When exercise is driven by self-contempt, jealousy, or unattainable goals, it can easily cause more harm than good. Still, the people I spoke with also told me how liberating it can be to merely fuss over their glutes, stomachs, and biceps again, rather than worrying how long their bodies would make it before falling into the grips of a deadly virus. Really, says Michelle Segar, a motivational psychologist at the University of Michigan, the value of bench-pressing your way to boulders for pecs ultimately comes down to what you’re out to achieve. After a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad year, getting totally ripped “could reflect a shedding of the whole negative, complicated experience, not just any extra pounds,” she told me. For some people, lunging and squatting their way to a post-pandemic beach bod has become the best strategy to put this nightmare behind them.