool instead, such is the power and influence it has.
Instagram has become so powerful that personal trainers, health experts and fitness enthusiasts can capitalise significantly from the platform.
Diet plans, workouts and health supplements are increasingly shared across Instagram, particularly since public figures and influencers can use Instagram as a way of promoting specific brands, just by the upload of a photo and use of a hashtag.
Instagram’s image of the ‘ideal’ figure promotes sculpted curves, defined abs, toned glutes and solid muscles, an image that showers our feeds on a daily basis.
This raises a debate as some people see this as problematic as Instagram is promoting an unrealistic and unattainable goal, that young people become obsessed with.
Alternatively, the images can be used in a positive way to show off personal achievements, thus inspiring and encouraging others to continue living a healthy lifestyle in order to achieve your goals.
Fitness Apparel
Instagram has caused a stir in the fashion industry by infusing the world of style and sport to create a hybrid style, known as ‘athleisure’ which is currently one of the hottest trends.
The term athleisure refers to casual clothing that is designed to be worn for exercising as well as general use.
Once upon a time, showing up in yoga pants or cycling shorts and trainers anywhere outside of the gym was frowned upon.
Now, street-style icons can be found flaunting their healthy lifestyle on-the-go by pairing their favourite trainers, with high-performance sportswear.
And thanks to Instagram, it is apparent that this trend is here to stay.
Fashion brands are now creating athleisure lines that are designed with versatility in mind, enabling consumers to be able to wear them on any occasion.
The athleisure trend has demonstrated a super quick growth over the past few year and has become a staple within the fashion industry, both luxury and high-street.
The explosion of athleisure has been fuelled by the Instagram lead cult of healthy living and clean eating.
Fitness enthusiasts are constantly posting pictures and selfies of themselves modelling with new protein shakes whilst wearing their latest gym apparel (which is often part of a brand deal, given to them in exchange for promotion).
Instagram Food Revolution
These days, a meal cannot be consumed before taking a picture and sharing with Instagram first.
Food photography has transformed societies eating habitsby displaying a multitude of delicious pictures of healthy food and recipes that are promoted by health experts and nutrionists, encouraging people to eat healthy.
Society is now used to the notion that the camera eats first, and thanks to Instagram, there is lots of knowledge and information out there about healthy eating which has made eating vegetables trendy.
How Influential are Influencers?
Influencers have become extremely popular within the world of Instagram.
The concept of an influencer is only possible because of how social media has changed how we perceive and process digital media.
Fitness influencers have quickly become some of the most powerful across social media.
Why? Because, once upon a time, the fitness industry implied that achieving a dream body was only attainable for those that workout the hardest, like famous body builders and professional athletes.
Fitness influencers have diminished such attitudes by transforming the notion of fitness and making it achievable for everyone.
In order to capitalise from this, influencers manipulate their digital image to adhere to brand deals for public exposure.
Will Instagram Continue to Grow?
For as long as Instagram remains a platform to share photos and high-quality content, then it will continue to grow indefinitely.
So far, it has connected millions of fitness-minded users, as well as encouraged people to lead a healthier and more active lifestyle, something of which should continue.