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The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

believermag.com

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Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#261

Post by watwut »

bluecalm wrote: post #110
gamblor956 wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Modern actors aren't as willing to sacrifice their health for muscle as their historical counterparts, especially because the lean look is preferred over the muscle-bound appearance of yesteryear. Thus, (with rare exceptions, like Christian Bale between The Machinist and Batman Begins ), what you see on screen today is hard-earned through hours a day in the gym, a very regimented diet, and hydration timing. Generally…

Just look at athletes before widespread steroid use. They have spent way more time training than actors and haven't looked like that even in sports that require dehydration like boxing. That's exactly the problem with lying about steroids. It took a while for Arnold and his successors to admit that they were on 1000mg of test per week (plus other stuff of course; normal production of even high test men is below 100mg…

The article touches kind of similar topic - these competitions frame themselves as healthy look and wellness and what not, but the look is not achieved by healthy methods.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#262

Post by ivanhoe »

rmah wrote: post #82

I usually don't read articles like this, but it was so well written that I was sort of sucked into it. What was most interesting to me was not the various controversies about body aesthetics or even health consequences. What stood out to me was the author's description in the early parts of the article of how much she seemed to crave the approval of strangers, especially men. It was thought provoking and I'm still pr…

I don't think for self-validation it matters much if someone is a complete stranger or not, it's more about where in the perceived social hierarchy that person sits. Attention from someone who you feel is "higher" in the social tree is a positive, ego boosting signal, and we're wired to react to that. That's the core mechanics behind animal groups organization, and while human society tolerates individualism to much larger extent than other animals, still we're hard-coded to strive for it. I think very few people have such amount of healthy ego that their self-esteem is completely independent from their environments social signals - and it's not necessarily a healthy sign, as it might be also a consequence of some personality disorders.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#263

Post by b0rsuk »

Title: Duped by the “Frailty Myth:” USMC Gender Based Physical Fitness Standards

Author: Major Misty J. Posey, United States Marine Corps

Thesis: Female frailty is a myth; women Marines have the strength and ability to perform pull-ups and should be required to do so on the PFT in order to evaluate more accurately female upper-body strength, properly condition women for the likelihood of combat, and mitigate the negative impact that differing standards have on unit cohesion.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwvKWSxwvalaR01ZT1dEY1ZtWTA/...

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#264

Post by b0rsuk »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #88
rmah wrote: post #82

I usually don't read articles like this, but it was so well written that I was sort of sucked into it. What was most interesting to me was not the various controversies about body aesthetics or even health consequences. What stood out to me was the author's description in the early parts of the article of how much she seemed to crave the approval of strangers, especially men. It was thought provoking and I'm still pr…

I was a ridiculously cute little girl and I'm pretty damn sure a lot of my social issues as a young adult were rooted in getting essentially trained to play to the crowd as a toddler. At that age, it's a form of brainwashing and it's amazingly hard to root out after you become an adult and are puzzled that your antics no longer get you adoration. (PSA: Please don't do this to your own children. It's an awful thing to…

You'd be surprised. Male attractiveness is simply NOT TALKED ABOUT much, especially around older people. But my mother, who is quite reserved, once blurted out that in his early years father looked 'like a young god'. And yeah, I've seen a black&white photo. He looked pretty much like Clark Kent. Square jaw, glasses, swole from muscles... except he wore a linen shirt instead of a suit. He always enjoyed labor. I wouldn't get this description if I just asked about him.

Many women don't feel comfortable openly saying they find some men attractive. That doesn't mean they don't care about it a lot.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#265

Post by austhrow743 »

valenterry wrote: post #252
austhrow743 wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope 60 minutes as a beginner sounds about right with correcting posture and whatnot. Once I was familiar with it that dropped right down. Starting Strength is a very minimal program. Obviously no one is going to account for commute in how long a program takes. Some take hours to get to the nearest gym and others have home gyms.

Okay, maybe I did something terribly wrong as a beginner, but how did you make sure that your posture is good? I used to do the exercise with little a no weight, record myself and double check for a longer time, until I found that I got used to the right movements.

Video occasionally but once I knew what good posture felt like then I could feel when I was leaving it.

I always found good lifting form to be a will power thing more than a skill thing. Easy to maintain when the bar was empty, very hard to maintain on the last couple reps of my heaviest sets. Did form check videos occasionally to keep myself honest but really, I knew when I had bad form.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#266

Post by b0rsuk »

actuator wrote: post #71

Except for winning competitions, is there any natural advantage of bodybuilding for both men and women? For both, for advantage in most sports and attractiveness the typical calisthenics physique, sort of gymnast/football(soccer) one seems like the ideal one to me, yet a lot of people seem to be obsessed with getting overly buff.

I think many women enjoy feeling small, petite next to a swole guy. Or just a big guy. I'm extremely tall and random girls and coworkers have commented how small they feel next to me, but always with a smile.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#267

Post by adrianN »

sanedigital wrote: post #259
adrianN wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's really hard to become overweight from muscle without steroids.

Obese, maybe, but not overweight. Overweight at 5’10” is around 170 lbs. That’s not even close to steroid territory.

That is still pretty hard to achieve with low bodyfat.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#268

Post by Guthur »

valenterry wrote: post #252
austhrow743 wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope 60 minutes as a beginner sounds about right with correcting posture and whatnot. Once I was familiar with it that dropped right down. Starting Strength is a very minimal program. Obviously no one is going to account for commute in how long a program takes. Some take hours to get to the nearest gym and others have home gyms.

Okay, maybe I did something terribly wrong as a beginner, but how did you make sure that your posture is good? I used to do the exercise with little a no weight, record myself and double check for a longer time, until I found that I got used to the right movements.

At the beginning you should be on a relatively light on the weight anyway and as you progress you should be building locking in that form naturally.

Sometimes you'll need to deload to correct form and you'll likely be starting to look at different programs soon enough.

For one reason or another I've had to deload, usually missing training for a prolonged period of time. I'm at my longest sustained training period in awhile now and about to attempt a new 5rm squat tonight, I'm a little intimidated:). It soon becomes more about the psychology imo.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#269

Post by donquichotte »

roflc0ptic wrote: post #102
rmah wrote: post #82

I usually don't read articles like this, but it was so well written that I was sort of sucked into it. What was most interesting to me was not the various controversies about body aesthetics or even health consequences. What stood out to me was the author's description in the early parts of the article of how much she seemed to crave the approval of strangers, especially men. It was thought provoking and I'm still pr…

Since the pandemic started, my interactions with strangers of the opposite sex have been quite curtailed. Last week a vague acquaintance in my condo complex, 35 years my senior, stopped me and spent a good 30 seconds telling me how blue my eyes looked, and musing on how my outfit made them stand out especially. On the one hand, this is weirdly objectifying, and I kind of wish she had the slightest interest in who I a…

> Positive attention from strangers is a singularly terrible thing to hinge your wellbeing on, but man. It sure feels nice.

The addictivity of facebook/youtube/instagram/hackernews upvotes condensed in a single sentence, great insight!

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#270

Post by gautamcgoel »

SamPatt wrote: post #212
Retric wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don’t need that validation, but it’s still very noticeable. The difference between being slightly overweight and ripped is shocking. The world is suddenly a different place where you show up at a large party and several hot women hit on you etc. Granted you need to be otherwise attractive, but it’s not just women men also treat you more positively. Women see a wider range of responses, yet it’s still generally a…

The difference from being obese to being fit has been night and day for me. Self confidence plays a role so it's a sort of self fulfilling prophecy, but there's no question others treat you differently.

Can you please elaborate a bit? What differences did you notice?
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