August 7, 2026

From Fitness DVDs to Skinnytok: Why Nothing Has Really Changed

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I hate trends.

Call me a party-pooper but the idea of propping up your phone on a supermarket shelf to film you and your partner picking different snacks & taking it in turns to choose between the two is unbelievably cringe.

Yes this was an actual video I saw on one of the rare occasions I opened Tik Tok.

I do realise that it is just a bit of fun but it’s not my cup of tea.

What isn’t fun though is when fitness trends constantly change.

 

Why Women Get the Worst of It

 

This just leaves people, especially women, feeling confused & constantly chasing the new thing that’s in fashion.

I vividly remember fitness DVDs being massive in the early 00’s. C/D-list celebs were releasing them at a rate of knots claiming they’d “tone your abs” and other crap.

Then resistance training became fashionable.

I can’t recall when exactly but content creation boomed around 2018/2019 causing a huge surge in popularity which sustained itself for a number of years.

I’m not saying that popularity is dwindling, however I’ve definitely noticed the pendulum swing the other way again.

Reformer pilates is picking up & I’ve even seen some people say that women over 40 should ditch the weights and solely do pilates which is beyond dumb.

Hollywood popularised skinniness during the 90’s & 00’s. Low-rise jeans, crash diets and “Heroin Chics” (how was that a thing!?) were all the rage.

This changed when resistance training became popular and more women sought out strength & curves over being as light as possible and the body positivity movement was born.

Now we’re going the other way with the use of Ozempic, Mounjaro etc. booming in the last 18-24 months. Everyone wants to be thin again and there’s now something called “Skinnytok”!

Fat was demonised for years & now you have carnivore’s putting butter in coffee.

The list goes on…

 

The Basics Have Always Been the Answer

 

My point is this – fads will come and go but the basics will always remain the same.

If you focus on nailing these then you’ll be ahead of the others who are constantly in search of their new shiny toy.

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