encouraged by social networks, more and more 15-24 year olds are in fitness centers

“I train six times a week and my day off is Sunday. I get out of class and go straight to it. The only thing that worries me is whether I’ve taken all the my protein today!” In this weight room in Paris, busy in the middle of the afternoon, Bina developed an impressive physique. “115 kilos, 1.95 meters.”

Here, like many other amateurs his age, the young man comes to train, with Sami, a friend, both 18 years old. Bodybuilding is one of the favorite sports of 15-24 year olds, according to the latest barometer from the Research Center for the Study and Observation of Living Conditions (Crédoc). A quarter of them practice bodybuilding, compared to 19% five years ago.

Have “the physique that makes us dream”

For Bina and Sami, it’s a “pec day” to strengthen their pectorals. They have been going to the gym for a year and they started building muscle very early. “We were 14-15 years oldBina remembers. I was always aiming to have the physique that we dream of.”

Social networks play a big role in motivating them. “You come across a site where there are motivating people and personalities who have a good physique and that makes you want to go and train too, to do the same,” Bina says. On TikTok, the hashtag #gymtok has 258 billion views worldwide.

The cult of the body has always existed, since Antiquity, recalls Guillaume Vallet, professor of economics at the University of Grenoble. Today, the role of social networks is explained by this age “where we are in search of identity and social recognition, analyzes the one who is also the author of the book The Muscle Factory. So trying to send positive signals to be accepted, to demonstrate something, to enhance capital, is really very, very important. And young people consider that the body is the most directly accessible resource to transform into capital and make it known to others.”

Don’t forget the muscles “that can’t be seen”

Be careful though with excesses, warns Jean-Marc Sène, sports doctor. If young gym clients practice muscle strengthening, it is also necessary to work on other physical qualities, such as “muscles that we forget and which are not seen. The deep musculature, and not only the peripheral muscles which are visible to have biceps, abdominals, pectorals… Endurance and the cardiovascular aspect are extremely important in training.”

Memberships of young bodybuilders have continued to increase since the Covid crisis. Those under 25 represent almost half of the subscribers in Fitness Park and Basic-Fit gyms in France, the two market leaders, and more than half of registrations since the start of the year at Fitness Park.