Fitness Hashtags Fill Instagram: 2016 Terms Creating Buzz

If a person from even a decade ago took a stroll through the hashtags proliferating social media in 2016, they would likely be thoroughly confused. The fitness movement has exploded, helped in large part by the photos featured on Facebook, Twitter, and especially Instagram.

One really popular hashtag on Instagram is “swolemate,” which is a twist on the popular soulmate concept. Instead of finding a soulmate in life, a person who finds their swolemate is one who gets somebody who matches their fervor for fitness and working out. More than 580,000 photos appear on Instagram under the swolemate hashtag.

Variations on the swolemate hashtag appear on the social media network as well, with some photos featuring hashtags that let others know the person is seeking a swolemate. Plenty of memes and photos revealing how to keep a swolemate happy appear under the hashtag with jokes about food. Other photos show off the physical differences between people who lift weights and those who don’t.

Specific jokes that only fitness aficionados might understand appear under the fitness-related hashtag as well. One such joke quips about losing weight and how the breasts are usually the first to go. A Hunger Games meme accompanied the joke, which compared sacrifices in the movie to the weight loss sacrifice.

An even more popular fitness hashtag is a variation of the spelling of the word “gains,” which alters the word to include the letter “Z” at the end in place of the letter “S” that normally pluralizes words.

As is widely know in the fitness world, muscle gain is something usually sought by almost everyone who exercises, whether they be fitness competitors in categories like the bikini field or the “figure” bodybuilding class or beyond.

Inspirational messages about staying focused on the goals at hand in order to gain more muscle and burn more fat appear under the labels noted above. Recipes for various healthy foods that help create and maintain those muscular gains appear en masse on social media as well. Photos of lots of “food porn” as it relates to helping build muscle appear as well.

An additional hashtag popular on social media proclaims that “food is fuel,” which is a good reminder to folks who want to build healthy bodies that they can’t do so by trying to starve themselves. Those who have been working out for some period of time realize that building muscle requires in general a good amount of protein and healthy carbs to fuel workout sessions.

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One such photo is pictured above, which features toast with bananas and chocolate sauce highlighted with chia seeds.

The hashtag known as “fitfam” also represents a supremely popular label. It represents the family of fitness folks who gather together to work out and share fitness tips. With members of the fitness community getting together in gyms and sweaty settings that their families might not frequent, folks who stick together working out for years can feel like real family members.

A sampling of some of the comments on social media using fitness hashtags surrounding a variety of topics can be read below.

“OMG! I try to sit on the toilet and I give up. LOL thank you leg day! Lmao it hurts so good! ?#?gym? ?#?legday?.”

“Had fun at the park after an intense ab and cardio workout at the gym! #fitcouple”

“Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.”

“One of my fav go-to meals that I will NEVER get sick of:
5 oz lean ground turkey
3/4 cup jasmine rice
1/4 cup marinara sauce
Approx 30g protein/50g carbs/10g fats 450 cals
#highcarbday #carbcycling“

[Image via Shutterstock]