OT: looking like a fitness model

Fantastic. Yes, I agree that our views of what women "should" look like is entirely too narrow.
I remember the wonderful Canadian olympic rower Silken Laumann saying that when she went to speak at schools, the students - especially girls - would recoil when they saw her muscles. As much as we try to teach children about the importance of fitness and health, most (and, who are we kidding? most adults, too) have an incredibly narrow view of what fit and healthy looks like.

15 years ago

Lisa

Veteran

What a great article, thanks for sharing. It helps put dieting and expectations of one's own body and abilities into perspective.

15 years ago

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

I could not read the whole article at work but I do not think fit as in the "sport athlete" and healthy fit is the same thing. Physical activity and excersise are great for your health and fitness and quality of life but with the professional sports it is just too much. I am not really sure athletes are really healthy as they have so many injuries and putting so much stress on their bodies. Too much of a good thing...
Also very often they have disproportionally developed muscles due to the nature of their sport (like shoulders in swimmers and rowers).
I also see these guys in the gym with over developed muscles and I do not think they look that great. There is something in having your neck bigger than your head...:-) I find it especially funny in the short guys - looks like they are trying to compensate... Don't get me wrong here, I like to see muscles in a man rather tahn flobby arms and shoulders - it is just youcna take it too far sometimes and it is not really attractive anymore.

15 years ago

Vani

Veteran

I've been reading Krista's then-blog-now-fullfledged site for a long time. She is an amazing inspiration and such a motivational writer - no fluff. I highly admire anyone who puts in time and effort towards a healthy body - SAH moms to athletes.

15 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I remember this great article!

I do think that men are judged by their appearance too, though.

15 years ago

medusa

Veteran

I loved seeing those photos of women with all different body types that are still amazing athletes. Women with muscles are gorgeous!

15 years ago

RoseandJoan

Veteran

My favourite part of watching athletics is comparing the body types and how they have evolved their bodies to excel at that discipline. The contrast between distance runners and sprinters could not be wider. Yes I agree there are many ideal body shapes in terms of fitness.

15 years ago

PalmFronds

Active Member

Thanks for posting the article. I had a great laugh reading it, and enjoyed her thoughtful comments as well. Body image is such an ongoing major issue for everyone, personally and culturally. As much as we try , it is one of the many ways we as humans chose to differentiate and categorize each other. And a huge part of how we then view ourselves. As someone who just recently started really working out, I can say that I do feel best after exercise and I feel what my body can DO instead of only what it looks like.

15 years ago

londonkiwi (now back in NZ)

Veteran

I do think increasingly men are judged by their appearance, but there is still a little more leeway for me than women.

My sister is an athlete (multisport) and last year was part of a advertising campaign. She has a great body that is pretty well balanced - probably because of the lack of specialism. You can't really have a marathoners body if you have to swim 1.5km as well.

15 years ago

Dawn

(website)

Active Member

This is a great article, and I think that we really need to see more photos of women who are actually fit, be it playing a sport or going to the gym, rather than seeing photoshopped models as our ideal body types.

I think the most insightful comment I ever heard about exercise and dieting was from a blogger who stated that dieting and getting fit does not always lead a social prescribed hourglass/ slim body shape.

As a cyclist, I don't have a fully balanced body. My legs are extremely muscular and my calf muscles are bigger than my knees, but I like it. However I do pack on muscle very quickly so I do have a genetic predisposition towards looking toned. The frightening thing is that when I was very skinny (around 95lbs and 13% body fat), you could see my abs, not because I did loads of ab exercises but because I was so thin. I'm glad that I have put on weight now despite losing the washboard stomach as I feel so much healthier.

The best thing about having muscular legs is how good they look in high heels.

15 years ago

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