For some, thin is no longer enough, strength matters
By Kelly Hockenberry, Columnist, The Times
Strong is the new skinny.
Have you heard this expression? It makes me tired. How about you?
It’s no longer impressive/desirable to just be thin…the question now becomes “but, can you flip a tire or do 20 pull-ups?”
The answer (for ME) is a resounding “NO”. Truth be told, if someone held a gun to my head and said “20 pull-ups or else”, I would lie down and throw dirt on myself.
I really do love to exercise. And, I do not do it solely to stay at my target weight (although, that is a big motivating factor). Nothing beats the stress release of a hard workout. And, I appreciate being challenged by new athletic endeavors.
Let’s be honest, the incentive to simply look good in clothes has been replaced by looking good in skin tight Spandex or a teensy, tiny bikini. Total buzz kill.
“How much do you weigh?” or “What size pants do you wear?” no longer defines the ultimate physique. Now, one has to worry about their VO2 max (huh?) or submersion body fat percentage (because those pesky skin fold calipers are bogus and inaccurate).
I desperately want a chiseled body…the problem is the amount of time and effort it requires. Don’t laugh! OK, you can laugh. It is a ridiculous statement.
I think that I exert maximum effort into all of my workouts. My main problem is that I have trouble resisting the siren song of a warm chocolate chip cookie and steaming mug of hot tea at the end of a long day.
While the argument may be that life is too short to forgo the cookie, you can’t “have your cake and eat it, too”. If you want rock hard abs and shredded arms, you need to eat a clean diet and push it to the limit with your workout. It takes a serious amount of dedication and will power to achieve that kind of result. It certainly does NOT happen by accident.
My plan for this fall (because summertime, with its lazy schedule and ample opportunity for soft serve ice cream drowning in jimmies (NOT sprinkles! Fist pump to my Delco peeps) is unrealistic) is to step up my game.
And, who knows? Maybe by this time next year 20 pull-ups will be child’s play!
Oh, who am I kidding? Pass the m&m’s….
Happy Weekend 😉
