Train to Get Strong
Most of what I write comes from a conversation I had. This is no different. I had a conversation with a good friend of mine the other day where the question of steroids came up. I stated that I have never tried them and she was a little surprised. Not because she thought I took them regularly but because I carry a lot of muscle for a female. And I don’t mean the thin looking muscle, I mean I carry a lot of muscle, especially for a female.
At first I was complimented, then insulted and then complimented again. Lets just say it was a minor roller coaster that brought me to the bigger picture. Two things make me gain muscle like a boss, if thats your goal. First of all genetics. There have only been a handful of times in my life that I didn’t have a six pack. That is not something I always worked for either. My mid section is my leanest part of my body and I walk around at about 15-16 percent body fat. But if you are looking for my cellulite, it’s not hard to find I carry most of my fat weight from the thighs to the knees.
Second of all, I train to build muscle. My programs are usually really challenging and involve moving a lot of weight for small repetitions. When I am working hard at getting a bigger deadlift or squat, it’s not unusual for me to gain a few pounds. Sure, some of it is muscle but some of it is fat. My body needs the energy not only for the training but also for the recovery. But as long as my strength is going up, I really don’t give a shit if I gain a few pounds, even if it’s not all muscle.
In the past month, I have mentioned my dislocated hip a few times. I know, only a few. In the past month, even with the holidays I saw my weight drop. It didn’t drop drastically but it went down a few pounds. Now a lot of people might be thinking, “good for you.” I am not one of those people. I am not one of those people because I can tell you what I lost, muscle mass.
Since the beginning of December I haven’t deadlifted anything over 135lbs (I usually pull at least 335lbs two times a month). And the worst part, it is going to be hard to gain that muscle back. It has taken me a few cycles and a few years of hypertrophy training to get where I was. I know it will come back but it will take time.
This conversation with my friend began because a photographer takes photos of me a few times a year. The photos he takes makes me love my body. I get to see it through the lens of his camera and I have to say I like what I see. The photographer will give me about a weeks notice before the photo shoot and I don’t really do much to change my physique in a week. My body and my mind don’t really want to go through those sorts of cuts. But between his ability to take kick ass photos and my ability to gain muscle it’s a pretty cool combination.
But what really got me thinking is, how many women would be willing to gain 15 or 20 pounds? How many women would be willing take years to get there. Steroids or any sort of supplement is nothing I would be willing to do. One, I am allergic to a lot of medications and don’t take anything unless it is necessary. Mainly because I am scared of having an allergic reaction. But the main reason is I feel like once I start down the road of artificial changes (cosmetic or supplements) I no longer get to say that my body is 100 percent mine. I feel like I have to give credit to what has been done to me and not what I did myself. I will take all my imperfections as long as what I work hard for I get to own. And please don’t miss read that. I am not saying everyone should feel that way. It is how I feel.
What would be your ideal body and what would you be willing to do to get there. I do not have my ideal body. I am two inches shorter and my calves are bigger than I wish. But my body is mine.