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How hard is it to attain a summer body? For some, not so much; the others, very much so. But it’s all science and psychology. Summer in the Philippines doesn’t knock—it barges in and expects you to have abs ready. By March, you start scheduling a wellness boot camp: fewer carbs, more steps, someone joins Pilates. The body becomes a project. The deadline? Beach photos that will live forever, or at least until the next archive purge. And yet, the plan often stalls before it begins, interrupted by a question: Do I even look—or feel—good enough to show up? Suddenly, the insecurity is right around the corner and has yet to leave.
RELATED: Body Talk: Ina Raymundo Defines What It Means to Be in Her Prime
In your twenties, the body lets a lot slide. One indulgent night, a few lazy days, and everything resets like nothing happened, even with too much cake and cocktails. You start to think you’ve cracked the code. You haven’t. You’ve been in beginner mode. Later, the body keeps score—and then staying in shape isn’t luck. It’s labor. Whether you like it or not, your 50s are waiting for you. So, how do we preserve our taut and toned bodies?
After a few decades, the body starts forming opinions, and those opinions turn into lessons you can’t negotiate with. Ina Raymundo speaks from that place, on fitness, the way someone does after years of listening closely: to her body, to time, to the negotiations between effort and ease. No panic or punishment, but a steady, practiced understanding that health is a long game, and the body keeps receipts. You’ve seen her on Instagram, her hair an exaggeration of fullness, as she raises a 10kg dumbbell, either for squatting or lifting. As a mother of five Gen Z children, the actress and fitness enthusiast knows exactly what younger women are getting wrong, and what’s actually worth keeping.
The Age Where It Finally Clicks
Ask her when she feels most at home in her body, and she doesn’t nod to a time when young age was at a critical level of confidence. She answers plainly, with no need to look back.
“Honestly, now. When you’re younger, you’re more critical of yourself. With time comes perspective. You start appreciating your body for what it can do instead of obsessing over every little flaw.”
The decade that’s supposed to feel like decline turns out to be the one where it calms you down. The mirror stops acting like a critic; it becomes somewhat of a friend who has reminded you nonstop through gritted teeth and matcha drinks to not worry so much when your body hasn’t lived yet.
Aging, Without the Horror Story
Gen Z has been handed a strange inheritance: a fear of aging that arrives earlier than fine lines ever could. Preventive skincare at 22. Anxiety at 25. A dread of turning 30, as if the body comes with an expiration date. In our eyes, it might as well be. But, she isn’t buying it.
“Aging is not the enemy. It’s a privilege. Your body evolves, but it can also become stronger, wiser, and more resilient if you take care of it. The goal shouldn’t be to stay 21 forever. The goal is to stay healthy and capable at every stage of life.”
People say they don’t mind getting old; they just don’t want to look older. The line reads like a gentle correction to an entire prompt. Somewhere between the serums and the step counts, the real goal got lost. Not youth, but utility. Not perfection, but capacity.
The Things That Never Mattered (But Felt Like They Did)
In your twenties, a single “flaw” can take hold like it’s auditioning for a lead role in a horror movie. A line here. A curve there. The mind zooms in, crops tightly, forgets the bigger picture. Raymundo laughs a little.
“Probably things that only existed in my head. When you’re young you tend to magnify tiny imperfections. Now I realize most people weren’t even noticing the things I worried about.”
It’s almost cruel, in retrospect—the years spent fixating on details no one else could see. The body wasn’t the problem. The lens was.
Fitness Isn’t a Trend Cycle
Scroll long enough and fitness starts to feel like fashion: this week’s workout, next week’s diet, a carousel of “before and after” that promises transformation in 30 days or less. She shrugs off the urgency.
“Health is not a quick fix. It’s consistency over time. You don’t need the trendiest workout or the strictest diet. Move your body regularly, eat mindfully, and be patient with the process.”
Patience, in 2026, feels almost subversive. The internet runs on answers in seconds, results in thirty days, transformations with a thumbnail and a hook. Who has time for anything that doesn’t trend? Certainly not your algorithm. And yet, the body refuses to rush. There’s no viral moment in repeating the same workout, eating the same balanced meal, going to bed at a reasonable hour—again and again. Just strength that builds quietly, off-camera, with no need for a caption or a reveal.
Aesthetics vs. Actual Strength
Looking good will always have its place. Mirrors exist. Cameras, too. But Raymundo has other priorities.
“Looking good is great, but feeling strong and capable is even better. Strength supports you for the long run. Aesthetics alone can be very temporary.”
Temporary—like trends, like filters, like the version of yourself you outgrow. Strength, on the other hand, stays within you. It carries groceries, holds posture, steadies you on uneven ground, literal and otherwise. In a panic, adrenaline comes rushing, and all you have is your strength.
The Social Media Hall of Mirrors
If the ‘90s had glossy covers, today has feeds that refresh themselves. Bodies turn into benchmarks, progress into content, and comparison slips in like muscle memory. Scroll long enough and suddenly you’re competing with strangers you’ll never meet—along with their best angles, lighting included. She sees both sides of it.
“Social media can be inspiring, but it can also create unrealistic comparisons. What people need to remember is that what you see online is often curated. Real health and real bodies are much more balanced than that.”
Curated is a polite word. It suggests editing, not illusion. But the point stands: the body you scroll past isn’t a full story. It’s a highlight reel, smoothed and sharpened by design.
Knowing When to Push—and When to Stop
There’s a fine line between discipline and self-sabotage, and it often disguises itself as dedication. Raymundo offers a simple metric.
“When your body feels stronger, your energy improves, and you recover well after workouts. If you’re constantly exhausted or injured, that’s usually your body telling you to slow down.”
The body speaks in signals, not slogans. Energy. Recovery. Pain. Ignore them long enough and it raises its voice.
Learning to Look Kindly at Yourself
At first, the body is something to evaluate. Youth tends to grade the body harshly. Eventually, it becomes something to understand, something she knows too well.
“My body carried five children. It allowed me to move, work, and enjoy life. When you look at your body with appreciation instead of criticism, confidence comes naturally.”
Gratitude is worth noting as time moves. The body stops being a project to fix and becomes something closer to a partner—one that has shown up, repeatedly, through every phase.
Before You Spend Years Being Too Hard on Yourself
If there’s one thing Raymundo wants younger women to understand, it’s disarmingly simple.
“That their bodies are already enough. Take care of it, respect it, and let it grow stronger with you. Confidence comes from how you treat yourself, not from chasing perfection.”
Summer will come, as it always does, loud and bright and a little demanding. As Ina Raymundo reminds us, the goal is to stay healthy and capable at every stage. The difference, perhaps, is how you meet it: with a body you’ve learned to live in, not fight against.
The beach will still be there. The sun, too. The question is whether you arrive as a critic—or finally, as yourself.
Photos: INA RAYMUNDO (via Instagram)
