I don't have a problem with women who want to get in shape without gaining a lot of muscles, but it sucks that so many women think this way. I do want to get bigger and stronger, and I wish I could find more like minded women to talk to and share tips for reaching our goals.
Anyone else feel me? I want to get a body like Sophie Arvebrink or Natasha Aughey , yet most women I talk to find these looks scary or non "feminine" enough. I know I can't be alone in this, so please ladies, if you like big muscles, raise your hand!
edit Wow! I woke up and found all these amazing comments! Didn't know there were so many of us Thanks for all the comments! It's really inspiring, plus you guys introduced me to some new awesome women lifters. Keep em coming!
@biblicalquality You ladies are inspiring! Good on you for not feeling tied down by the norms and expectations of society and being willing to strive for muscle. It shows character, courage and confidence and those are fine attributes. Plus, a physically strong woman who looks strong is super hot in my book Keep up the good work!
@biblicalquality I most definitely do. I enrolled in a circuit training class at my school to help me get started, since I have no experience in the gym setting at all. Not really sure what I'm doing though, hope I'm doing it right.
Its been day 3 of lifting today.
@biblicalquality I never wanted to get visible muscles, I just wanted to get super strong. As a result of this goal I am getting larger than average muscles (ie: while wearing a sweatshirt and unfitted jeans I get called a bodybuilder :/). But turns out I love being super strong and I love how my body is changing. I find that when you focus on the goal of strength gains, the body you build becomes a badge of honour. You really lift and you want to look as strong as you feel. You want everyone to know by looking at you that you "do even lift" as they say
@biblicalquality I wouldn't say I want to be huge (my career limits how far I can go with any sort of bodybuilding), but I definitely want to get to the point where someone says I look "athletic" rather than "skinny". I have so much more muscle than I used to but because I'm tall and long-limbed it still doesn't read as built. I would love someone to assume I lift based on how I look, rather than be surprised. Luckily the shoulders and lats are growing so I'm getting there
Someone on the Internet saw a picture of me and said "muscles on women are gross, way to ruin yourself" and I was THRILLED. That person was trying to bring me down but they used the feature I most want noticed and HE NOTICED.
@activewear Thank you! It's a far cry from the girl I was before I had lifting in my life. I killed the meek girl, and was reborn a confident woman, so to speak.
@biblicalquality When I first started crossfit it was mostly to get in shape but not get bulky so I wasn't pushing too much. In the first months I was following classes where the coach was a woman. I can say she saw my progression from the beginning. In the first months during the workouts where I was choosing my working weight she would sometimes come with a heavier kettlebell or dumbbell saying "I'll just leave this here! wink wink" so I could go up in weight, or she would directly say "you can do better than that, I'll tell you if your form is affected.
So time passed and I was getting more and more in shape and I saw a lot of progress and now I'm doing more weightlifting by myself because I love being strong and solid. I have muscles and I don't fear to let them grow anymore.
@biblicalquality I defintely want my glutes and hamstrings to get a lot bigger, I love the shape it gives. I also love that ridge on either side of the spine that comes with a muscular back (no idea what to call this!).
@biblicalquality I don't think either of these women are bulky. They have awesome bodies and I would love to look like that.
Honestly, as long as it's muscle, I don't care if I put on some bulk. I'm built like a tiny wrecking ball and most of the time I'm pretty happy with that. That said though, I don't think I have it entirely in my genetics to pack on a ton of muscle. I'm not ever going t look as lean as Christmas Abbott, but I also don't think I can get quite as stacked at Camille LeBlanc Bazinet. I'm somewhere in the middle.
@biblicalquality I'm with you! People can do what they want with their bodies, but it does make me sad that so many women want to be strong, but not look it.
I personally don't want my strength to be a secret--if I'm working 4/5 days in the gym a week, I want the muscle to show for it.
What frustrates me are the unsolicited comments of "but doing that will make you bulky!" and just assuming that's not what I want.
@biblicalquality Bigger. Like streaky from lift big eat big! I want to always deserve my reddit name. (Which I don't at the moment due to a slipped disc ruining leg days).
@biblicalquality I definitely want to build bigger muscles! When I first started working out, I didn't want to, and one of the first things I told my trainer was that I wanted to be strong but I was worried about bulking up too much (which he assured me I wouldn't get bulky just from working out), but now I'm trying to lose some more body fat, and I'm proud of how strong I've become over the last year, and I want that strength to show! I've actually got pretty decent muscles, I just have too much body fat right now, so they don't show very well unless I'm flexing. I'm very excited to drop some weight and start showing my muscles!
@biblicalquality I would love to gain mass and get swole. I build muscle/get stronger relatively easily, but my limbs and muscles are elongated and no matter how much strength/muscle/mass I gain, my muscles don't get that nice rounded look to them.
The bicep bump and the glutes are the best example. I weigh 120 lbs, squat 150lbs and glute bridge 230 lbs on a regular basis. But from the side I barely have an ass, and my bicep bump barely exists even though you can see the muscle itself. It's just long.
I look at some of the women pictured in this thread for inspiration and I'm like hot damn that must take a lot of work and time.
You might want to explain to women who don't lift because they don't want to bulk that you have to work really hard to get big like that. Its like starting a running program and accidentally being able to run a marathon. It takes a TON of training and work to get as big as you want to get.
Thanks for all the comments! It's really inspiring, plus you guys introduced me to some new awesome women lifters. Keep em coming!