Femininity versus Strength

The prevailing misperception about active women, particularly those engaged in body contact (martial arts, rugby, etc.) or so-called "extreme" sports (mountain biking, rock climbing), is that their sport overshadows their femininity. This comes up in casual conversations quite often, as women perceive that sports, sweating, working our bodies, means that they are less feminine somehow. The assumption that women can only do step aerobics or walk on the treadmill means that many women won't try new or exciting sports for the fear of looking less than female.

The thought processes behind our world views of what is "male" and "female" are most certainly influenced by the media. The fashion magazines, despite a probable correlation between eating disorders and how super-skinny models are portrayed, have not stopped flooding the market with women who might weigh 100 lbs soaking wet. While channel surfing the other day, I saw a portion of the show about tryouts for an NFL cheerleading team. I stopped the remote; I couldn't help it. The part that I saw had to do with the candidates trying on the actual uniforms for the first time and the coach/leader/whatever she is would seriously critique each woman's physique in the uniform. Some of the comments seemed inane to me...honestly, who is really looking at the "line" of those tee-tiny little shorts and whether or not it is perfectly smooth? Maybe some people do look at those things, but the women who are there trying out for the team have to be fit and fairly strong in order to perform the moves they do. They are true athletes, but unfortunately, cheerleading (at least at that level) seems to be more about appearances. I hate to think how many of those beautiful women developed or will develop eating disorders as a result of trying to have a "smooth line" along the butt cheek or to lose enough weight to fit in the damn uniform to begin with. How much of this attitude trickles down to our teenagers? I respect cheerleading as an athletic pursuit, but I cannot buy in to the "looks are all" mentality.

Women can be strong and beautiful. Most women, even those without children, have had the occasion to pick up a two year old child. That takes real strength. Climbing a rock wall? Same strength. Mopping a floor requires muscles too. Women must be strong to manage and run a household. Granted, some women do have significant others who do the "heavy" lifting or the "men's work" in their home, but many do not and have to function with the strength of a man and a woman.

Perhaps I am biased, as I grew up wanting to be active regardless of how others viewed me. Sports and fitness are expressions for me of how I can use my body's abilities to the fullest potential. I am not necessarily athletically gifted, but strength training, running, playing basketball are not activities for the male gender alone. We can pursue our fitness and maintain control over how our bodies look.

Muscle Up Like a Girl

I met a coworker in the gym the other day and she commented that she would like to lift weights more, but she doesn't want to get big and bulky. This is, by far, the most common myth I hear from other women. Unfortunately, the media gives us the idea that women end up looking like the Incredible Hulk, when in fact, our bodies do not make enough free testosterone to stimulate that type of muscle growth. Women DO have testosterone, as it is one of the many hormones that is including in the delicate balancing acts within our endocrine systems, but men have more free testosterone, or testosterone that is not "bound" to the sexual system, which gives the muscles more of that hormone that increases the rebuilding of muscle tissue that has been broken down (by weight lifting, for example.) Women have less free testosterone, so our muscles do not get the same build-up. Having said that, there are pictures a-plenty on the internet or in magazines of women who are bulked up...can you say anabolic steroids? That is, in fact, the only way a woman would get this type of muscle mass.

On the other hand, lifting does help strengthen and tone the muscles you do have. Muscles need more fuel than fat does, so you get an increased caloric burn since your muscles will need to feed. The pitfall with this is not lifting and then assuming you can eat whatever you want since "the muscles will burn this off!" This is not the case. A good strength training program in combination with aerobic activity is often times the best way to burn calories. Creating a deficit is what encourages the body to burn off fat stores. Healthy eating (not dieting!) is the best way to increase this as well. The best motivation I have is browsing through the Oxygen Magazine website and looking at the healthy, fit models (not super skinny, anorexics!).

I may never actually look like those models, but I do know that strength training has helped me "see" more of my muscle and has helped me do things that maybe I wouldn't have been able to do before. One night I was at the grocery store, the parking lot was semi-dark since some of the streetlights weren't working and a woman and her small child were putting groceries in the car when she dropped her car keys. The car was unlocked, but obviously, she couldn't go anywhere. She couldn't see the keys and didn't have a spare. My husband and I asked if we could help and we she mentioned that she thought the keys had fallen underneath the car, I immediately and without thinking, dropped down into a pushup plank position and held it (it had been raining and the lot was wet, so I didn't want to get wet!) until I could locate the keys. Then I was able to reach out with one hand, while holding my position, and grab them. She was grateful, needless to say. I felt awesome because I had just proven to myself that all that strength training paid off in a functional way (Rar! Go, Me!).

Finally, strength training is a weight bearing exercise that can help women, particularly those in peri-menopause or menopause who are worried about losing bone mass.

So, get your butts in the gym (strength training can help the butt too!)