The whole fitspiration thing kind of gets on my nerves. Or, rather, two specific kinds of fitspiration bother me: the kind that says to be fit, I have to be miserable. And the kind that makes fun of how I choose to exercise.

First of all, being fit is about feeling fantastic, healthy, energetic. Not half-dead, sore, aching, and begging for death because I went to the gym.

Maybe I’m cynical, jaded, or whatever, but when I see a picture of a runner or lifter completely worn out, tired, and miserable with a platitude like “you only know you’re totally alive when you feel totally dead” superimposed over it, I throw up a little in my mouth.

Of course, I’ve also never been a motivational poster kind of person, either. When I see a poster of a lion talking about leadership, I die a tiny bit inside.

I try to be an optimist–with try being the operative term, sometimes, but still…

But I’m also a realist. I’m pragmatic. I just can’t get motivated by some hot-bodied Asics jockey telling me I have to be miserable to be in shape or to get in shape.

For example, I present you-should-feel-bad-for-being-happy fitness meme, Exhibit A:

Or Exhibit B:

In addition, what doesn’t motivate me is some sarcastic, know-it-all comment mocking my level of fitness or my chosen activity just because it’s not seeing how much heavy stuff I can pick up at one time. Like the Bane/Batman image at the top of this post.

No, I might not lift as much as you do. But that doesn’t invalidate my opinions or make me less fit. (And yes, I do understand the sarcastic nature most of those memes are used in, but I have had it used to mock my newness to the fitness world.)

That said, you know what kind of fitness memes motivate me? The ones that link back to me being a geek. I like infographics. You know, the ones with statistics and numbers and information. I like memes that are funny, punny, or useful. Memes that can legitimately help me get better at what I do, or fitspiration that helps me see that what I’m doing works.

Like this:

You know, I like images and fitness memes that are actually going to motivate me. That tiny thing called positive reinforcement. The kind of motivation that–gasp!–doesn’t shame me, and instead makes me laugh.

Like this bird. This lovely, lovely sarcastic bird.

What about y’all? Do you buy into fitspiration and all that? What are some of your favorite fitness memes?