This is my first post here - I hope it's okay to post here first rather than the Intro forum. I'm not very keen on writing about myself so I'd rather only do it in one thread at once!
I thought I'd join the forum so I initially could talk about my conflicting feelings regarding muscle gain. I'm a woman, and I do want to gain muscle - and I find it very, very easy to gain muscle. I currently do Chinese pole acrobatics and I want to get back into powerlifting, because my aunt is a champion and I have her genes!
However, pretty unfortunately, I also work in fashion, and thus tend to be surrounded by imagery of very thin women. My coworkers don't hesitate to tell me that I'm chunky, and that I should be careful building muscle or I won't fit into clothes, I'll end up like a man, etc etc etc. which is all crap, of course (... okay, so I am having more trouble fitting into my clothes than I used to but I still look like a lady!).
Anyway, even though it's all crap, it still bothers me. I have put on 7kg since I last weighed myself, which I'm hoping is mostly muscle (I am getting much, much stronger every time I practice pole) but that weight gain has made me feel worse anyway... even though I want to gain muscle..!! That said, I'm the heaviest I've ever been and I do want to burn some fat, because I would like to enter powerlifting contests at some point... and obviously a lower weight is an easier weight to lift on the pole, too.
I don't want to be skinny at all - I want to be strong and learn more Chinese pole tricks - but I still feel conflicted. Has anyone got any advice/similar stories/general ramblings to share? I'd really appreciate it!
I thought I'd join the forum so I initially could talk about my conflicting feelings regarding muscle gain. I'm a woman, and I do want to gain muscle - and I find it very, very easy to gain muscle. I currently do Chinese pole acrobatics and I want to get back into powerlifting, because my aunt is a champion and I have her genes!
However, pretty unfortunately, I also work in fashion, and thus tend to be surrounded by imagery of very thin women. My coworkers don't hesitate to tell me that I'm chunky, and that I should be careful building muscle or I won't fit into clothes, I'll end up like a man, etc etc etc. which is all crap, of course (... okay, so I am having more trouble fitting into my clothes than I used to but I still look like a lady!).
Anyway, even though it's all crap, it still bothers me. I have put on 7kg since I last weighed myself, which I'm hoping is mostly muscle (I am getting much, much stronger every time I practice pole) but that weight gain has made me feel worse anyway... even though I want to gain muscle..!! That said, I'm the heaviest I've ever been and I do want to burn some fat, because I would like to enter powerlifting contests at some point... and obviously a lower weight is an easier weight to lift on the pole, too.
I don't want to be skinny at all - I want to be strong and learn more Chinese pole tricks - but I still feel conflicted. Has anyone got any advice/similar stories/general ramblings to share? I'd really appreciate it!