While killing time on Facebook, I came across an article that talked about our US gymnasts being body shamed. Whaaaa?! Yes, these tough, flipping (literally) women, who engage in amazing feats of strength, grace, and flexibility, were being shamed on the internet over how they look in THIS picture:
Women are generally shamed by society for being too curvy. These women are being shamed because they are too muscle-y! What the heck! First, there is beauty in EVERY body type. Second, these women are skilled champions, and I have a lot of respect for that muscle!
It made me think…
I’m not sure if anyone has told you yet…. but pole will change your body. It’s all positive and all for strength! Y
Figured I should show my arm for reference. I avoid side shots as a rule of thumb ;). This was Lzzy Hale’s signature, so I made an exception 🙂
our core becomes stronger, your shoulder engagement and strength will come easily, and you’ll be able to lift yourself into moves you never thought were possible before (but they are!).
I always had larger arms and shoulders before, but they are especially obvious now. I now joke that I have a second pare of ta-tas, but on my back, since my shoulder muscles have beefed up over the last four-ish years. My dear grandmother says that, if she buys me shirts, she makes sure to buy a size bigger because she has said that I have “shoulders like a football player.” Here’s the best one though, and it happened to me a couple days ago:
I walked into the bar & grill I sometimes work at to pick up my check. I was wearing one of my favorite tanks. The bartender and patron were joking about having an arm-wrestling match. As I sat down to wait to grab the bartender’s attention, the patron looked at me and then said, “I don’t know if you (the bartender) could beat me at an arm-wrestling match, but SHE (me) could!” I responded with a smile and, “Why thank you, these are my pole fitness muscles,” and I did a little strong-man pose. 😛
Here’s my point: embrace your body and the awesome changes it goes through. I know, that’s easier said than done! I promise you, it is so much easier to rock beefy arms and shoulders instead of covering them up. So what if you start to look like Ali Raisman (pictured above far right) or you can beat a full-grown man in an arm-wrestling match? That’s awesome! Hey, even if neither of these things happen, you still need to embrace your body. There are all different body types out there, no one better than the other. Your body is amazing, believe me. Plus, women’s bodies are make miracles and go through some pretty tough stuff–so you have even more reason to love what you’ve got!
Now go out there and be awesome! 😀