I think it might be working. Women

Yes! It makes me so happy to see!

:drinker: :drinker:

*Yay!*

Wonderfull

Keep up the great work ladies!

Gives us guys more eye candy, and that's always awesome. :drinker:

Fa from my goal and heavy lifting 2-3x a week. Thanks to you and Sunshine!! (Sidesteal isn't a woman, but let me give him props too)


THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for showing me the light!

Lol! I'm starting to get more into weight lifting now that I have a laid out plan for me.

Will ever I ever lift a barbell or do any of the traditional lifts? No.. because I don't have a desire to.. and thats ok with me

strong is the new skinny
Muscles are sexy!

While there is still A LOT of misinformation out there - for women especially - on how to get fit and "tone" (really Women's Health? Cosmo? REALLY?) I agree that I am definitely starting to see a shift. It's slow, but it is certainly there and it's exciting!

I'm not trying to sound all hard core feminist, but overall, I don't feel like I live in a society that values physical strength in women. I look at advertisements and billboards and magazines and I see physical strong men with low body fat and a lot of visible muscles. I see women who look (well 1-airbrushed) and two nearly emaciated looking. Further more, I hear others criticize women that have naturally built up some muscle (no, I don't mean bulky body builder image) and have lower body fat levels because they "don't have enough fat". So it's okay for men to have low body fat with muscles but not women? I don't think having 15% BF and being strong and muscular is the same as dieting your way there. To diet your way there, you'd likely be malnourished (of course some exceptions depending on genetics) - but to get there with strength training and building some muscle you're able to eat (a lot!) and be a healthy weight (in fact, you'll probably weigh more than anyone would ever guess).

HOWEVER! I have been seeing more ads that are starting to feature physically fit and strong women This is SO exciting! I think we will be seeing more of this in the future. I also hope to see less air brushing. Incidents such as the Ralph Lauren debacle seem to be bringing the "over-liquifying" to the public eye.

http://boingboing.net/2009/10/06/the-criticism-that-r.html
(GREAT read! Boing boing has some funny commentary about their cease and desist notice... TOTALLY fair use of the image)

But I digress. I do think things are changing, and I think it's up to us to change this mentality. I used to always say I desperately wanted a son instead of a daughter (no children now - in my mid/late 30s I hope to), but now I honestly hope to have a girl. I want to teach her how to eat properly, and how to strengthen her body

Why? Because I think THE best benefit of strength training is how much confidence it builds.

(Okay. Super feminist. I can't help it.... and of course I'd do the same if I had a son!)

I love lifting!!

AWW YEA!!! X-D

My highest working reps are 8. 12-rep warmup, then 8-6-6 or 5-5-5. *flex*

I'm not trying to sound all hard core feminist, but overall, I don't feel like I live in a society that values physical strength in women.

Why? Because I think THE best benefit of strength training is how much confidence it builds.

I totally see where you are coming from (sorry, I chopped the quote down to some key parts.) I don't like the idea that women should be weak under any sense of the word. Sometimes physical strength and emotional strength go hand in hand.

I was raised to believe that women should be independent. Men are great, but you shouldn't be helpless when they aren't around.

I can't imagine not lifting heavy (relatively) weights! I'm always happy to see yet another post or thread encouraging women to lift hard and heavy.

I remember the revelation way back when I was 18 and lifting weights/exercising for the first time ever - I was doing leg presses (and in the back of my mind was thinking "what if i bulk my legs up?") and my friend (a guy) said " why are you only pressing 30? your legs are the strongest muscle in your body". Thankfully, that rang true to me then, and so I never fell into the "light weight/high rep" loop.

Mind you, in the decade+ since, I've not stuck nearly as faithfully to strength training as I should have. But every time I come back to it, I love it more. This time around, I've been really focused and really concentrating on working out to perform and get stronger, not just to alter my appearance. Love, love, love doing it and love the results - currently lifting heavier than I ever have before!!!

On a side note my 3 year old tries to convincee mixing ranch and ketchup is "really good for you".

I prefer ranch and salsa, ranch and buffalo, or ranch and bbq sauce. :happy:

My stupid ranch tooth will NOT be silenced!