Researchers found that sedentary women exercising face-to-face with their reflections walk away feeling less energized, less relaxed, and less good about themselves than women who work out without mirrors to gaze at.
In the study, Kathleen A. Martin Ginis, an associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, analyzed the behavior of 58 college students after they spent 20 minutes on a stationary bicycle while wearing loose-fitting shorts, a T-shirt and running shoes. She says that the team was surprised to find that even women who were happy with their bodies were affected by the mirrors. "We thought that the effects would be strongest in women with the worst body image," she says, "but body image didn't matter."
In the study, Kathleen A. Martin Ginis, an associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, analyzed the behavior of 58 college students after they spent 20 minutes on a stationary bicycle while wearing loose-fitting shorts, a T-shirt and running shoes. She says that the team was surprised to find that even women who were happy with their bodies were affected by the mirrors. "We thought that the effects would be strongest in women with the worst body image," she says, "but body image didn't matter."
So what should be done to motivate couch potatoes to get to the gym? Experienced exercisers, especially weight lifters, use the mirrors to check their form and position, so taking them down may not be an option.
Kimiecik piloted a 12-week personal fitness program at the YMCA designed specifically for beginners. They set aside a separate, mirror-less area for the newbies so that they wouldn't have to deal with the environment of the main gym.
"In the health and fitness industry we totally underestimate the effects of things like mirrors. People are very much intimidated," he says.
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