Why Hello

[Dapper_Kitty]

Hi there,

My names Mel or Dapper Kitty as I'm I find fancy felines very funny. Anyway I've just started working out after reaching the worst weight I've ever been, 78kg (171 pounds). It all started 2 years ago when my sports bra broke, I've always been quite erm well endowed but small around the back so it's difficult to find a bra let alone a sports bra for me and they're always SO expensive. So fitness took a back step, the sports bra thing was my excuse for a very very long time and suddenly I found myself afraid of scales and my clothes getting tighter, I didn't feel fat though but I certainly didn't feel fit either. But I decided to donate blood for the first time and they had to take my weight to make sure I was healthy, I didn't look down but the nurse helping my muttered the numbers as she scribbled them down '78Kgs?! Nope that's not right' I went home and looked at myself in the bathroom mirror, okay so I was a little pudgy but not to bad I could live with this. When I realized I didn't want to live with this I'm not just a little heavy I'm weak as a kitten and I can't run, hell I hardly go dancing with my friends anymore because that takes far to much energy. Yes I could live with this, but I wouldn't live happily, not the way I want to at least.

So I went to the gym I can press 12Kg (26 pounds) and curl 5.5Kg (12 pounds) and lift 10Kg (22 pounds) with calf raises. I run on the tread mill for half an hour and work out on the bike until the machine says 100 calories are gone but I usually do this at a slow pace 'cause I study german at the same time so it takes me around 20 minuets. I also do several other work out routines from an app I downloaded buuuuut I don't really know what category it would come under so I can't describe it. Anyways I was told by nearly everyone I know that if I keep working with barbells and dumbbells I'll get really bulky (But it's what I love so I keep doing it and keep trying to push myself) so when looking for a way to prove them wrong I found nerd fitness, I'm still getting through all that reading but I now have better ideas on what to do and how to achieve what I want in life. I'm already avoiding scales (I decided I'd only weigh myself when ever I donate blood now) because I want this to be about fitness not how much I weigh if I get as fit and healthy as I want with the toned body I want I won't care if I weigh 88Kg because this isn't about those numbers.

Well that's all the rambling I can think of, in short hello and happy to be here Any advice is always welcome!

[loden]

Welcome! It sounds like your head is in the right place, with wanting to be fit instead of wanting to weigh a certain amount. I'm not sure why so many people think women get bulky from lifting, we definitely don't. (Maybe they're just so unused to seeing any muscle at all on a woman because the ideal is 13% bodyfat with no muscle definition... don't get me started.)

[Dapper_Kitty]

Wow I never knew that, I mean I knew it was bad but wow 13%?! That's just crazy!

[loden]

Haha, I just made that up, it might be an exaggeration Seems like that, though. This blog post has a bunch of pictures of people with different body fat percentages: http://www.leighpeele.com/body-fat-pictures-and-percentages The non-muscular woman with 15% BF looks a lot like the Hollywood ideal.

[esteel]

Those 13% may be a bit on the low side.. i often saw 13% mentioned as the essential amount of fat needed for survival for women. Wikipedia mentions 10-13% on that topic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage#Typical_body_fat_amounts). So being, more to the 15-18% should at least be safer (potentially healthier)

Mel: Good that you like barbells and getting stronger. If you want a really interesting program on that i'd recommend 'Starting Strength' by 'Mark Rippetoe', it definitly well help with your goals. Its a really good book about the basic lifts and a great program for beginners. Either you get the book or at least take a look at http://startingstrength.com/ or this little fan made wiki:http://startingstrength.wikia.com/

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ:The_Lifts

Or take a look at some of his youtube videos: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mark+rippetoe