Am I being petty?

6

67firecracker

Cathlete
I'm so glad I found this website, and these videos...although I haven't tried one yet. I wanted to voice my disappointment on an issue and frankly noone in my circle of friends and certainly noone in my family really has a clue what I'm talking about or gives a care. So I thought I might find a sympathetic ear here.
I've been an avid follower of another instructor for a long time. I own all her videos except her latest. Recommended and ranted and raved over her no nonsense style. But I will not buy any more. I feel totally sold out... she obviously has augmented certain body parts and whereas I respect her right to do what she wants with her body I feel sold out on! I know I'm being petty but I although I own all her previous videos I can not bring myself to buy her newest one - I hate being the only flat exerciser in the room! Am I being petty?
Oh well her 'gain' is also her loss and her loss is Cathe's gain!
 
Firecracker -

You will find all kinds of opinions on this forum about plastic surgery, which is a deceptively complex issue.

It is my personal belief that our society places too much emphasis on looks, and people in the public eye oftentimes choose to give into that pressure rather than stand up to it. I think it not only makes life more difficult for people like me, who don't have the best self-image to begin with, but is extremely unheathly for children who are growing and developing their own self image.

Instead of being more accepting of body shape and type, and such specifics as breast or butt size and shape, our society seems to have one narrow view of what's beautiful. And usually, everyday folks ain't it.

That said, one of the reasons I gave up on the FIRM was that not only wasn't I getting the results I wanted, but it was obvious to me that their looks were "enhanced" by a skillful surgeon.

I think Cathe and her Crew look AMAZINGLY fit and fabulous in the new pics, even though personally it's not a look I prefer. However, if I found out Cathe had gotten lipo or something to enhance/achieve that look, as hard as it would be, I would stop buying her workouts.

I would cry, too.

No, I don't think you're being petty. After all, we consumers vote with our dollars. And if you really feel that strongly about it, drop the instructor a line through her website and tell her why you won't be buying any more of her workouts!

Sorry for such a long answer to a short question.

Just my opinion (and I am usually wrong - LOL)!

Susan L.G.
 
Hey,

I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion, even if it's not the same as mine, therefore I will not say that you are being petty. However, I wouldn't stop buying Cathe's videos (for example) just because she got some work done. When I work out with her, I get a tough workout, I see results, and I feel better overall! Basically what I'm trying to say is that for me, the benefits that I get from exercise videos are independent of who looks like what in them. But again, you are entitled to your opinion.
 
Ok...Karen Voight. My example. I had her previous workouts and found them very hard work. Power Packed Workout (how hard is that!) Energy Sprint, etc...all very hard. She had a good body. But very little breats due to low, low body fat i'd imagine. Now when Streamline Fitness came out my first thought was ... "Oh my God, she has implants" She looked so different (upper body wise). However i could care less, its the workout i'm interested in. And i liked Streamline Fitness, however her other tapes didn't have the same intensity as her previous videos, so i stopped buying her stuff. This has nothing to do with her "upper body work". Like i said, i could care less. I think everyone has the right to choose and make decisions about what is right for them. I respect that. If Cathe choose to get some "work" done I could care less. What would matter is "are the new videos good?" That concerns me more. It is your choice. But it is sad that you/we care so much what someone does to there own body. Everyone knows that no matter how many press-ups they do (women wise) they ain't gonna get fuller, bigger, larger breats (otherwise implants wouldn't be needed).

You really need to ask yourself. Is this instructor good? Is she hard work (for you?). Did you like her before? And if you answer yes to the above, then why not do her workouts?

Lets be real honest, who cares?
 
No - I dont think your being petty - your being realistic. I get annoyed myself with all the " body enhancement" of some instructors and "computor generated changes" ovious in some Fitness Magazines.(Guys and Gals) It is extremly differcult to feel motivated working out with "those" when we know for them it hasnt only been diet and exercise. How stupid do they think we consumers are?

As for Cathe.......to me she has that "body" due to years of religious working out and a healthy diet. Her body and her crews seem to look very "body proportional" to their lifestyle. She has a very healthy and strong look and Im sure she would be never be "hypocritical" and surcome to surgery.

And as much as some bash Dennis Austin...........at least she too practices what she preaches and you have to respect those type of instructors but not necessarily buy there videos.

:)
 
Before I start getting bashed because people misinterpreted what I said - I would like to emphasize now that I was just using Cathe as an example. Not saying she got any work done, just saying that if she were to, it wouldn't make a difference.....
 
Firecracker --

You are entitled to feel any way you like. If this particular topic (someone else's plastic surgery) is important to you, then it is *not* petty to you.

I, personally, have no problem with anyone doing anything they want with their body. It does not affect my life or my thoughts about myself in any way. I don't base my purchases of exercise videos on whether or not the instructor has had "help" maintaining the appearance they desire. If I get a good workout, what difference does it make?

However, if you cannot get a good workout because you are focused on this issue -- then it makes sense not to purchase their products. I also know you are not the only person to feel this way.

Shonie
 
Hi, Firecracker,
One thing you might consider...people have a variety of reasons for the surgeries they have. One of my friends had an enlargement because her twin sister had breast cancer and she was urged to have her breasts removed. Her enlargement was actually b/c she had to get fake ones anyway.
Sometimes there is more to the story than pure vanity. Sometimes not... :)
What someone else does to enhance their own appearance is often cultural. If you live in Plano, TX, you are more than welcome to have plastic surgery. We have more plastic surgeons per capita than anywhere. "Everyone" does it. If you live in central Oregon, you might wear a stigma for having plastic surgery. What if wearing make-up was as personal as plastic surgery? People could get upset with Cathe saying, "She wears make-up! Why can't she just be natural? Why can't she just be happy with herself the way she is? That sends the wrong message to people! I'm quitting."
Just some thoughts. That instructor most likely doesn't have cancer, but truly, you never know a person's reasoning or their influences. Some women's husbands want them to do it, and why should we care if they find it more..appealing?
Who cares? One of my friends will not tell a soul except me that she had an augmentation b/c she says women are so weird about it. She did it for her husband, who REALLY likes them.

;-) ;-)
 
I think the point is being made more to the instructors who do not practice what they preach.
Everyone has the right to do what ever they like with their bodies - no argument there - but some instructors should not promote or use any introductory statements that they achieved those bodies by "diet" and "exercise" alone! - if they didnt - and you too (the comsumer) can achieve that "look".

On one hand, I think Instructosr shouldnt need to inform everyone and anyone about their cosmetic surgery, breast, butt, lipo, what ever..... (because we all have eyes and its none of our business) but on the other hand, I get just as annoyed with false advertising of "wrinkle cream"

Its ironic that this subject came up because today theres a new Fitness Magazine out in Australia called "Natural Bodies" and they chose a very pretty girl in a bikini for the cover who has quiet large "implants" Hmmmmmm :)
 
When Karen Voight had her breast augmentation done, I couldn't do her workouts for quite a while (especially since in the first one she did with her new "green genies" she was off beat with the music). I thought it sent such a mixed message about fitness and about self esteem (why did she feel she had to have bigger breasts?) Now, I have a couple of her "post boob job" workouts, and I just laugh whenever she says "keep you chest up."

I'm frankly sick and tired of our cosmetically-enhanced, breast-augmented society. Whatever happened to being happy with who you are? I'm not talking about people who have deformities fixed or post-surgical breast replacement, but since when did having small breasts or a few wrinkles constitute a deformity?
 
I'm just wondering where one would draw the line on what is acceptable. Do we accept tooth whitening or lip plumping for example and not breast enhancement? Personally I don't care one way or the other, particularly with breast enlargement because it's obvious that you can't increase breast size with exercise, so I think that it just a cosmetic change. However, liposuction or buttocks enlargement might be seen as more deceptive.This is an interesting topic but I hate to be too judgemental because I don't personally know the people involved.
 
I don't think you're being petty. I personally feel that if someone wants to have something enhanced (or lifted, or whatever) then they should go for it if it makes them feel better about themselves. I have a friend whose breasts are very small in proportion to her body and it's bothered her all of her life. She plans on having implants sometime in the near future and I think she will feel much more confident. The same goes with fitness instructors, but I can definitely say that I would lose a lot of respect and trust if I religiously worked out w/ someone sold on the fact that they achieved their body from these workouts and then found out that they had been "enhanced" in a few places. I don't know if breast implants are quite as relevant here in my feelings. As a previous poster said, I think that lipo and butt implants would be more deceiving. Just my .02. But, whatever the case is--congrats to you for finding cathe!! No matter who you're referring to, I'm sure you've make a big step up!!!}(
 
As usual, Kathryn succinctly sums up exactly how I feel about this topic. Thanks Kathryn for your eloquence!

I would feel deceived by Cathe if I discovered she had a cosmetically enhanced physique. It would be a public and commercial deception. The point is that when an instructor struts their stuff on our TV screen, the implication is that we too could achieve their "perfection" by following their regime dutifully. But, no amount of push ups would ever get me a chest like Karen Voigt's. Never. Any person who wants to can fix whatever body part they want, I don't care if their self esteem is that low. But a fitness instructor who cosmetically enhances her figure must understand the deception and mixed messages she is sending to her public.

Clare
 
Thank you so much for your feedback. I agree with a lot of what was said. It was interesting reading the posts and exploring my own thoughts on the topic. Perhaps an aspect of this is the strange way these instructors become a part of our lives. After all I spent hours with her first thing every morning until you almost feel like you know them...or at least think they must think the same way you do. It's almost like I thought she should have polled her loyal following first...and that's just crazy! Poor girl probably thought she could just slip it in and nobody would notice! ;-)
And then there's that strange loyalty that one feels when you own all the tapes. Yes, I'm one of those that gets some bad haircuts but still returns to the same old hairdresser out of loyalty.
Oh well I will continue to be petty on this issue... and hypocritical as well as I put on my padded LaSenza's!:eek:
Thanks for discussing this with me!
 
Just curious, is it well established that Karen Voight did have augmentation? She looks more filled out all around, and I wonder if she just decided that being as lean as she was wasn't healthy. I just thought Karen put on some needed weight.
 
I'm pretty sure she's had them "done". They are just to round and perfect looking to not be fake.

And as for me, I wish fewer instructors had augmentations. For me, and this is only my opinion, it sends a bad message. The " I can workout for a living, eat right, look great, but still not be good enough" message. If a woman who literally workouts for a living needs plasic surgey, then what hope do I have. I only have maybe 90 min a day, and my eating is far from clean.
 
I wonder if the basic assumption is possibly wrong. I don't think it is neccessarily true that b/c a person has an augmentation, they have decided that they are not "good enough" or that they have low self esteem. But..I think that when you assume that becoming perfect is their motivation, then it makes you feel badly about yourself b/c you might compare yourself to them and find reasons to be hard on yourself. And their standard becomes frustrating b/c you don't consider surgery to be desireable for you. Or it seems unfair that someone could buy a better body instead of work for it, when you are choosing to work for it, and they are promoting working for it. Augmentation or not, EVERYONE has to work for a better body!

It actually is possible to just want to be a little bigger and to have plenty of $ to do it, and to have a spouse who also thinks that would be fun, and no kids who need for you take care of them or save your money for their college, and just go and do it. LIke a belly ring or a tattoo or something.
If you think of it like that...just a thing they did...it becomes less personal. Then you don't have bad feelings toward yourself or toward them for doing it. Its just a decoration that they thought would look nice.
I don't believe there are very many instructors who are consciously trying to give women a physical standard. I think they are trying to give you a good workout product
.
And...no matter how much plastic surgery a person has, they CANNOT look muscular without working their butt off. Ha! Ha! Literally! You know, Michael Jackson, surgery freak doesn't hold a candle to Cathe (or Karen for that matter.) They BOTH look great because they are committed to working hard and eating right.
Just my thoughts. You don't have to consider them if you don't want to. :)
 
I like Karen Voight myself. Has she ever said that people who workout to her videos would have big breasts because of her workouts? Most likely not. Has she ever supported getting cosmetic surgeries anywhere in interviews, etc.? Has she ever mentioned it? I think it's about perception, and the onus is on the observer to disseminate what's in front of them and then make informed choices. If watching Karen Voight makes you feel pressured to get a boob job, is that her fault? If it does make you feel that way, then simply do not buy her videos. Most people realize that you will not get large breasts simply by working out. Just as most people should realize that they are never going to look like the people in alot of these videos just by doing the workouts. These are fitness pros and they spend alot more time working out than we ever will see. They also SHOULD look appealing to the eye, in my view. And if a little boob job makes the difference then who cares? I think it's inspiring and motivating to see gorgeous bodies while working out. Heck, Cathe's look has gotten me through her tougher workouts on more than one occasion. And I watch all of the nice-looking women in the gym where I workout. It's motivating and makes the time fly by. And, for me, how they got that way is irrelevant. All that matters is MY choice for how I am going to get the look I want.
I do not see it as selling out unless an instructor is PROMISING some "look" through her workouts that she did not get by actually doing the workouts. If some instructor is eating steroids to get muscle, for instance, then parades around saying he/she got that look by doing a certain routine, then that's selling out in my mind.
Actually, while I think of it, do ANY instructors promise that you will have muscles and leanness just like them if you do only their workouts? I mean, I love Cathe, but I seriously doubt she looks the way she does only by doing the routines that she puts on film. If she does she is very genetically gifted.
As for "being happy with oneself" physically, if everyone was happy with their bodies I doubt the fitness industry would even exist. People have many different ways of making themselves feel good about what they are doing, and boosting their self esteem.
Anyway, just my two cents.
T.

:)
 
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