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Women: Breaking The Size Barrier by Cheryl Zovich

What do you ladies think?

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There seems to be an alarming problem on the horizon: women and their perception of body size. The more I work with women and assist them with their lifting issues the more I recognize the need for my gender to understand how we have evolved into a society with a growing confusion regarding size, strength, and weight.

Women today want to be small.

Not short mind you, but smaller in total body mass.

They want concave bellies, long, lithe legs, slender hips and stick-like arms. Pick up any woman’s magazine or clothing catalogue marketed today and you will see advertising at it’s manipulative best.

If you don’t possess the perfect body to fit the clothes, the clothing itself will conform your figure to fit them by means of pads, under wires, Lycra, inflatable air bladders and elastic panels.

A seemingly simple trip the local mall bombards most women with a variety of clothing that varies in size from store to store and even rack to rack within a given store! Imagine then, the confusion for those women who once sought security and comfort by wearing a specific size? Women may as well throw their physical dimensions out the window.

What one clothing manufacturer construes as size 2 another might categorize as size 6.

Rarely is there mention of true measurements nor are there reliable standards for sizing women’s clothing.

Jeans, for instance are frequently classified by “cut” and/or size! We are left guessing to whether we are “classic,” “relaxed,” “baggy,” misses, petite, or woman’s size! It’s enough to drive a sane woman to the brink of despair!

In contrast, when men buy clothing they seldom deviate from pants, shirts and suits and their clothing is often sized according to true measurement.
A 32-inch waist, a 17-inch neck, a 34-inch inseam, and a 42-inch chest are all precise guidelines not vague guesses.

Men know what size they are and they expect the clothing they select to correspond with their current, accurate measurements.
Alas, it seems the simplicity of this concept escapes woman’s designers!

Today’s fashion with the highest visibility and marketing priorities are often the most trendy and physically challenging for women to wear.
Revealingly tight Lycra tops, mini skirts, cropped and cut out shirts and dresses, and skin tight jeans all call for the owners of such fashions to have the utmost perfect body with which to display the clothing at it’s intended best.

In response, women in quest of cutting edge fashion have justifiably become increasingly over attentive to body size and weight related issues.

So how does this affect the average female weight lifter? Women often arrive at the decision to train under the guise that it will bring about positive changes to their body despite years of neglect. They appear at the gym eager to convert themselves into a 5’10″, 110-pound model of perfection.

This goal rarely has much to do with reality or truthful expectations, yet women continue to operate under the conviction that they can increase the mass (and therefore, visibility) of their muscles without changing their size or shape.

Seldom do women consider the most basic facts surrounding lifting, rather they persist in the belief that weight training will be a means to an end: to transform them into someone smaller! However, progressive weight training (if applied as intended) will do nothing of the sort!
Realistically speaking, weightlifting typically delivers results at the opposite end of the spectrum. If women wish to diffuse the training myths that continue to delude them they must re-examine and acknowledge the fundamental facts regarding the end results of weight training:

1.) Muscles are an outcome of progressive weight lifting.

2.) Muscles weigh more than fat and therefore, should eventually make your overall bodyweight somewhat higher than it was prior to weight training.

3.) Muscles will ultimately increase your body mass. This means you will most likely become larger and your muscles will take up more space in clothing as your physical girth changes in response to weight training.

What does this all mean for women who want to strength train to any degree of success? In order for women to persevere in lifting they must learn to focus less on body size changes and more on strength progress.

Women must be willing to concede that progressive, goal-oriented weight lifting will almost certainly generate a physical response or alteration of their shape, some of which may not initially seem welcome.
At onset, these changes can be easily confused with a body fat increase given this is the type of weight gains most women have generally experienced up to this point and are familiar with.

I enthusiastically urge all women who are sincere in their desire to make permanent, positive, physical changes in their body to forge ahead, despite this initial trepidation. Body composition is a far better method of gauging overall physical health than body weight.

Learn to measure your lean body mass and educate yourself so you fully comprehend the implication of the results. By all means, weigh yourself, but use the bathroom scale judiciously and bear in mind muscle weighs more than fat! Be prepared to replace certain articles of clothing as your dimensions change and be encouraged (rather than despair) that this indicates you’re making upward progress in the gym! Refrain from comparing your body with that of women who don’t engage in the sort of physical pursuit you have chosen. Realize you are in control of your mass gains and have confidence in your ability to manipulate your size by small degrees when necessary.

Women generally find weight gain contradictory and against their nature to embrace.

As a rule, women have been taught from a very young age to be at war with their bodies and to treat anything that constitutes an increase in dimension as just cause for alarm. As our bodies change in response to lifting it can become most difficult for some to resist the urge to curtail any activity or practice that encourages an increase in appearance.
Some women retaliate by decreasing their caloric intake while increasing their cardio training in hopes to eliminate or control their weight fluctuations. This is contradictory to the most basic principles of weight lifting!

Women must be prepared to confront their skepticism when their weight rises in response to weight training. Instead, expect this increase as a by-product of lifting and resist the instinct to oppose your body thereby limiting your progress. Concentrate on directing your focus toward strength related lifting goals while shifting the significance of bodyweight to the back burner.

Keep the emphasis of your training on health and progression and remember: your motivation for weight training should not be aimed exclusively at achieving visual perfection.

At some point, women who weight lift for reasons beyond simple light exercise must make a choice: they can spend the rest of their lives chasing ambiguous standards set by those who stand to profit from their observance or they can learn to place trust in their power to create their own physical destiny.

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I'm happy being at a healthy weight and sticking to my size 8 jeans. No more, no less :)
 
All I know is the stick thin look that most models have and many women want to look like is not attractive at all.
 
I have increased my dimensions since starting to lift and since starting strength training more seriously, much more quickly.

I knew this would happen and celebrated on the day i threw out my skinny jeans because it was the first sign I had quads!!!

I just take my progress one day and one month at a time. It's great to have shoulders for a change, and not to see my spine and ribs sticking out ...

I call my abs my "Buddha bellies" :p

But I agree with the author of the article .. she makes some very good points. Nothing new but she's put it together with a great message.

I think women get such a raw deal with this whole body image thing. I wish we had a full "reset to factory settings" button.
Quit the media and fashion industry obsessions with skinny and to be frank, a lot of men are also at fault - so easy to call a normal, slim woman FAT. Happens all the time.

god forbid, the other day a UK newspaper (article written by a man) claimed that Kate Moss is fat. WTF?

I wish everyone would focus more on their health, how they feel, and what they can do. That is so much more powerful and uplifting than fitting into a pair of leggings.

/endofrant :D
 
I agree with Bazza. And I think most men who call a normal girl fat are probably gay or writing for a bitchy fashion magazine.

A prime example of this is when Britney Spears was on the news a while ago for being 'fat'. If you find this unattractive you are gay:
britney-spears-9-12-07.jpg
 
And I think most men who call a normal girl fat are probably gay or writing for a bitchy fashion magazine.

it was a newspaper and no, a lot of straight guys do it too.

sure, they are obviously butt stupid, but their words have impact.
 
I guess we have to define fat then.. I mean when you take the catwalk model figure as the ideal and successive deviations from this are more and more overweight - this is wrong. The ideal should be similar to the way it is for men (though our ideal is now inching towards the limits of natural bodybuilding)... very fit women.

I don't think I've known any guys who prefer the model look.

edit: I wonder if you could even draw parallels - that the male ideal is now less to do with what women find the most attractive and more bent on making guys feel insecure so they buy shit?
 
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Sub 20% b/f for me was too thin, I looked gaunt in the face and my breasts were like a tennis ball in a sock. Bodyfat is win!
 
Chocco

I believe that was written some time ago and originally posted on an old forum circa 80's I found it on my PC today, thought you might enjoy the read.
 
it was a newspaper and no, a lot of straight guys do it too.

sure, they are obviously butt stupid, but their words have impact.

Supposedly straight guys that probably wear skinny leg jean themselves. So no one really cares what they think. No real man wears skinny leg jeans.
 
LOL @kaz;

yes, @Silverback;, it's a good article...rather ahead of it's time I think.

well, I don't think we should set "ideals" .. even a super fit woman is not going to be achievable for everyone and is bound to create unnecessary angst and insecurities.
ditto for men.

why can't we just consider the ideal to be the best we can be, and look after our health and wellbeing and be grateful for the good in life?

there is way too much emphasis placed on what people look like and not enough on what sort of people they are.

Maybe I look at this from the perspective of someone who had an eating disorder (rather severely) and struggled with body image issues as well as self esteem issues throughout the first 35 years of her life.

That shit sucks so much life and energy and joy out of you.

Nobody should have to go through that, to whatever degree they might be feeling it. There is no badge of honour for doing so either.

I never judge people on their looks or whether they are fat or skinny. I don't know their story, so have no right. I just try to understand what sort of person they are. Looks can change but a person's character is enduring.

Maybe I'm just getting old.

EDIT: OK I might get a bit judgemental about the chocolate they eat ... but that's now an occupational hazzard :D
 
Supposedly straight guys that probably wear skinny leg jean themselves. So no one really cares what they think. No real man wears skinny leg jeans.

No real man can FIt into skinny jeans.....and the pic of Brittany while she isn't fat she could lose a couple'annd become smoking again.....
 
Guys, it's irrelevant whether or not real men wear skinny jeans.

A lot of men who are neither gay nor skinny jeans wearing hipster dudes still contribute to this body image thing by making negative comments about girls/women who are in no way fat but get referred to in derogatory terms.

you can't really go by the views of the guys on this forum or similar, as you constitute a skewed set of people with specific views influenced by your health/fitness agendas. Which is great, but is not necessarily the norm.

Granted, most sane intelligent men would not do it either.

But sadly, there are a lot of stupid men/people out there.
 
My girlfriend is facing this same issue, has started crossfit which includes lifting, and is concerned about the repercussions. Any tips Kaz?

No real man can FIt into skinny jeans

Agreed. I dont know if it's a similar campaign that has begun against men's sense of self as well, with all the skinny nerd clothing and the cosmetic companies also aimed at men to sell us sh1t we don't need. e.g. loreal for men.
 
My girlfriend is facing this same issue, has started crossfit which includes lifting, and is concerned about the repercussions. Any tips Kaz?

The reprocussions of starting to lift include but not limited too, increase muscle mass (this does not inlcude getting massive man looking massive, oh man if only it were that easy....), decrease of body fat, improved body image, improved self esteam, imporved overall health, imporved cardio function, sense of achievement, and the list goes on...
 
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