Very Muscular Ass Woman
Nadia Grubb
You've heard it, I've heard it, we have all heard it from someone at some point... 'CrossFit makes women look gross and muscular.' You've probably also found yourself in situations defending your love for CrossFit to people who say, 'CrossFit is a cult. CrossFit made me too muscular. CrossFit isn't a figure flattering sport for a woman.' I've heard it first hand so many times. At first when I heard people saying these things, I would immediately start to get defensive, almost to the point of tears. I have never felt more strong, beautiful and confident - so why did these comments bother me so bad?
I've also seen hundreds of blogs online with tips on 'how to CrossFit without getting bulky' or 'How to get a feminine CrossFit body'...WHAT? As ridiculous as those blogs are to me, I'd be remiss to say that with all of the bad CrossFit stigmas, the bloggers are doing a great job of attracting the right audience: those weary of the 'dreadful muscular woman figure'
In February of 2008, I competed at my very last high school gymnastics meet (TEN years ago!). When the meet was over, I cried uncontrollably as I realized I would never do gymnastics again. I felt that I had no purpose. Fast forward 10 years and I can still do a standing back flip...Multiple standing back-flips...Multiple standing back-flips after doing multiple dead-lifts, actually (thank you, CrossFit!).
I was excitedly showing the Alethea Boone burpee video to my non-crossfitting husband last night. I was sharing how inspired I was and how I had improved my burpees from trying to mimic her form. His response was 'meh'. I said he sounded less than enthusiastic. He clarified by saying that she doesn't appear feminine. That it took him a minute to realize he wasn't looking at a man. I was so frustrated. I was sharing my improvements and all he could think about was whether or not she was attractive??!! To be fair, my frustration (I feel) is warranted considering when I told him a year and a half ago that I wanted to sign up for the open to give myself a goal to train for, his response was "I don't find muscular women attractive". We argued for hours with no resolution. I tried to explain how this is not something I'm doing for him. It's something I do for myself to be stronger, better, etc. We didn't speak for days. It was one of our few real arguments. TBH I feel like his response is a personal critique. Like he's telling ME not to get too muscular or he might no longer find me attractive. That his attraction to me is more important than my personal fitness, goals and health. And he can't answer the question I posed, "where's the magical threshold where I go from hot to not?". Beyond this, despite 5x a week, there's no way I'm ever going to look like a games or regional athlete. I like cake and beer way too much. Lol!
I know endomorph women can sometimes feel unlucky, but they have some amazing benefits! They have a huge potential to change their bodies, and make drastic physical differences. And in shape endomorphs can look beautiful, womanly, with a stunning hourglass figure.
Males enjoy physical performance advantages over females within competitive sport. The sex-based segregation into male and female sporting categories does not account for transgender persons who experience incongruence between their biological sex and their experienced gender identity. Accordingly, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) determined criteria by which a transgender woman may be eligible to compete in the female category, requiring total serum testosterone levels to be suppressed below 10 nmol/L for at least 12 months prior to and during competition. Whether this regulation removes the male performance advantage has not been scrutinized. Here, we review how differences in biological characteristics between biological males and females affect sporting performance and assess whether evidence exists to support the assumption that testosterone suppression in transgender women removes the male performance advantage and thus delivers fair and safe competition. We report that the performance gap between males and females becomes significant at puberty and often amounts to 10-50% depending on sport. The performance gap is more pronounced in sporting activities relying on muscle mass and explosive strength, particularly in the upper body. Longitudinal studies examining the effects of testosterone suppression on muscle mass and strength in transgender women consistently show very modest changes, where the loss of lean body mass, muscle area and strength typically amounts to approximately 5% after 12 months of treatment. Thus, the muscular advantage enjoyed by transgender women is only minimally reduced when testosterone is suppressed. Sports organizations should consider this evidence when reassessing current policies regarding participation of transgender women in the female category of sport.
On the other hand, we associate muscle with male-dominated sports such as bodybuilding. Bodybuilding is culturally coded as almost exclusively male. Men compete and are judged solely on their muscularity. Their muscular bodies are compared on symmetry, muscular form, size, development and overall presentation.
Muscular bands (sphincters) encircle the urethra, vagina and anus as they pass through the pelvic floor. When the pelvic floor muscles are contracted, the internal organs are lifted and the sphincters tighten the openings of the vagina, anus and urethra. Relaxing the pelvic floor can allow for easy passage of urine and faeces. The pelvic floor muscles are very important in sexual function with a relaxation/ contraction combination allowing fun and pleasureable sex.
If your pelvic floor muscles are not functioning well, the internal organs will lack full support. This may stop you from being able to control your urine, faeces or wind.
You lose 5% to 8% of your lean muscle every 10 years after you pass 30 years old, and that percentage increases once you turn 60. Women over 50 need lean muscle to maintain muscle strength, bone strength, and to stabilize the joints, which can prevent injury.
The first thing you need to do is find out which muscles you need to train. It is very important to correctly identify your pelvic floor muscles before moving into a regular pelvic floor muscle exercise program. A pelvic floor physiotherapist can help with this and ensure you are engaging these muscles correctly.
We need to nix all of these terms from the fitness vernacular because first, women won't bulk up if they start lifting weights; second, lifting weights produces so many health benefits; and third, it's blatantly sexist to think women shouldn't look muscular anyway.
For reference, the recommended calorie intake for a healthy woman is between 1,800 and 2,400 calories. If you exercise, you probably need to meet the higher end of that range, and potentially more if you're tall or very active. Unless you're eating more than your maintenance intake each day, don't worry about getting bulky.
Kelley Vargo, MPH, MS, CSCS, ACE Health Coach is a recent graduate of the Milken Institute School of Public Health at The George Washington University where she received her MS in Exercise Science with a concentration in Strength & Conditioning and her MPH in Communication & Marketing. Ms. Vargo has contributed content to Discovery Health as well as the ACE Fitness Journal. She is a member of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, Delta Omega Public Health Honors Society, and a Metabolic Effect Instructor. She enjoys sharing her passion and energy with others, helping them create healthier and happier lives. Follow Kelley on twitter @kelleyvargo or contact her at kmvfi...@gmail.com or www.kelleyvargo.com.
She suggests strengthening the ankle and lower leg with wobble boards and calf raises, in addition to considering the shoes worn every day and for exercise. For example, if someone has extremely flat or high arches that appear to lead to imbalances, she may want to choose a shoe that best addresses those issues or try a corrective shoe insert.
Symptoms include pain and stiffness in the front and around the kneecap that make it difficult to climb stairs, squat, kneel, or do other everyday activities. A number of factors can contribute to patellofemoral pain syndrome, including overuse, Dr. Smith says.
Until the 1980s, little was known about the cause of any of the forms of muscular dystrophy. In 1986, MDA-supported researchers identified a gene on the X chromosome that, when flawed (mutated), causes Duchenne, Becker, and an intermediate form of muscular dystrophies.
DMD is inherited in an X-linked pattern because the gene that can carry a DMD-causing mutation is on the X chromosome. Every boy inherits an X chromosome from his mother and a Y chromosome from his father, which is what makes him male. Girls get two X chromosomes, one from each parent.
Each son born to a woman with a dystrophin mutation on one of her two X chromosomes has a 50 percent chance of inheriting the flawed gene and having DMD. Each of her daughters has a 50 percent chance of inheriting the mutation and being a carrier. Carriers may not have any disease symptoms but can have a child with the mutation or the disease. DMD carriers are at risk for cardiomyopathy.
In very rare instances, a girl may lack a second X chromosome entirely, or her second X may have sustained serious damage. In these cases, she makes little or no dystrophin (depending on the type of dystrophin mutation), and she develops a dystrophinopathy just as a boy would.
A female relative of a boy with DMD can get a full range of diagnostic tests to determine her carrier status. If she is found to be a DMD carrier, regular strength evaluations and close cardiac monitoring can help her manage any symptoms that may arise. For more on DMD in females, see Debatable Destinies: Duchenne muscular dystrophy carriers carry on, despite uncertainty.
Yesterday I received this message (swipe). While I think this message was somewhere between pathetic and creepy ? it's (sadly) not the first time getting a message like this, commenting on how I "should look" or that I should be aware of getting "too muscular". It doesn't affect me and I don't care what those people think. I'm super proud of my body and what it is capable of. It's my tool that allows me to do awesome things, like climbing walls. But it has taken me a long time to feel the way I do about my body. And teenage me would have cared. Like a lot of other girls, I struggled with body image when I was in my teens (I've been climbing and competing since I was 11 years old). I was "too tall, too skinny, my legs where too long, my shoulders too wide" and the list went on. Many athletes feel like they have both a social body image and an athletic body image - often times the ideal images of these two are both unattainable and impossible to combine. I felt like I couldn't satisfy any of these. E.g. for a whole summer I didn't want to wear clothes that showed off my shoulders (outside the climbing gym) and there was even a period of time where I didn't want to train my upper body because I thought my shoulders were "too masculine" ?? That's definitely not the case anymore but it sure has taken time to get over. And seriously. Let people do what they want & look how they want and let's kill the social construct that being strong and having a functional body isn't considered feminine. I don't train to look a certain way, I train to become a better climber and in doing so my body will adapt in different ways (just the fact that our bodies are capable of that is really cool!). And if I did train to look a certain way that would be just fine too. Ok, I'm gonna hit the gym now, bye ???? Pic by @arveforce ?
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