I don’t think anyone’s having a go at you for having insecurities - more that you’re comparing yourself to someone who is half a foot shorter and 100lbs heavier. It’s like someone with a six figure salary moaning about how the recession sucks because they can’t afford to holiday in St Barts this year to someone who has lost their job and had their house repossessed. Reality check!
[quote]Cal Jones wrote:
I don’t think anyone’s having a go at you for having insecurities - more that you’re comparing yourself to someone who is half a foot shorter and 100lbs heavier. It’s like someone with a six figure salary moaning about how the recession sucks because they can’t afford to holiday in St Barts this year to someone who has lost their job and had their house repossessed. Reality check![/quote]
nah. it’s not like that at all.
ALL insecurities are in your head, that’s what’s so ridiculous about this.
isn’t one of every woman’s biggest challenges to beat their insecurities? gain confidence and become happy with the way they are? i’m allowed to be insecure just as much as the next guy, my mistake was saying something about it
It’s not just a question of her insecurities, it’s a question of her health. LL, you are lovely and healthy, and while yes, we all have our own insecurities, you don’t have the obvious health questions.
lol … attempt at being friends with women: failed yet again
You did try and empathize, though, which was nice. I don’t know very many women who don’t have some kind of body image issues, I guess. I can’t keep the pounds / kilos conversion straight in my head, and I don’t know… I guess it is nicer to assume the person is genuine (and not risk really hurting their feelings) - and if (worst case) the person is a troll / isn’t serious it still might well be the case that lurkers can benefit from the discussion.
I see some good stuff about different kinds of measures of health… Guess it is possible to check body-fat levels (rather than including muscle mass / dense bones in a pure weight calculation). Aren’t there many weight classes in powerlifting? (excuse my ignorance)
Isn’t Karma like 5’2 or something? I believe she used to weigh over 200 (don’t quote me on that, this is just some random memory that popped up while I was reading the first post here)… Might be someone the OP can ask about this.
I don’t know if she still reads the site…
[quote]ladieslove wrote:
lol … attempt at being friends with women: failed yet again[/quote]
Chloroform works for me…
WHAT?
[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
Isn’t Karma like 5’2 or something? I believe she used to weigh over 200 (don’t quote me on that, this is just some random memory that popped up while I was reading the first post here)… Might be someone the OP can ask about this.
I don’t know if she still reads the site…
[/quote]
Or Nikki lol
[quote]Nikki9591 wrote:
[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
Isn’t Karma like 5’2 or something? I believe she used to weigh over 200 (don’t quote me on that, this is just some random memory that popped up while I was reading the first post here)… Might be someone the OP can ask about this.
I don’t know if she still reads the site…
[/quote]
Or Nikki lol
[/quote]
You used to weigh over 200? Nice transformation!
Funny thing that occurred to me: A lot of the females on here with the most attractive bodies (in my opinion) have been pretty much obese or at least quite a bit overweight in the past…
DebraD and OnMyOwn32 are some more examples. (I’m going by the ones who have posted in the various t-vixen threads)…
That being said, none of their situations seem to quite fit the OP’s (i.e. the powerlifting angle and getting seriously big for that purpose…).
Personally I have no problem at all with a female wanting to get bigger than is commonly accepted by society, considering that in order to achieve a large level of strength requires a combination of the right leverages and amount of muscle mass.
I don’t really know many who do though…
Actually, I personally know and am married to one.
That’s it.
I know some local powerlifting women, but none of them eat to get bigger/build plenty more muscle-mass, and they usually stay fairly small while using some specialized powerlifting approach/relative strength stuff… Their strength doesn’t improve all that much past the first few years of training, if that… A few pounds here or there on the big three if at all.
There’s only so much you can do while being too small for your leverages as they relate to your lifts.
A 90 lb girl is a 90 lb girl… She may be better at this or that lift than the others, but there’s only so much she can do, and progress is harder to come by when not eating for it properly etc (which so many males on here don’t even do, so yeah).
If that’s not enough for her, that will mean getting bigger and doing what’s necessary to get there food and macro wise etc.
If we average out genetics, training styles and what-have-you, then I’ve found that by and large guys with lifts (I don’t think the big three alone are the greatest indicators for this by themselves though) that seem low for their weight/height combination tend to carry less muscle and more fat than guys with stronger lifts…
And here is where my one problem comes in: A 180-ish raw bench seems low for a person weighing 230-whatever and being 5’3 tall. I’m already factoring in that zadruga is (provided we’re not dealing with someone trolling the forums) female and gets to carry more bodyfat anyway due to that etc.
As I said… I’m fine with a girl getting big if she wants more (strength or whatever) than what is commonly achieved by female lifters.
I do however think that as with males this shouldn’t be used just to make oneself feel better about being fat or getting fat.
There’s big and strong, and you know it when you see it, and in order to get there people usually end up pushing things for a time which is fine, and then there’s denial.
Hope the last part doesn’t seem harsh or anything, I’m not even saying that it applies to the OP… Without at least knowing her other lifts and/or seeing a picture all I can go by is her bench.
So I guess I’m saying that I’d make sure the mass I’m carrying/gaining actually serves it’s purpose as related to my goals and that I’m not trying to justify carrying too much more than makes sense for my situation/is reasonable. As obviously then the justification would make no actual sense.
[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
And here is where my one problem comes in: A 180-ish raw bench seems low for a person weighing 230-whatever and being 5’3 tall. I’m already factoring in that zadruga is (provided we’re not dealing with someone trolling the forums) female and gets to carry more bodyfat anyway due to that etc.
As I said… I’m fine with a girl getting big if she wants more (strength or whatever) than what is commonly achieved by female lifters.
I do however think that as with males this shouldn’t be used just to make oneself feel better about being fat or getting fat.
There’s big and strong, and you know it when you see it, and in order to get there people usually end up pushing things for a time which is fine, and then there’s denial.
Hope the last part doesn’t seem harsh or anything, I’m not even saying that it applies to the OP… Without at least knowing her other lifts and/or seeing a picture all I can go by is her bench.
So I guess I’m saying that I’d make sure the mass I’m carrying/gaining actually serves it’s purpose as related to my goals and that I’m not trying to justify carrying too much more than makes sense for my situation/is reasonable. As obviously then the justification would make no actual sense.
[/quote]
This. I see this a lot. Using powerlifing as a justification for being fat, without actually being all that strong in relation to bodyweight. It isn’t harsh to point this out. If the post was made by a man it’d be an all out flame war. Everyone is so delicate with feelings around here but women should be able to take the truth just like the men would have to take it.
Oh, and merry Christmas to you all… A little late but whatever.
This brings up a point that I’m very interested in: the whole strength-to-weight issue and finding where that sweet spot is. Could I drop to the next weight class without losing any strength? Would I be that much stronger if I gained a few pounds? I’ve never personally experimented with it. I know a few people who have (Ouroboro, for example, who found that she was much stronger moving up a weight class).
You make a good point in that Zadruga’s bench on a strength-to-weight ratio basis is equivalent to me benching 84 lb. Being small, it’s an issue I have to remind myself of frequently so as not to get discouraged about the seemingly small amount of weight I lift.
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
This brings up a point that I’m very interested in: the whole strength-to-weight issue and finding where that sweet spot is. Could I drop to the next weight class without losing any strength? Would I be that much stronger if I gained a few pounds? I’ve never personally experimented with it. I know a few people who have (Ouroboro, for example, who found that she was much stronger moving up a weight class).
You make a good point in that Zadruga’s bench on a strength-to-weight ratio basis is equivalent to me benching 84 lb. Being small, it’s an issue I have to remind myself of frequently so as not to get discouraged about the seemingly small amount of weight I lift.
[/quote]
I think it’s pretty clear that when you are thin or light in comparison to your height you’re going to get more out of being heavier. Assuming that extra weight is muscle. Also, bigger women have better leverages and shorter ROM - to a point. Back in the beginning of my football career I was told by a very well known coach that I would be perfect at 165. And for my height of 5’6, that’s about right.
The issue for me, and possibly other women here, is the struggle between wanting to be thin, fit into clothes and look good on the street - to look good to the general population - and wanting to be stronger, bigger and better at their sport. You may have a general idea of your optimal weight for your sport at your height with your frame, but do you WANT to be there? This is a struggle for thin female athletes debating whether or not to put on weight and something I go back and forth on constantly. Be stronger, or stay thin?
[quote]Bobbi Miller wrote:
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
This brings up a point that I’m very interested in: the whole strength-to-weight issue and finding where that sweet spot is. Could I drop to the next weight class without losing any strength? Would I be that much stronger if I gained a few pounds? I’ve never personally experimented with it. I know a few people who have (Ouroboro, for example, who found that she was much stronger moving up a weight class).
You make a good point in that Zadruga’s bench on a strength-to-weight ratio basis is equivalent to me benching 84 lb. Being small, it’s an issue I have to remind myself of frequently so as not to get discouraged about the seemingly small amount of weight I lift.
[/quote]
I think it’s pretty clear that when you are thin or light in comparison to your height you’re going to get more out of being heavier. Assuming that extra weight is muscle. Also, bigger women have better leverages and shorter ROM - to a point. Back in the beginning of my football career I was told by a very well known coach that I would be perfect at 165. And for my height of 5’6, that’s about right.
The issue for me, and possibly other women here, is the struggle between wanting to be thin, fit into clothes and look good on the street - to look good to the general population - and wanting to be stronger, bigger and better at their sport. You may have a general idea of your optimal weight for your sport at your height with your frame, but do you WANT to be there? This is a struggle for thin female athletes debating whether or not to put on weight and something I go back and forth on constantly. Be stronger, or stay thin?[/quote]
When I decided to go from 123 to 132 it was a real mental battle for me for the very reason you state above. It didn’t even matter that I looked better heavier (not so haggard). Of course, it isn’t just height based but also body type. Like you, I’m 5’6" but wouldn’t consider 165 optimal for me. I’d go 145. However, I’m long limbed and small boned.
If you compete though, it isn’t just about fitting into your clothes, it’s about how competitive you can be at a given weight. I’m always looking at the weight of my closest competitors. In fact, with the new IPF classes, I look at which of the weight classes I think people will be moving to. There is a strategic component to it. I briefly flirted with the idea of dropping to the 57kg class (125) rather than going 63kg (138) but decided that would be retarded 
I am a believer in body set point idea too–that there is a certain wt that your body naturally genetically tends to go towards–without the factor of training involved. Training and diet being something you can control and tinker with. Everyone’s a different snowflake. some can crank it out much more efficiently when they cut and lean out, others the opposite.
like bobbi says as well, some of us get more of a benefit personally being more aesthetically pleasing vs strong. and there’s obviously no wrong preference, just whatever that person chooses. I’m sure men have similar things they go through too.
[quote]Bobbi Miller wrote:
The issue for me, and possibly other women here, is the struggle between wanting to be thin, fit into clothes and look good on the street - to look good to the general population - and wanting to be stronger, bigger and better at their sport. You may have a general idea of your optimal weight for your sport at your height with your frame, but do you WANT to be there? This is a struggle for thin female athletes debating whether or not to put on weight and something I go back and forth on constantly. Be stronger, or stay thin?[/quote]
I so agree with you on this…I’m hoping to meet it half way for this year…but not necessary “thin” but healthy looking.
[quote]lil power wrote:
I so agree with you on this…I’m hoping to meet it half way for this year…but not necessary “thin” but healthy looking. [/quote]
I am so looking forward to seeing you chronicle how your strength-to-weight ratio is affected. I trained with some elite lifters awhile back and one of the guys told me I seriously needed to gain weight to be at maximal strength. I compete in the 114s at 110 lb. He said he thought I should be a 132. I think that would be way too heavy for my frame.
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
[quote]lil power wrote:
I so agree with you on this…I’m hoping to meet it half way for this year…but not necessary “thin” but healthy looking. [/quote]
I am so looking forward to seeing you chronicle how your strength-to-weight ratio is affected. I trained with some elite lifters awhile back and one of the guys told me I seriously needed to gain weight to be at maximal strength. I compete in the 114s at 110 lb. He said he thought I should be a 132. I think that would be way too heavy for my frame.[/quote]
I agree with him. You’re built a lot like me and I think you’d see some appreciable gains if you ‘bulked’ up. I’d at least go to 123 and see how it goes. I also think that we need to carry a bit of body fat for recovery. I think I got stronger when I went up because I wasn’t so lean.
I think Snapper could go to 123 and still look great. She is super lean.
[quote]pushmepullme wrote:
I think Snapper could go to 123 and still look great. She is super lean.[/quote]
Let’s bully, tease and generally peer pressure her into going up a weight class.