Cici gets Beastly

[Cici the Beast]

Hello my sweet rebel friends!  I'm Cici the Beast, rebel and aspiring warrior.

 

Two years ago, I was in the best shape of my adult life.  I rowed crew competitively.  I liked it.  I had a boring job, so why the hell not work out 3+ hours/day on the water?  And then.... work.  And then rowing turned into a part-time job, got a little too competitive, my coach was being sort of an asshole, and I had some shitty personal stuff happen.  I know I can get back to that place, but I also know I can surpass it in terms of my own happiness with being in my body/meat sack.

 

I don't know how much I weigh.  My gym does, as I weighed in on assessment day and didn't look at the scale. My true, real "before" stats are safely logged in a 3-ring binder at the gym, where I might look at them in a few months.  But my guess is that I'm 5'3" / 190 lb / size 14 in dresses / 38DD / 34" waist.  I'm a 30 year old woman.  I have PCOS and my weight has yo-yo'd over the past few years, beginning with a pretty big weight gain after starting anti-depressants at 21.  The ultimate irony: I was using workouts as self-medication before going on psych meds.  Boo fucking hiss.  I work a sedentary, nerdy job with long hours and got in a rut of "if I work super hard during the day, it's a valid excuse to not work out because my CAREER depends on it" and now I hate my body.

 

I want to look, be, and feel strong.  Part of my yo-yo weight stuff is definitely related to sexual assault, wherein I find myself wanting to take up more space.  It's not wanting to "hide" behind fat, it's that I want to not feel small in a world that has made it clear that women should be small, dainty, and pleasant.  I struggle with my own self-image, mostly because I think that if given the option, I would be BIG in my personality, life, friendships, voice, and body; but I feel like I don't want to stick out, and that people don't like loud, mouthy women.

 

If it makes a difference, I'm queer and femme.

 

Stuff I can currently do:

Back squat 100# (ORM)

Dead lift 170# (ORM)

Bench press 75# (ORM)

Underhand bent-over row 75# (8 reps total)

 

TODAY:

2 eggs cooked in olive oil, I ate these with salsa

1 cup of coffee with whole milk

1 "bounce" protein bar (peanut butter flavor) -- I was out and about and HUNGRY AS THOR and it was better than eating completely empty calories

4 paleo-ish chicken tenders (made from scratch at home, breaded with sugar-free panko, cooked in the oven with olive oil to keep them from sticking to the pan)
1 bell pepper (raw)
1 giant scoop of baba ghanoush (organic, from the farmer's market, locally made)
A fuck ton of water while working out

1 grapefruit La Croix seltzer

1 small carton of raspberries

1 very small yam, microwaved

1 small chunk of feta cheese, organic/full fat 

A ton of herbs and spices for taste
a dash of balsamic vinegar (for the feta and the yam situation!)
1 glass of white wine (l'chaim!) 

Note: 1 of the chicken tenders, the yam, the feta, and the balsamic were in a bowl together with herbs and spices, post-workout.

 

Workout:

Warm-up: pushup/downward dog/cobra x 15; body weight squats x 10; 20 jumping jacks; 2 sets of 20 mountain climbers, etc.
WERK:  4 sets of....  DB bench press 5-8 reps using 20 lb dumbbells / 8 assisted pull-ups using TRX things / 30 second plank hold / 30 bicycle crunches 

FINISHER: 1 set =  5 reps of arnold press (15 lb DB), bicep curls (15 lb DB), KB high press (25 lb), tricep dips, MB squats to MB slams)
Between sets (total of 3): 10 burpees, running with band around waist (held by awesome coach), farmer walks.

Just for fun: battle ropes, 30 seconds.  

 

Things:

I finally got my hands on a super super super compressing sports bra.  Life is better now.

BOOOOOM DONE.

[Cici the Beast]

This morning's workout:

Warmup: 2 min rowing, shoulder dislocators, planks, stretches.

WERK: 4 sets of:  Deadlift  8 reps at 145#, 15 KB swings at 25#, 45 second rest

Finisher: 5 sets of 30 seconds on, 15 seconds rest -- planks, goblet squats (18# KB), MB slams at wall sit (10# MB)

 

Sweaty AF!!!!

 

AM food:  

coffee with milk

organic/grass fed/made in-house at Berkeley Bowl chicken tarragon sausage (1 large link, casing removed)

2 eggs

1 mozarella cheese stick

1 handful mixed nuts

Afternoon food:
A mixed up box of garlic broccoli, rotisserie chicken breast (no skin), olives, and 1 roasted red potato.  All cooked with olive oil.  (I was just really hungry, NOM)

Perrier water

 

Evening food:
Organic/grass fed/house made lamb sausage, casing removed
Big glob of organic, local baba ganoush 
Glass of white wine
giant sprig of basil, eaten like a salad because why the fuck not?

[DanaeArgos]

Sounds like you're well on your way to a healthy life as you envision it! Love it! Wishing you all the best. woot! woot! Found NerdFitness a few months ago and really enjoy it.

 

[Cici the Beast]

Thanks, DanaeArgos!  

 

 

[Cici the Beast]

It's 9am.  Um, guys, this Paleo-ish thing is actually kind of great?  I woke up this morning and felt strong and thinner than I was yesterday.  I'm giving myself a rest day from lifting/working out, since I hit the gym hard 3 days in a row and my muscles feel like they need to be stretched, foam rolled, and given some protein.  FEED THE BEAST.

 

Body feels:  Yesterday I caught a glimpse of my figure in the glass walls that separate offices from the hallway at work, and thought "why am I even doing this?  Why should I even fucking try?"  I feel like I look at these before and after, or during/during, or big body change pictures and I know that my picture taken at a later date, at some point when I'm like "YES I'M SO STRONG" will not look like a lot of other women's.  I'm short and have big hips -- like, my pelvis is really wide.  My ribcage is wide.  My thighs are big.  My butt has been described by an ex as "substantial."  My mother described my body as being "built like a little brick shithouse" (THANKS MOM).  I don't have a body that will ever be lithe and dainty; I have a body that can and will be thin and firm and solid, but not in a way that fits a lot of North American ideals of beauty.  I have a body that might be cute, but will never be hot.  99% of the time, I'm okay with that, but sometimes I really wish that the work I'm putting in at the gym could yield a different phenotype, one that I've never been and never will be.  I'm mostly descended from good Slavic peasant stock..  In the 9th grade, I weighed 100 pounds, was 5' tall, and when my PE teacher saw my quads while doing the leg press machine in the weight room, she told me I had "unnaturally overdeveloped leg muscles."  I got them from hiking, mucking stalls, carrying buckets of water around, swimming, and scurrying around the woods bareback on scruffy ponies.  Nobody would ever tell that to boys, man.  And way to give me a goddamn complex about my body when I was a healthy, strong, active, athletic, happy 13 year old girl.

I struggle with feeling like even at my most physically fit, at my most strong, at a point where I feel good about and proud of what my body can do -- row 25K in a day in the heat on a big strong river, or lift a heavy object, or hike miles and miles -- the way my body looks isn't going to be considered "attractive."  I'm queer and femme, so the whole "men won't like it" thing isn't totally relevant, but I feel it in the queer community sometimes.  I'm not lusciously big and sassy and curvy; I'm not dainty and adorable and tiny; I'm not a bombshell.  I'm just sort of a plain, short, stocky woman with an endocrine disorder that makes it so I can be one of two things -- really fucking strong and muscular, or teetering on the edge of obesity.  It's weird to want to feel feminine while dating another female-bodied person, and knowing that you're stronger than them.  I hate that my own conception of femininity is based on weakness, though.  That's kind of fucked up.

 

I flexed my legs yesterday and looked at them.  They look so strong.  They look so SO strong, and ripped, and muscular.  I don't think anyone has ever looked at legs like mine and thought "damn, I've always wanted to date a woman with legs like that."  But I like them, so it's okay.

 

And yet I'm here, in my apartment, a block away from the gym where I deadlifted like a BEAST yesterday, happy with my paleo pancake breakfast, looking out of my window at the beautiful Oakland hills and the skyline of this funky, beautiful little city full of soul that I love so much.  I'm thinking about the business trip I have to take for a few weeks starting Thursday, and how much I'm going to miss Awesome Coach and my pals at the gym.  I want to keep getting stronger.  

 

And I want my 9th grade PE teacher, where ever she is, to be fucking horrified.  

[Cici the Beast]

Yesterday's food situation:

Coffee with milk

Grain-free paleo pancakes with fresh blueberries (almond flour based)

giant spinach salad with roasted cauliflower, pumpkin seeds, falafel, random veggies, and eggplant

3 triangle wedges of pita (don't judge me)

A glass of rose (HAPPY PRIDE, Y'ALL)

All of the baba ghanoush (eggplant and olive oil and a little tahini and a ton of garlic), eaten with a spoon

1 piece of rugelach (it was one piece, and Saturday, and guys just give me a break okay?)

 

Rest day, no workout, but lots of walking.

Today's food situation:
Chicken sausage, onion, tomato omelette with herbs and 1 real egg plus some eggwhites
coffee with milk
Quinoa
Stir-fry veggies and tofu
La Croix seltzer
 

[Jord]

Fellow warrior checking in!

 

Also, I think I may be your taller body double. 

[Cici the Beast]

2 hours ago, Taddea Zhaan said:

Fellow warrior checking in!

 

Also, I think I may be your taller body double. 

Oh!  Do tell!  And has your bra band size increased since you started lifting?  #newbiequestions

[Cici the Beast]

OH COMPUTER, you ate my post.  Seriously, get a grip, computer.

 

Today's food sitch:

coffee with milk

giant salad

a cookie (yeah, I ate it, yeah, I regret it)

seltzer

quinoa and roasted veggies

A ton of water (workout)

 

Workout sitch:

WERK! 

4 sets of...

5 back lunches (35, 45, 2 sets of 55#)*

15 RDL (20 lb dumbbells, one in each hand)

10 sumo jump squats

 

FINISHER FROM HELLLLL

Reps of 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 of:

KB swings (25#)

DB squat thrusters (10#)

power squats (FUCK POWER SQUATS, MAN)

MB wall throws 

tire squats (unffffff no)

Followed by 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 burpees 

 

In other news, I had to buy new bras over the weekend.  Somehow my band size got bigger even though my clothing is getting looser, which means MUSCLES and TRAPS and STRENGTH.

*When I was taking the 5# plates off the bar, Awesome Coach Lady was like "ummmm you're done already?"  NOPE.  Just putting on MOAR WEIGHTS, gotta take these 5s off to put on those 10s..  She was pleased and looked kind of surprised. Woman.  Coach.  Lovely tall strong amazon lady. Sweet pea. I am not fucking around over here.  Do you NOT understand that I am one fierce, hardcore monster?  I do not half-ass things.  In the great words of Ron Swanson, I whole-ass one thing.

 

 

[Jord]

18 hours ago, Cici the Beast said:

Oh!  Do tell!  And has your bra band size increased since you started lifting?  #newbiequestions

 

Yes! I had bought a sports bra one band size down because I thought, oh lose weight need smaller sports bra. But alas, it doesn't fit! My band size has stayed the same, despite having previously been borderline needing smaller. 

 

 

[Cici the Beast]

4 hours ago, Taddea Zhaan said:

 

Yes! I had bought a sports bra one band size down because I thought, oh lose weight need smaller sports bra. But alas, it doesn't fit! My band size has stayed the same, despite having previously been borderline needing smaller. 

 

 

 

I bought new bras on Saturday as I realized I had one bra that fit and it was not great.  I'm usually a 36-38 band, but I was measured as a 40DD.  As opposed to a 38E, because I have the knockers of insanity.  Which is odd, because my clothes are getting looser and my bones are starting to appear from their hiding places (CLAVICLES, I SEE YOU).  And then I realized.... I have PCOS and therefore higher levels of testosterone than most women, and yes, I actually can/do "bulk up" with muscle.  Which means it's likely that the increased band size is due to ribs expanding from sucking in air while doing burpees (fuck burpees) and muscle from doing stuff like, IDK, 4 sets of underhand bent-over rows at 75# for reps because WHY NOT.

And then yesterday I almost snapped my new bra because I was breathing deeply and flexed and ... uh that elastic got STRETCHED.

 

YOU GUYS I ALMOST BROKE A BRA BY FLEXING.

I AM CICI THE HULK-WOMAN.

[Gemma]

6 hours ago, Cici the Beast said:

YOU GUYS I ALMOST BROKE A BRA BY FLEXING.

I AM CICI THE HULK-WOMAN.

 

 

[Cici the Beast]

Okay, eating.  Eating is a thing we do as humans.

 

I'm trying to lose weight.  I don't know if I am.  Okay.

 

I haven't been hungry and last night my lifts sucked.  I made myself eat paleo pancakes for dinner because I had worked out and I knew if I didn't, I'd wake up super hungry.

 

Yesterday's food sitch:

coffee with milk

piece of string cheese

fish tacos (grilled white fish, cabbage, tomato salsa)

green salad (minimal vinaigrette dressing)

2 paleo pancakes with blueberries

1 glass of white wine

 

Yesterday's workout situation:

IDEK it was insane and I'm in a world of good soreness.  I did 2 classes back to back, abs followed by upper body.  I did BO underhand rows with 65 lb even though lst week I could easily do 75.  I think it was because I hadn't eaten?  IDK.  I was sweaty and tired when I got home and then couldn't sleep.

 

Awesome Coach foam rolled my calves this morning, it was amaaaaaaaazing.

[Cici the Beast]

Work is being an asshole right now.

 

I planned to work out today, and then I woke up at 7:59 for an 8am appointment with Awesome Coach, and got to the gym at 8:06 and just... nope.  Lower back hurting from fucking up RDLs while distracted thinking about work.  Tired from not eating.  Exhausted from not sleeping because work is fucking eating my soul for breakfast.

 

Awesome Coach foam rolled my calves for 45 minutes, and it was great.  Highly recommended: just lay on the floor while someone digs into your calves.

 

Today's food:

1 paleo pancake

an apricot

a bunch of blueberries

a lettuce wrap with veggies (veggies and lettuce in rice paper wrap thing)
3 small Reese's peanut butter cups ("dinner" of champions)

Water

 

NOT MY FINEST DAY, NERDS.

[QuietRiotGrrrl]

 

[Cici the Beast]

The battle is..... in tears?  IDK man.

 

So being a lawyer blows sometimes and I've been doing the most unsexy thing ever, which is crying a lot because work blows.  

 

I took a red eye on Thursday night.  I have eaten once every 24 hours since, which is not great.  Basically, stress makes me not want to eat; I have no hunger, no appetite, nothing.  I'm pretty sure I would be fine if I didn't eat for the next week or so; I mean, I'd get hangry but I wouldn't get hungry. I haven't worked out.  I feel a ton of hatred toward my body, but also toward my work/job/career/profession because HEY MAN, it would have been really cool to have been able to row for the past year.  It would have been great to not feel like a giant, flappy oaf.  

 

I'm tired and hot and exhausted and crying all the damn time because of this fucking work situation.  I hate it, but I also have entirely too much pride (read: unhealthy obsessive perfectionism, self-hatred, worth tied up in my professional identity) to leave law.  But when I look at my life and I look at my choice, I realize that being a lawyer has done pretty not been great for me.

 

And I'm stuck on a business trip, hating my life and my body.

[Cici the Beast]

Today I have not worked out.  I ate one piece of pizza.  I had two sips of coffee.  I am hungry and don't feel like eating.  Stress sucks, work sucks, and being away from the gym/my routine sucks.  

 

I think I need to switch jobs.

 

 

[Cici the Beast]

Uggghhhhhh fuck work, man.

 

I got back from a 2 week long work trip from hell.  It was stressful and full of anxiety and misery and I kind of hated it.

 

However, I was back in action at the gym on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.  I've been eating clean (not Paleo, but definitely healthy) with lots of veggies and lean protein.  The first two workouts kicked my ass, but on Tuesday I felt strong and solid and great.  I'm working out again this evening (upper body day).

 

I'm having some feelings about my gym, which seems to be moving into a more crossfit-style workouts and away from an emphasis on lifting heavy, and I'm not really pleased about it.  I think that while I really like my gym, I'll probably be looking for something else, something different, something that's less "one size fits most" and more specialized for people who want to lift heavy OR just more friendly toward the folks who don't want to do 17 million burpees.  I haven't deadlifted in weeks and I'm sad about it.  Give me a goddamn deadlift day, folks.  

[Cici the Beast]

I worked out 5 days last week and ate relatively clean, with the exception of a cheeseburger on Friday afternoon after a. not eating much that day and b. a really long appointment.  It was delicious and I savored every bite.  But I definitely have been doing a lot of veggies and lean protein.  I was on vacation last week and cut myself some slack in terms of documenting things here, but I need to start because this is a great motivator for me.

 

Today's food:

1 piece of string cheese

1 perrier water

1 cup of coffee with milk

A giant salad with lettuce, beets, walnuts, and vinaigrette with a BIG piece of salmon 

1 protein shake (whey protein powder + water)

Zucchini "noodles" and homemade marinara sauce (all veggies and a bit of olive oil) with some freshly grated parm

1 glass of white wine

A ton of water

 

My workout was stupid hard.

WERK:

4x through 45 seconds on, 15 seconds rest, AMRAP:

Box steps

single-leg squats (HA fail)

Back squat (55#, it's been a bit)

FINISHER:

Pyramid, 30 seconds of each exercise with 30 seconds active rest.  So the first round is KB swings, then active rest; then KB swings and KB high pulls, then active rest; then KB swings, KB high pulls, 4x4, then active rest.

KB swings (20# bell)

KB high pull burpee

4x4

Medicine ball wall toss

Rocket jumps

DB back lunge

Active rest: plank or Russian twist.

 

I am sweaty but feeling good.  Awesome Coach told me I made faces at her through the workout and that she thought I looked unhappy with her.  I just make faces and I'm not happy with how crappy I am at burpees.  I do love her very much, despite my weird faces.

 

[Cici the Beast]

Okay, my loves.  Not fitness related: I started a new medication this week and my appetite is just like GONE.  So that blows.  I realized that I had eaten very little today before my workout and had a protein shake before the gym, which is good.  But the medication is doing what it's supposed to do, everything is fine, blah blah blah.

 

Workout HOLY FUCK SO GOOD:

30 minutes abs, including holding a plank for 60 seconds without stopping FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER.

30 minutes of just rolls, recovery, and stretches omgggg so good.

WERK:

45 seconds on, 15 seconds rest 5x, all for reps:

V-ups (I AM A BEAST)

bent over underhand rows 55# (10 reps in each time, super easy whateverrrrr)

plate presss (25# because I can't fit my weird hobbit hands around the 45# plates)

FINISHER:

45 seconds of each, then 30 seconds of each:

suicide runs, DB thrusters with jump squat, battle ropes, MB slam burpees, DB renegade rows (fuck you, renegade rows), overhead MB slam with jump squat, ladder things on your hands (IDK), TRX pull-up row things (IDK), and DB curl/press/tricep.

 

I'm feeling really strong in my body, which is really awesome.  I feel like I hit this really great place today where I feel like I'm in such GOOD SHAPE, like holy fuck I can just power through and do sit ups and squats and lifts and feel great about it.

 

Food (not a good day; I do really need to eat more, I think)

1 cup of coffee with whole milk

A glass of water during the day

A vegan lettuce wrap thing (a summer roll?  IDK, it was lettuce and veggies in rice paper with a peanut sauce)

1 protein shake made with water

A ton of water while working out, plus more afterward

1 chocolate cookie (super small, about 80 calories)

...and dinner is coming up.  The plan is paleo turkey meatballs, zucchini noodles, and homemade red sauce.

[Cici the Beast]

RESPAWN.  It's been a thing.  Life happens -- my gym moved, Awesome Coach got a job in the corporate world and is no longer coaching, I had to find a new gym, etc.  But I'm back, nerds! #lizlemon

 

I lost some of my #n00bgainz but I'm doing okay, I think.  I got 5 reps in on deadlift at 160# so that was awesome.  I skipped the gym this morning because I got shitty sleep, but I'm switching from T Th S to W M F, so an extra rest day probably won't hurt me.

 

I want to bitch about something:  I really hate that the women's equivalent or women's version of so many things lacks the same functionality and durability as the men's version.  I was thinking about this in a NFR way when I was trying to decide whether or not to get a men's ("unisex" but HAHAHAHA no) jacket or a women's version of the same one (for the record, it was a Barbour Bedale vs. Beadnell).  The men's version has bigger pockets, a functional side gusset, and sweater-cuff sleeves.  The women's version -- which is slightly more expensive -- has some A-line seams along the front, no side gusset, regular sleeves, and pockets proportional to the size of the jacket.  Why not order a men's version?  Because in order to fit my bust and hips, I would need to go up to a men's 40 or 42, and I would absolutely drown in it.  A too-big jacket is also not functional, especially on a petite but not dainty frame, i.e. I'm short with boobs and hips and muscles.

 

So I got the largest size offered to women (US 16) in the women's version.  I ordered it, and I can almost guarantee it will be too tight in the shoulders, skimpy in the bust, and uncomfortable to drive in because it will pull across the back.  Why does the jacket only go up to a 16 women's when the men's version has sizes big enough to fit Ted Cruz and Steve Bannon, both of whom wore the jackets during the 2016 campaign season in an effort to look like rugged individualists instead of complete and utter fucknuts?  Really, Barbour?  It kind of seems like women who are larger, more muscular, broader, and have curvy bodies don't get to wear cute or functional clothing that fits us -- which is old news in the fashion world.

But back to fitness.   This morning, I was looking around for women's powerlifting shoes.  I don't do crossfit (my workouts have changed a lot), I don't do olympic lifting.  I do powerlifting.  There are a decent number of powerlifting shoes for men.  The women's versions aren't as nice.  They don't have the same features, they look flimsy, or the shoes offered to men just don't have a women's version.  "So just buy the men's version."  Nope, sorry, I wear a size 6.5-7 in women's.  That's a 4.5 in mens.  You try finding a 4.5 men's powerlifting shoe that will fit a relatively small woman properly in the toe box and ball of the foot.  I'll sit here and drink coffee while you finish.  

 

Of course, there are great companies that make them -- only a few, and they are often cost-prohibitive.  Why?  Because their stuff is NICE.  But also, probably because in making quality gear for women that they don't know will sell as well, they're taking a risk and price both the men and women's shoes accordingly.

 

From spandex (yeah, I need it to fit my hips and not roll down), to socks (can we make them so they're not flimsy and super thin?), to hiking gear that only comes in weird colors and packs that don't have the right compartments or don't have enough space, it seems like a the options are "buy this very obviously inferior product that is closer to your size/shape" or "buy this giant thing that won't fit."  It blows.

[Cici the Beast]

But here's another thing:  We need to talk about gym bags.  Men, as a general rule, don't typically carry a purse around.  Some will have a briefcase, but in terms of keys/wallet/cell phone, men tend to have pockets that fit these things.  Women's jackets and pants don't allow for this (see above with my Barbour rant and the men's version having decently functional pockets), and often women's wallets are made bigger, I assume because nobody's trying to stuff them in their pockets.  

So men have their keys/wallet/phone situation in their pockets, and the gym bag is there to cart gear, shoes, clothing, and some toiletries around to and from the gym, and maybe to the office if they go to the gym after work.  The gym bag is often their only bag.

 

Women tend to carry a purse or bag or whatever, which means that a gym bag is the second bag (pain in the ass) or everything has to go into one bag.  Can I walk you through what this looks like?  It's a fucking mess.

Option 1: Two-bag approach.

Carry your gym bag and your purse separately.  Deal with two different bags.  Inevitably put your cell phone charger in the wrong one at some point.  Awkwardly look like a bag lady and hope to not get mugged walking around in the evening with both.  Think about sticking your purse in your gym bag until you realize that rooting through your gym bag to find your purse and then fish out your wallet will suck while buying groceries, plus you don't want to throw your purse in a bunch of sweaty clothes, only to have your stained, sweaty underwear on display at the Whole Foods check-out line.

Option 2: One bag approach.

It's all the cons of shoving your purse in your gym bag, plus more because you get to make the ultimate decision: Ugly as fuck or completely non-functional?  OR BOTH!  A lot of the "great gym bags for women fall 2017!" listicles that pop up on places like Refinery29 are geared toward women who need to shove a pair of Nike Frees, a sports bra, a pair of spandex capris, and a tank top into a tote bag in order to make it to the gym.  The elliptical-sweating, cardio-doing, globo-gym-with-towel-service gym ladies can have those and that will be fine.  I am not in that situation.

 

I need to fit a towel, toiletries, two pairs of shoes, spandex leggings, socks, a tshirt, a water bottle, and sometimes a hoodie into my bag.  If I'm rowing, I also need to throw in a few extra pairs of socks, a seat pad (for height), and a cox kit in there.  With the towel, I just ordered a travel/camping towel from Amazon because I can't just cart around the goddamn terrycloth every day.  But also, if I change out of my workout clothes after the shower and into work clothes, I need to have work clothes -- and earrings, and work shoes, and makeup, and lotion, and moisturizer, and a bra,  and a razor -- in there as well, and no they can't be wrinkled, and yes I do need to wear tights and maybe boots in the winter.  Can I fit those in one of these glorified tote bags?  No, I cannot.  I mean, maybe.  Boots are iffy but we can all make our decisions.

Even if I could, there's something about having to keep your wallet, phone, and keys next to a towel you used that morning and your sweaty sports bra.  The compartments aren't usually big enough to fit both laundry AND a pair of shoes in there, and there's this bizarre assumption that you don't need to have both in a separate compartment?  I don't even know.  So even if I did want to cart all of my shit around in one bag, I'd still have to contend with the issues of a bag that isn't big enough, isn't well-designed, has no option to contain multiple pairs of shoes and a pile of laundry, and possibly dropping my sweaty underwear on the ground during the 7pm Trader Joe's rush.  

I want a good gym bag.  One that looks nice.  One with decently good, breathable, functional compartments.  One that is big enough but not too big.  One that has a place for my glasses and keys and wallet, if it's meant to be a "do everything" bag.  One that isn't flimsy and has a waterproof thing for toiletries because some people have to actually shower at the gym.  Not a backpack, please, because no.

 

Please, will someone make a fucking gym bag that accounts for actual women doing actual sports at actual gyms?  

 

 

[godjira1]

On 10/22/2017 at 7:15 AM, Cici the Beast said:

Please, will someone make a fucking gym bag that accounts for actual women doing actual sports at actual gyms?  

sadly I doubt there's a huge market for it. there are big bags that can stuff everything in, have compartments and crap, but unfortunately it has to look like crap. 

 

backpacks - big ass 72hr bags sold by companies like 5.11, go-ruck etc work too = again, possibly fugly.