Love Your Body with Finn Love: Pop hits and tricep dips
When it comes to training, our fitness editor Finn Love is inspired by Zara Larsson to keep on keeping on
Words by Finn Love
Design by Yosef Phelan
I’ve been thinking a lot over the summer about consistency, trusting the process… and Zara Larsson.
As a coach, teacher and also as a student I am constantly presented with questions of, 'Am I doing this right? When will I see or feel results? Am I doing enough? Should I do this more, or less, or differently?' And most crucially, 'How can I get where I want to be faster?'
As a coach it’s easy for me to tell students and clients that things take time. That there is no shortcut to greatness. But as an artist, athlete and thoroughly flawed human I find it much harder to apply that same logic to myself.
It’s giving “do as I say and not as I do”.
Everyone else should be patient. Everyone else should trust that with diligence and consistency the outcome they desire, or the outcome that is best aligned for them, will eventually actualise. But somehow in my head those rules don’t always apply to me.
I should be ahead, I should be stronger, I should be able to somehow circumvent the basic realities of having a human body.
I should be ahead, I should be stronger, I should be able to somehow circumvent the basic realities of having a human body.
Bodies need rest. Progress isn’t linear. Sometimes you need stimulation of a completely different kind and sometimes the answer is not another workout. Blah blah blah!
When I find myself looking in the mirror and questioning if this is all worth it, when I’m exhausted from a session and wondering if things will ever feel easier, or when self doubt creeps in and I lose the ability to zoom out and see the bigger picture, that’s when I turn to my religion. ✨ Pop music ✨
And more specifically this summer, Zara Larsson.
Zara has been working in the music industry for over a decade and has had a string of genuinely huge global hits. But the success of her Midnight Sun era speaks to me because it’s evidence that repetition, specificity and consistency have the power to transform.
For the past year she has been touring the album, churning out seemingly endless variations of her glossy, high saturation rhinestoned make up and looks – and singing the now iconic 'Midnight Sun' vocal run.
And much like training over time, the consistency of Zara’s dedication to this era, to this aesthetic and to the song itself, has built momentum and become a cultural moment.
The song is looping and repetitive and in every live show she sings multiple variations of it… kind of like the structure of my training; each day variations of the same workout, each week variations of the same programme. And much like training over time, the consistency of Zara’s dedication to this era, to this aesthetic and to the song itself, has built momentum and become a cultural moment.
When the song was released it didn’t shoot to the top of the charts, nor did the album initially have a huge impact but Larsson’s belief in the process, trusting the value of consistently showing up has yielded career-defining and life-changing results. I take a lot of motivation and inspiration from this. When I’m doing my 100th messy muscle-up of the week wondering if I’ll ever get them perfect – I remember… you cannot rush greatness. It took Zara Larson a decade to get here, and a whole year of singing the same song to turn it into a hit.
I know that there is no “destination” with this work, it is never ending - a never ending midnight sun!
The challenge in training for me isn’t each individual difficult session – it’s having the faith and strength to keep going back to the gym. Even when progress feels slow or non-existent. Even when the cycle of work-rest-work-rest feels never ending. We all train for different reasons and while I have athletic and aesthetic goals – much like my students and clients – I know that there is no “destination” with this work, it is never ending – a never ending midnight sun!
This month, I’m showing you how to perfect your tricep dips. Please do become a paid subscriber to watch my (frankly priceless) tutorials and get access to all the brilliant content on Gay Times.
