Good Friday to you, fellow human on planet earth.
I was hovering over the smoothie blender the other day and it crossed my mind that I should let you in on some Norwegian trends: Fitness to be more specific. I mean, Norwegians has always been considered a sporty type of people in connection with skiing and other winter sports, but then something happened which resulted in a fitness wave across the country. I’m not sure what exactly, but I suspect social media – it’s always social media right? And I did let you in on this before: when something’s trending in Norway, it trends hard. Our entire country is populated in the same capacity as a small village other places, so that kind of speaks for it. Anyway, let’s get on with it.
I’ve never been the winter-sporty kind of girl myself, but in Norwegian spirit I did join in on the fitness wave that hit our country about four or five years ago. The phenomenon was actually more of a “girls who lift heavy”-thing and girls took over gyms all across the country – still owning them by the way. The trend is a fact and you are more likely to be looked at with disbelief and suspicion if you say that you do not work out than if you do. I’m pretty sure that if we measure the amount of fitness clubs against the population, that we would have more clubs per resident than any other country in the world. And everyone is educated as a personal trainer. So why is this? Well, there are three factors that comes to mind:
- We are a very competitive people, even if we try to hide it.
- Sports is a cultural value than runs in our bloodstream.
- We have 8 months of winter and let’s be honest: Training produces endorphins than makes life bearable.
The trend does not stop there though, the Norwegian fitness trend is complex and involves diets, food products and a business like no other. Which is why everyone is educated as a personal trainer. But let’s be honest, too many Chiefs and the lack of Indians makes that business kind of hard right? It is a very competitive business in our country, but it doesn’t stop anyone from trying. I remember when I could get a box of cottage cheese for like ten kroner, then this whole fitness-thing happened and they tripled the price. Yes, tripled. And now our stores are full of stuff like non-fat-high-protein milk, bars, high-protein ice cream, fitness yogurts and you name it. Every inch of this trend is being squiiiiized to it’s maximum. And what gets me is that it’s a trend that is supposed to radiate health, but at the same time it’s all about unhealthy products being turned into a fitness-business must. Remember that time when we ate food and that was enough? No foods for you anymore mister, eat this instead:
I must admit that I buy all of this stuff, but it’s not in my everyday diet. Hey, I like options and I’m colored by the trend too! It is hard to keep my head on at times, honestly, I do get affected. Like with fitness clothing, I used to buy a lot. The clothing industry sees a goldmine and yes, it is. I made a decision to keep it at a minimum though. Environmental reasons and of course I don’t need to spend thousands on clothing I wear once. What a waste and a bad sense of economy, right? Anyway, it paints the picture of what a trend does to little Norway and its inhabitants, myself included.
That’s the Norwegian fitness trend and all that comes with it – even if I might have forgotten something. I mean, personally I love fintess, so I don’t mind. I just think its necessary to keep your feet on the planet and don’t get carried away. Does trends like this hit your countries in the same capacity? I’m curios to know.
Thanks for stopping by! And please let me know if there’s any specific topic you want to know about. 🙂 Enjoy your Friday!
