THIS is awesome! I feel this NEVER gets talked about because the fitness industry has to keep a beautiful facade in order to sell their product or service. I've struggled with this personally (as a coach who does not "look" like the magazines) as well as with my athletes who constantly feel inadequate and frustrated because they don't look like what they see in mainstream media.
This is REAL. I LOVE real. Thank you @lenadr. I'll have to take a post-workout pic tomorrow. You rock!
My workout partner and I are completing 18.2!
LOVE LOVE LOVE! Wow, you're still smiling?! I was never smiling after an open workout. HA! What is 18.2 this year?
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 rep rounds of DB Squats 2x35# and Bar-facing burpees with a 12:00 cap. With any time left on the clock, do a 1RM clean. I did NOT make it to the bar for the clean :( 18.3 gets announced tonight. If you’re interested, I do a weekly post about the workout on Saturdays after it’s announced and an update of my results on Tuesdays after the deadline. It’s fun :)
Oh my gosh, YES. It can be extremely frustrating not to "look" like you think you're supposed to, based on others. I struggle with that as well. I'm strong, but I'm not "ripped;" and being almost exclusively in the free-weight section of the gym with all those muscle-bound men can get really frustrating.
But, quick story.
I was helping a friend unload her pickup truck, and she had several 40lb bags of salt in the very back. I stood on a side step and was able to easily lift the bags over the side. She looked at me like I was an alien and said, "Geez, strong much?" I was like, pfff whatever. But then she tried and couldn't even lift one off the floor.
That really hit me (and of course made me feel like a badass). Just because I don't look like a Muscle and Fitness model doesn't mean I'm not strong AF. And that's the real goal, isn't it?
YES! We just need to keep spreading this belief, that it’s about what these amazing bodies of ours can DO, not just what they look like...and keep representin’ STRONG ladies!