How to Deal With Body Dysmorphia

Body dysmorphia is a lot more common than you think, most people tend to associate them with eating disorders and though there is a strong correlation between the two, anyone can suffer from this condition.

Previously I have spoken about the reality of an eating disorder and my struggles, I touched upon my struggles with body dysmorphia. From a very young age my ideal views of what I 'should' look like were drilled into my brain with media images of perfectly airbrushed bodies being slammed into my face. The impact of those images on young girls can be detrimental and it is this that spiralled my eating disorder and dysmorphia.

Body dysmorphia is seeing a figure in the mirror you deem as severely flawed. Your mind basically portrays flaws that will be unnoticeable to those around you. For me I saw myself as 'fat' when in reality I was in the grasps of anorexia sitting at around less than 6 stone. Body dysmorphia makes you see fat when in reality there is bone. It will make you obsess over cellulite or stretch marks when they in fact are normal and beautiful. The persons image of themselves becomes distorted and they obsess over trying to conceal those flaws. The painful thing for sufferers of body dysmorphia is that it does not easily go away. It is embedded in your mind and retraining yourself to think that your body is beautiful and you are good enough is something that is incredibly hard to do. Instead of picking out your flaws, pick out what you like about yourself. For me I like my eyes, my strong legs and my freckles, it may be random but it helps you to concentrate on the positives you see in yourself and not putting yours down.

Though yes, today I am weight restored from my eating disorder, I do still struggle with body dysmorphia. It has become an on going battle that I do not intend on giving into. I therefore prove that body dysmorphia does not have to only affect someone who is overweight or underweight, it can affect anyone and those people suffering with it should seek help. I struggled at 6 stone and I still struggle at 9 stone, there is no grey area with this mental illness. Just because you are recovered from whatever eating disorder you may have had it does not mean you are fully ok. Body dysmorphia may linger and it is ok to seek further help for it, whether it is speaking to a therapist to help retrain your thoughts or simply just speak to a friend. Everybody is beautiful no matter the size or marks or battles is has been through. It is worthy of your love.

My Current Gym Routine

I have been going to the gym now for around 2 years consistently and within that timeframe I would say I have been training heavy for around a year, more so the last six months. I have hit many plateaus on my weight training journey. I have had times where I have been unmotivated and times where I have whacked out PB's left right and centre. Recently I have been loving my routine and love lifting a heavier weight each time.

I typically train 5-6 times a week currently with a workout split of three lower body days and two to three upper body days with abs and cardio worked into those sessions. With my compound movements I aim to add weight on and lower the reps in order to build my overall strength, then with the isolation exercises I tend to do higher reps with more focus on doing slow and controlled movements to help tone the muscle. 

Day 1 - Legs 

Warm up stretches 

Back squats - work up to 3x5 on 70kg followed by 2x2-3 on 80kg

Front squats - work up to 3x5 on 50kg

RDL (with dumbbells)- 3x8 on 18kg per leg, superset with 3x8 on 12kg

Hip-thrusts - 3x12 with 26kg dumbbell, superset with 3x12 with resistance band

Leg press (with resistance band) - 3x8 on 155kg

Donkey kicks on cable machine - 3x8 per leg

Goblet squat - 3x8 with 26kg dumbbell, superset with 3x8 bodyweight jump-squats 

Box jumps - 5x8

Day 2 - Shoulders, Chest and Triceps 

Warm up stretches

Barbell chest press - work up to 5x5 on 30kg

Dumbbell chest press - 3x10 with 10kg per arm

Cable flys - 3x8 

Dumbbell shoulder press - 3x8 with 10kg per arm

Barbell shoulder press - 3x5 with 20kg barbell 

Single arm lateral raises on cable machine - 3x10 per arm

Front lateral raises - 3x10 with 4kg dumbbell, superset with side lateral raises

Tricep press - 3x8 with 8kg dumbbells

Skull-crushers - 3x8 

Tricep extension on cable machine - 3x10

10 minute row

Day 3 - Legs

Warm up stretches

Back squats - work up to 2x5 on 85kg

RDL (with dumbbells)- 3x8 on 18kg per leg, superset with 3x8 on 12kg

Hip-thrusts - 3x12 with 26kg dumbbell, superset with 3x12 with resistance band

Single leg, leg press - 3x8 per leg

Donkey kicks on cable machine - 3x8 per leg 

Leg extension - 3x10 

Goblet squat - 3x8 with 26kg dumbbell, superset with 3x8 bodyweight jump-squats 

Box jumps - 5x8

Day 4 - Back and Biceps

Deadlifts - work up to 5x4 at 80-90kg

Barbell rows - 5x8 on 40kg

Cable rows - 3x10

Lateral pulldowns - 3x10

Face pulls - 3x8

Dumbbells single arm rows - 3x8 per arm with 16kg 

Bent over rows with dumbbells - 3x8 with 5kg in each arm

Hammer curls - 3x8 per arm with 9kg dumbbells 

Bicep curls with dumbbells - 3x8 with 4kg

Bicep curls with bar - 3x10 at 12.5kg

10 minute row or abs 

Day 5 - Legs

Warm up stretches

Front squats - work up to 5x5 on 50kg

RDL (with dumbbells)- 3x8 on 18kg per leg, superset with 3x8 on 12kg

Hip-thrusts - 3x12 with 26kg dumbbell, superset with 3x12 with resistance band

Bulgarian split squats - 3x6-8 per leg with 12kg dumbbells in each hand

Leg press (with resistance band) - 3x8 on 155kg

Donkey kicks on cable machine - 3x8 per leg

Goblet squat - 3x8 with 26kg dumbbell, superset with 3x8 bodyweight jump-squats 

Box jumps - 5x8

Abs

Day 6 - Back and Shoulders 

Deadlifts - work up to 5x4 at 80-90kg

Barbell rows - 5x8 on 40kg

Cable rows - 3x10

Lateral pulldowns - 3x10

Dumbbell shoulder press - 3x8 with 10kg per arm

Barbell shoulder press - 3x5 with 20kg barbell 

Single arm lateral raises on cable machine - 3x10 per arm

Front lateral raises - 3x10 with 4kg dumbbell, superset with side lateral raises

10 minute row or abs

If I make it to day 6 and I am still motivated to work out it is a good workout week for me and I can assure you that rarely happens. By the time I reach the end of the week my body is tired and everything feels heavy. But that is okay because it is just your body telling you to rest. Rest and fuelling your body is just as important as working out.