Well, I don't usually think of myself as either a "chick" or a "lady," but I do like the muscly-arm look on myself and on other women. I know I moaned elsewhere about jackets not fitting my arms and mid-back, but I'm not about to lay off upper-body workouts just for that. I love having visible biceps, triceps, lats, and deltoids; and I love that my waist is small in comparison to my shoulders and hips. If I lost some subcutaneous fat I would like my look even more because I would have more definition, although then I would probably get cold too easily.
Anyway, I have only ever seen a few women swimmers that I thought looked unattractively "bulky," and all but one of them I can think of turned out, unsurprisingly, to be on :roids:.
I don't have any problem with definition or looking athletic. I'm pretty defined. But definition is somewhat different than "bulk." Bulk just sounds horrible. I'd prefer more definition and no bulk or hulk.
Chris:
I do reverse sit ups all the time with weights. You can do the same exercise on each side too, to work the obliques. It's harder if you lift one foot off the ground while doing this. I also like doing decline reverse crunches for the lower abs. (Lie flat on a decline bench with your arms holding on behind you for support, and hips and knees bent 90 degrees with calves parallel to the bench. Contract your abs and curl your hips up off the bench. Lower your hips until your calves are again parallel to the bench.) I use the bosu a lot too -- do hammers on it, crunches, superman streamlines, lunges with one foot on the bosu holding a 10 pound weight in each hand, etc. If you don't have a med ball partner, you can also have fun by placing your feet on the sides of the bosu and jumping up and onto the bosu. Can't do heavy weights on the bosu though. Also, crunches on a bench are harder than on the floor because they require more balance, especially if you're sideways on the bench, i.e., you're not using the length of the bench but are at a perpendicular angle with only your butt on the bench. I think core work is much more fun than weights. But that's me.
Well, I don't usually think of myself as either a "chick" or a "lady," but I do like the muscly-arm look on myself and on other women. I know I moaned elsewhere about jackets not fitting my arms and mid-back, but I'm not about to lay off upper-body workouts just for that. I love having visible biceps, triceps, lats, and deltoids; and I love that my waist is small in comparison to my shoulders and hips. If I lost some subcutaneous fat I would like my look even more because I would have more definition, although then I would probably get cold too easily.
Anyway, I have only ever seen a few women swimmers that I thought looked unattractively "bulky," and all but one of them I can think of turned out, unsurprisingly, to be on :roids:.
I don't have any problem with definition or looking athletic. I'm pretty defined. But definition is somewhat different than "bulk." Bulk just sounds horrible. I'd prefer more definition and no bulk or hulk.
Chris:
I do reverse sit ups all the time with weights. You can do the same exercise on each side too, to work the obliques. It's harder if you lift one foot off the ground while doing this. I also like doing decline reverse crunches for the lower abs. (Lie flat on a decline bench with your arms holding on behind you for support, and hips and knees bent 90 degrees with calves parallel to the bench. Contract your abs and curl your hips up off the bench. Lower your hips until your calves are again parallel to the bench.) I use the bosu a lot too -- do hammers on it, crunches, superman streamlines, lunges with one foot on the bosu holding a 10 pound weight in each hand, etc. If you don't have a med ball partner, you can also have fun by placing your feet on the sides of the bosu and jumping up and onto the bosu. Can't do heavy weights on the bosu though. Also, crunches on a bench are harder than on the floor because they require more balance, especially if you're sideways on the bench, i.e., you're not using the length of the bench but are at a perpendicular angle with only your butt on the bench. I think core work is much more fun than weights. But that's me.
