For the Ladies:

chivalryder

This is to help give the ladies some motivation, inspiration, and realistic goals:

The one sport I am most passionate is cycling. The most intense and exciting of all forms of cycling has to be track cycling. Since it is a very unknown sports in the world stage, the great athletes within it often go unnoticed (unless they work their way up to the Tour de France... Mark Cavendish, anyone?).

Anyway, in track cycling there are currently two powerhouse women who are controlling the track:

Anna Meares of Australia



and Victoria Pendleton of Britain



A conversation on my wall got me thinking about them, so I looked them up on Wikipedia. The thing I noticed: They're both the same height of 5' 5" (1.65m)!

The other thing I noticed: There's a 20 lb difference in their weight!

AM is 159lbs (72kg) BMI: 26.5

VP is 140 lbs (60kg) BMI: 23.3

Even though there is a very dramatic difference between the two, they are both competing in the same disciplines, and are both at the top of their game. They are both winning races. The races where they go head-to-head, they always come to a photo-finish.

I added the BMI simply to show that you don't have to be lightweight to be incredibly sexy. "Overweight" starts at 24.9. Anna Meares is a lot higher then that, but still has a beautiful body!

I'm posting this because I see a lot of women making threads, asking for women who are similar height to ask what their goal weights are, how much they weigh, being successful, etc., etc. Though that is good for inspiration, don't set yourself up for failure before you begin! Though the steps to take to achieve goals will be similar, the results will always be dramatically different. Don't compare yourself to others. Only compare yourself to yourself, who you used to be and what you've become now. If you don't have the body that will fit into a size 0, don't make that you're goal. You need to be realistic with what you want to achieve, and you need to accept who you are, not mimicking what those around you are.

Oh, and the best thing about these two Queens of the Track:

They're great friends!



Editing to add:

Just because the number on the scale is high doesn't mean that you're fat or unhealthy. Anna Meares weighs more than I did when I was in my prime, and I'm 6'.

Also, this is more evidence that lifting heavy won't make a woman bulky (in response to yesterday's fiasco). These women squat/press 1-2 rep sets, to build maximum strength in their legs. They need to, in order for maximum output during sprinting. Do their legs look big and bulky to you?

MissKalhan

I actually was glued to the tv while they had this on during the olympics, so cool.

PRMinx

Thanks for this piece of awesome :-)

Jennifer_Lynn_1982

Great post!!

Lizsullie

This is great. Thanks for the food for thought!!

Wuggums

I you

lovechicagobears

That's awesome. I love this thread. I, too, get so tired of the "Tell me what size jeans you wear" threads. We're here to motivate each other, not encourage jealousy and false aspirations. You could have eight women, all the size height and weight, who will wear wildly different sizes. It doesn't mean one is more fit or prettier or thinner than the other.

smiley13000

Awwww. Thanks that's really nice

chivalryder

Oh, I guess I could add, with regards to both their weights:

Just because you have a high number on the scale doesn't mean you're fat or unhealthy.

Pedalpush

Thank you! That was a great post. And chicks rule! There is something about competing with women...I find this especially in mountain biking. There is so much more than just getting out there to kick each other's a**.

quirkytizzy

This is awesome! Thank you for posting!

KANGOOJUMPS

YOUR AWESOME!, CYCLING is one of my FAVS! THANKS!

xprettyreckless

This is great. I love that many athletes are apparently 'overweight' according to their BMI, but looking at their bodies
you see that they're just so in shape and that a lot of it is muscle weight. Makes me realize that one shouldn't be too obsessed with BMI and weight, and just FEEL comfortable with oneself

alpine1994

I love this. Thank you.

Pamela_June

..you are so right.. thanks!

:bigsmile:

elgray26

This is awesome. I do believe that some women have a skewed view of what they should look like. Some women are just not built to look like supermodels. Me being one of them. I have always been bottom heavy and only 5'5". I will most likely at my goal weight never have a thigh gap. My pants will always be too big in the waist because I am just built with bigger thighs and a bigger butt.

This post just goes to show that everyone is built differently!

Jpinpoint

Oh, I guess I could add, with regards to both their weights:

Just because you have a high number on the scale doesn't mean you're fat or unhealthy.

Or that BMI proves you are fat or unhealthy.

If a 26 BMI lists her as overweight but she is healthy and fit....well for people who use BMI as a rating system, I personally don't.

IslandRider

Thank you! Nice reminder.

PoisonDartFrog

Thanks for a great post! And it is more inspiring than many I read.

chivalryder

Oh, I guess I could add, with regards to both their weights:

Just because you have a high number on the scale doesn't mean you're fat or unhealthy.

Or that BMI proves you are fat or unhealthy.

If a 26 BMI lists her as overweight but she is healthy and fit....well for people who use BMI as a rating system, I personally don't.

I was just using that to note how flawed that BMI system is.

BF% is what people really should use. These ladies BF% isn't available for me to post, and I don't know their phone #'s.

megalin9

Very good point. I see those same threads, and I often go into the ones for 5'7" ladies because that's my height. A lot of them have goals that I personally think would be too low for *ME*. I needed this post as reassurance that I really have no idea what my goal weight is and will know it when I get there and that it might still be considered "overweight." I'm okay with that. THANKS!