Question for those who don't want to be ripped.

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  • ZoeLifts
    ZoeLifts Posts: 10,347 Member
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    As someone who likes having muscles and hopes to gain more, I'm feeling pretty offended by being called gross.

    Yeah, you're g.r.o.s.s.
    Got Ripped, Obviously Screaming Success

    :flowerforyou:
  • MsPudding
    MsPudding Posts: 562 Member
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    Having defined muscles is not one of my goals. My goal is simply to lose some weight and be generally healthier - I'll be happy at the top end of the 'Normal BF' range.

    It's great that many MFPers have a goal of looking more defined (or whatever other adjective you want to apply to it), but equally there are lots of people who have different goals. I don't think that telling someone with a goal to get generally healthier that they're 'looking for excuses to stay fat' could be labelled as 'honesty' as that implies it's true, rather than what it was which was a soundbite statement that had very little relevance to anything the Op had actually stated.
  • mommy3457
    mommy3457 Posts: 361 Member
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    Op - I think your question really is "Is anyone else's goal simply trying to get a bit healthier rather than attain a certain body look" and the answer to that would be 'yes', lots of people.

    I know that if you spend a lot of time in the forums, particularly the fitness one, it can appear that the majority of people have a goal of muscle definition, but I think that's simply the forum demographic.

    As others have said; if you're not busting your *kitten* doing weights and all the other activities aimed at building/defining muscle then there's no chance you'll end up 'ripped' anyway.

    quote]

    Yes, I think this post sums it all up. The end! :flowerforyou: :happy:
  • DragonSquatter
    DragonSquatter Posts: 957 Member
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    OP: I get what you're saying about not necessarily WANTING to put the work and effort into being superfit, and that is okay. Everyone has different goals. I will say that there are some great health benefits to resistance training that you should not ignore though especially for women who are aging and want to maintain good bone density, posture, and muscle tone. I think a healthy balance of cardiovascular and strength fitness should be also be a goal if you're going for "healthy" not just if you're going for "fit."
  • Absonthebrain
    Absonthebrain Posts: 587 Member
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    No one gets ripped by accident.

    Train and eat as though you want to get ripped but then slow it down to a maintenance programme once you reach your desired level of muscle/BF.

    ^^This!!
  • Absonthebrain
    Absonthebrain Posts: 587 Member
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    As someone who likes having muscles and hopes to gain more, I'm feeling pretty offended by being called gross.

    Yeah, you're g.r.o.s.s.
    Got Ripped, Obviously Screaming Success

    :flowerforyou:

    ^and this!! lmao!!
  • CMB1979
    CMB1979 Posts: 588 Member
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    I've been fat/chubby/obese for my whole life. I don't care about looking down and seeing 8 pack abs. I just want to look down and see my penis. :)
  • DragonSquatter
    DragonSquatter Posts: 957 Member
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    I've been fat/chubby/obese for my whole life. I don't care about looking down and seeing 8 pack abs. I just want to look down and see my penis. :)

    :laugh:
  • Penfoldsplace
    Penfoldsplace Posts: 159
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    Jeez did anyone criticising the OP actually read and understand what she said? She was looking for people with similar goals to hers. Instead she get a load of smart arses telling her she not going to get ripped by accident. She's a veteran I think she knows what it takes to get "ripped" or whatever word you want to use. She doesn't want that! The people making fun and criticising do realise it's fine for others to have different goals than them don't they?
  • Danilynn1975
    Danilynn1975 Posts: 294 Member
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    Navy Veteran here.

    I understand totally and completely not wanting the level of massive fitness held during active duty status.

    I never again want my calves to measure 24 inches as a woman weighing 135 pounds at 5'7" like when I was active duty.

    I didn't like the way it looked on me then and I don't want to achieve it now.

    I despise the term "skinny fat" . To me it implies oh you're slim, but not really into your health. It's insulting no matter how it is phrased. It's a way of shaming someone still.

    I get what the OP is saying, healthy smaller, but not a whole lot, like military style, fitness freak level is not her goal.

    For me I walk roughly 5 or more miles a day just in the course of my day. I feel absolutely no urge what-so-ever to go to the gym when I get off. I'm tired from a job that involves manual labor. The absolute last thing I want or intend to do is go work more. Because to me after my work days in 8 pounds of steel toe boots, 15 to 20 pounds of tool belt, harness, other protective gear on, going to the gym is yet more work. After days in the hot sun sweating buckets to earn a living, no way in hell am I going to go sweat some more. I'm going home and showering and finding a spot to lie down or sit down.

    I'm here to lose weight, be smaller, not get winded walking at work.

    I hear what you asking OP, yes I want to avoid being a diabetic, my work exercise and diet will do that for me.

    Call me skinny fat or soft, whatever. I don't walk around in a swimsuit, so whatever, the only one going to see me that undressed is my hubby. He likes me as is. And I am cool with my body (most days) as is.

    Good Luck Op.
  • rsalty
    rsalty Posts: 68 Member
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    My apologies. I read it that way in the OP because I don't understand how someone who was in the best shape of their life previously would want to settle for less later in life.

    You're not alone.

    There's a lot of people who's "best shape ever" has been mild enough to make that true (noting that "mild" here might mean "only" lifting 2x bodyweight, or only carrying 15 extra kilos while running 6-minute miles ($%^# college commute-by-panic) - it can still be pretty intense), and I suspect that's why the OP's looking for people who can identify with her goals. People who no longer have jobs/lives where being maximally fit in some particular way is part of the job description. "Maximal fitness" can go *way* beyond healthy: that's part of why the Olympic and military training centers tend to have a larger than normal concentration of person repair facilities.

    It's also a major time sink at a certain level and hard to combine with non-athletic goals at a certain point. If I understand correctly, the squad my girlfriend used to swim with broke apart when they hit that point, because only some of them were really trying for the Olympic team, and the others decided that other goals were more important and needed the additional 15 hours per week that the next level would call for. None have actually "gone soft", but some went a lot harder on the swimming part of life (and, again counting on second-hand recollection, one actually did make the team).
    despise the term "skinny fat" . To me it implies oh you're slim, but not really into your health. It's insulting no matter how it is phrased. It's a way of shaming someone still.

    I *think* that's an ego defense mechanism from the high BMI muscle mass crowd (the "heavy fit") to all of the articles that focus on BMI and tell them they're gonna die just because of a height/weight ratio. They don't want to consider the choice of "skinny fit", since they really do not have that goal at all. I just read it as a flag for "power/bulk advice to follow, do not use for endurance situations".
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    Don't worry - no one gets ripped by accident.

    I was using "ripped" as an expression. As I was pretty "ripped" before I know it doesn't happen by accident. I am not worried about suddenly waking up with 8 pack abs. I was simply feeling out to see if there were others like me: Not training for anything, just getting healthier.

    I understand what you mean, and I think everyone on the forum is so used to people who don't want to (add exercise here) in case they get "too bulky/ripped/(add adjective here)" that a lot of people have interpreted your question as similar to that.

    Yes there are loads of people here that are just here to get healthy. Do what exercise you enjoy, eat what you enjoy within your calorie limit while getting all the nutrition you need and that's all you need to do .... but i expect you know that already and are just looking for people with similar goals.

    My goal's not about aesthetics either, I'm trying to get as strong as possible and I decided a while back I don't want my body fat percentage to go below 22% (according to accumeasure, Jackson pollack formula always measures a bit lower than accumeasure but the amount of bodyfat that I think is right for my body is the amount when accumeasure says 22%). So I'm lifting heavy and currently bulking to gain muscle, for strength, not aesthetics. at some point I might do a cut back to where accumeasure says 22%, or maybe I won't, it depends how I feel. But I get you re having a goal that's not about aesthetics. My main goal is about strength (i'd love love love to be able to deadlift 300lb+!!), and health goes hand in hand with strength, especially with regards to increasing bone density and maintaining muscle mass into old age, to prevent osteoporosis and mobility problems later in life.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Before this exploded into a cat fight I thought it was an interesting question.

    For me my goals are different from when I was at my peak but then again I'm a lot older, have more injuries and don't do the same sports.

    Minimum is - to be "good shape for my age". Healthy and fit.
    Aspiration is - to be in great shape. Healthy, very fit, at goal weight and have a good body composition.
    A step too far - to be in exceptional shape and ripped. That's maybe beyond me anyway and I recognise I'm not prepared to make the sacrifices (diet, time, social life - probably surgery) I would need to to get to an elite level.
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
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    OP: I get what you're saying about not necessarily WANTING to put the work and effort into being superfit, and that is okay. Everyone has different goals. I will say that there are some great health benefits to resistance training that you should not ignore though especially for women who are aging and want to maintain good bone density, posture, and muscle tone. I think a healthy balance of cardiovascular and strength fitness should be also be a goal if you're going for "healthy" not just if you're going for "fit."
    ^beautiful

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