Let’s be honest women, we are WAY to good at comparing. Comparing isn’t always a bad thing, but when it comes to women’s fitness, it can lead to major disappointment.
In the article by FIT DAY, “How Women’s Fitness Differs From Men’s” they discuss the comparison of fitness levels between sexes.
Men can build muscle more easily, which will in turn help them to lose weight and get in shape. Men also have more strength than women, and they can handle heavier loads more quickly.
That doesn’t mean that women can’t get in shape as well. It just means that they need to find a workout program that plays to their strengths, and they shouldn’t try to compete with their fellow man. If you’re not seeing the same amounts of gain as your boyfriend/husband/male friend, don’t worry about it! Your bodies are designed differently, and what is “fit” to you is not the same as his definition of “fitness”.
The fitness levels of men versus women might not feel like it is very fair. Men have their own strengths (literally and figuratively) and women do too. What is important is to hone and focus on those strengths instead of comparing your fitness results to the opposite sex.
So what does ‘fit’ look like for a woman? Times are changing and what ‘fit looks like is changing. The Washington Post has an article that answers this question, “What do Fit Women Want? Strong or Skinny?”
When Kristin Rance joined a CrossFit gym in the District about a year ago, she had one vision: muscle. The 30-year-old mother of two wanted to look in the mirror and see someone “who looks like [she] works out — without flexing,” Rance says. How she didn’t want to look? Skinny. Forget craving runway models’ stick-thin figures: Women now want Michelle Obama’s arms, Jillian Michaels’s abs and Lolo Jones’s legs. Today, says VIDA general manager Nancy Burnham, who models in the gym’s promotional materials, “having a strong body and a positive body image is cool.”
Over the past few years, women like Rance have been embracing the message that “strong is the new skinny” — that a body of muscle is better than a body of bones.
Have you embraced this new change in fitness? I think it is great that strength is more important than a woman’s pant size. Strength is a pretty generalized term and varies from woman to woman. “What Does Being Fit Look Like?” is an exemplary article that discusses the diversity of what ‘fit’ looks like.
Being fit looks different for everyone. An Olympic shotputter needs a different physical make up than a long-distance runner. If you’re naturally short and curvy no matter how fit you are or how low your body fat gets you might never get a visible six pack. One person may have great strength and terrible endurance, while another may be able to run for days, but flake out when asked to carry a heavy shopping bag. These are simply different components of fitness, and none of them are defined by very low body fat, visible muscle definition or even BMI
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Fit is training for strength. Fit is training for endurance. Fit is balancing our gym life with our “real” life. Fit is eating a balanced diet that fuels our training and lets us live our lives.
Ladies, let’s change our mindset. Being fit doesn’t mean that you can fit into a size 0 or that you look like the photoshopped models in magazines. Find your own personal strength and work on that. Let’s be part of this healthy change in body image and demonstrate what true fitness is to future generations.
Join in a supportive community of women’s fitness in Southlake by joining VibeFit. Here you can come as you are and become personally fit in your own individual way.