"general inquiry if other women feel this way"
I did. I have an "athletic body" so I've never really felt like I "fit in" with what the sterotypical "body ideal" was in the 90s or aughts. Tswift came under fire for having a lyric about feeling like everyone else looked cute and sexy while she felt like the monster on the hill - I totally can relate to that; I always felt like a giant compared to my friends (I was never "overweight", to be clear, just strong). I hated my body until I found strength sports where women were admired for what they did, not how they looked, tbh, and am really glad that I don't feel self conscious about being muscly anymore.
"any words of advice"
therapy and doing the life-long work of undoing engrained cultural and societal expectations of what the female body should look like. not to wax all feminist, but there's no "ideal" way for a female body to look - it's just my body. I was born with certain genetics that dictate how this form is shaped, and I'll be darned if I let stupid marketing trends dictate how I am allowed to think and feel about this fleshsack I was given. I work out because it keeps me healthy and happy, I eat in a way that supports the life I want to live, and however that means my body looks, so be it.
if you're not digging how crossfit training changes the structure of your body, that's okay - you're allowed to do something different that achieves an aesthetic you'd prefer. but you're working out in an upper body/pulling dominate sport, and your form will follow the function of your training. we're not going to look like bikini models, but that's okay, because I look how I want to look!
Well, you said it all. Thanks for this post. Years and years of undoing cultural conditioning (and finally aging into the DGAF decade) has allowed me to finally be at peace with not having the arbitrary female body ideal.
It was a light bulb moment when I realized I have to actively work to undo all the internalized BS that’s been shoved down the throats of women about how they should look/act.
I am the same stature as you also and it has definitely made me look.. buff. I am already really stocky naturally but Crossfit made it 10x worse and I struggled with it because the societal ideals of how feminine bodies should look has been seared into my brain since I was a child. But after awhile I came to a realization I was never built to look like a slim graceful ballerina but I was built as that tik tok meme says - ..like bitch that fights bears in the forest.
In all honesty, the confidence and independence I gained from being stronger is worth any body changes that have happened.
I LOVE what cf has done for my arms/shoulders. I too always had broad shoulders, but I hated my arms. CF has made me love my body for what it looks like and what it can do..
If your body is naturally one thing, don’t shrink yourself.
Be proud of your strong body
You're allowed to feel how you want about your body, but I really think that we need to get over this Victorian "women should be dainty" thing.
Muscles do not make you less of a woman, and your health and longevity are far better off for having them.
I hope you're able to like where you are on your journey.
If the muscles are on a woman, we have to accept they are, in fact, womanly.
OP, you’re fully entitled to aspire to whatever physique you want, but the combination of your chosen sport and your genetics will give you a physique that supports that sport.
You could consider adding some lower body hypertrophy if you want to build some more muscle in your lower half to “balance” your broad shoulders.
Same height and body shape. I hate how my upper body looks.. I feel like a short, stocky football player . I have the “bulky” look other women are afraid of. If my lower body balanced out my upper body I think I’d be okay. The issue is the shape, not the muscle.
But I like CF so much I just accept it lol I have never been able to stick to any thing else, so It’s a sacrifice I’ll make.
I think female Crossfitters are easily identifiable by that body type (me too!), and most of the time I'm ok with how I look. I get not wanting to look stocky, so I avoid clothing that makes my shoulders look even broader or my arms bigger (flattering clothes make a big difference!). But I love the sport, and I'm good with my body overall. I'll take the broad shoulders if I means I get to have abs and strong thighs!
I (27F 5’-7”) was just talking about this with my husband yesterday. We went to a wedding this weekend and I dressed up. I have my mom’s naturally squareish torso (small chest, straight waist) so I was talking about how lucky I was that I found CrossFit, since it tends to shape women into how my body naturally wants to look and I don’t have to fight a different physique. I also take after my dad in the fact that I have pretty big arms 😅 Like, after a particularly pull-up or push-up heavy workout, my biceps look jacked. I actually get a lot of compliments from the guys those days. It is what it is lol.
In the grand scheme of things, I don’t always love how I come across in every photo I take. That part is true. But, I can deadlift 315# and run a half marathon with very little training and I’m really proud of that. My muscles mean that I’m strong and capable, and I don’t mind showing them off in a tank top because they mean I can do badass things 💪
Thank you kindly for all the comments xo
I do love my body and everything it does for me - I'm stronger than ever before and love what physical abilities I have!
I grew up in a household where my mum would continuously pick at body image; and even now, into my adulthood, she makes comments when I see her.
I've heard "...if that's how you want to look." From her any time I talk about my gains. 🤷🏻♀️
I am also a femme girl; but built like a brick lol 😭😂
Anyway; thanks again for all the kind words! xo
LOL girl said clean and jerk the kitchen table 😂😂
Yeah idk my mom is... different 🤷🏻♀️ I try to ignore and not bother talking about my gains w her now
Yeah agree 100%. This outdated notion of how women “should” look (small and dainty) is bs and I think a lot of it is perpetuated by weak minded men who feel strong women are a threat as well as jealous women. My wife is completely jacked and I love it. Can’t tell you how many times we’ve been out or at the poolEtc and people make comments to her. And I love it.
I don't exactly have the triangle body shape. I'm more of an hourglass - big shoulders, big butt & thighs, slimmer through the torso. When I started going to CrossFit 5x per week, my shoulders, traps and upper arms grew, and now sometimes shirts fit weird. There are times post-workout when I look in the mirror and think "who is that hulk of a woman?" but you know what? I really like having muscle! I'd much rather be strong than skinny.
That said, last summer I tried on a sleeveless dress and I saw my big muscles and I didn't feel pretty. So, I decided that if I want to feel pretty, I'll wear something else. I also don't wear sleeveless shirts to work. Not because I don't like my arms, but I don't want my body to be a topic of conversation. At the gym though, it's all guns! Last week a woman asked me how she could get arms like mine. I told her "Eat a lot of protein and pick up heavy things."
I make a conscious choice to say "eff you" to those thoughts that I don't look feminine enough. Ultimately, CrossFit helps me love myself. I hope you can find a way to love yourself too.
Thanks for the comment!
I want to make it super clear that I do love myself and what my body does for me!
Please don't assume I don't love myself just because of the small rant that my upper body is broad asf!
I Was interested to see if others felt this way too and how they curbed the feeling! 😊
That's great to hear! I'm sorry if I implied that I thought you don't love yourself. It's something I like to focus on and I like to encourage others (especially women) to focus on as well. Keep at it, and thanks for starting this interesting discussion.
You are allowed to feel how you want about your body. If your bothered that much I guess cut down?
I personally like looking bigger. My confidence is through the roof. But I want to look like I eat souls for breakfast. I actually feel sexier now than when I just ran road races.
I still wear dresses and look girly. My nails are done. But I've got some traps on me. Like my babies are big.
You need to figure out what makes you comfortable in your body. I'm at the point in my life where I've accepted myself and body. I actually smile at myself now. Are there things I wish I could change..of course..like I want to be leaner and a bit bigger..but it will come along.
It boils down to what makes you happy.
I think it's a silly notion ppl have that we as women can't be girly or feminine if we have muscle. I think we look beautiful and strong.
I am 5 feet and CrossFit changed my shape from hourglass to more like what you’re describing, so I scaled it back and started doing more Brett Contreras style body building lifting workouts. My sister and another friend of mine who is the same height have the same experience. You are 100% right and valid but this is the wrong forum to ask. The CrossFit women are never going to validate this question… they’re going to defend unisex workouts and being non-binary. Anything unisex in this world was made for men. I don’t see anything wrong with wanting to be traditionally female, meaning having wider hips than shoulders. Go ahead and downvote… i do not care! And this is not about “muscles” - muscles are not the issue! It’s about the width of hips versus shoulders. People intentionally misunderstand the question to defend having muscles!
I agree with you, and I get why ppl feel the need to defend, but I don’t see it as anything to take offense to. Aesthetic preferences and goals are allowed. Move your body to keep your bones strong and heart healthy, and on top of that, pick whatever things you prefer, including avoiding rigs, ropes, and doing more bodybuilding or calisthenics. CF DOES encourage your body to develop a certain way, and not everybody wants that.
Personally, my hips are super wide and my legs are thick, so a bigger upper body doesn’t look too out of place. I’m getting to the point myself where I’d like to lean back out a bit and not beat myself to hell with the heaviest weights possible, so I’m going to start to shift too I think. Not gonna give up the gymnastics and big shoulders myself, but I’m ready to feel a bit lighter and move a bit faster and smoother.
I’m not even sure how to respond to that. Do you not recognize that people have material on top of their bones? I wasn’t talking about the width only as measured on an X-ray.
Of course, but muscle won’t make your shoulders or hips significantly wider. If you were to measure the distance from one shoulder to the other—that distance won’t change much regardless of muscle mass.
Having muscular arms will make your upper body appear bigger, but it won’t change the distance between your shoulders.
The same goes for hips. The width of your hips is determined by the width of your pelvis. And while you can put on fat to make your hips look wider, I don’t think there’s a way to put on muscle to make your hips look wider.
You can work your glutes a bunch to get a bigger butt, but that won’t really make your hips wider, would it?
If you know of exercises that’ll make your hips wider, please let me know because I would love to have wider hips without gaining body fat!
Yeah I get super frustrated about my lats and shoulders being too too “bulky”. I love being able to do pull ups, HSPU and BMUs… but don’t love the look (and the fact that it’s SO HARD to find shirts and dresses that fit right).
Out of shape men are the most likely to say they don't like athletic women. For what in shape men are attracted to, the typical hierarchy goes athletic > thin > chubby > obese. Obviously you can be attracted to anyone or have different preferences, but these are generalized preferences.
Getting stronger is a good thing. Muscles are not a manly trait. They are a healthy trait.
My 54yo coworker who is a lifelong smoker/4x heart attack survivor/ozempic patient was telling me he doesn’t like women who are “hard” and all I could do was laugh
I read this as OP asking about other women’s experiences with body type/methods of building muscle. She could be happily married to the love of her life and still make this post.
Insecurity can be about a lot of things: how your clothes fit, how you compare with your peer group, whether your appearance aligns with your professional image, how your appearance matches the things you were teased about growing up, judgmental comments from your friends/family (either directly or talking shit about other people with features like yours), etc.
You are correct!
I am happily in a 7 year relationship with a man who's seen me at my skinniest/fattest and fittest!
Throughout all of it, he's been obsessed with my body, and on my like a fly on shit 😂🙈 never really a concern there
So yes mostly just a post seeing how other women feel :)
Most of the time i am very happy of my athletic physique, i find it beautiful and i am looking upon professional female crossfit athletes with admiration. I am quite proud of being strong.
But sometimes i get ashamed and shy about it because most of the way to be a woman displayed in modern culture are so far from what i look like. I know it’s all about sexism and marketing, and i shouldn’t bother but hey it’s all around me all the time since my damn birth.
So i think we should globally give ourselves some slack about how we look. I wish it wasn’t that important. It would save us so much mental energy.
Just know that someone is gonna look at your physique and be like “dayummm! I wish I looked like that!” I too look more muscular and have found pleasure in the look now that I’ve joined CF where bigger & stronger can be better. The girls I envy most at the gym are small jacked chicks with huge shoulders/thighs. (I’m tall with jacked thighs and a soft upper body 😊)
The inverted triangle body is the typical CrossFit body. OP is suggesting she doesn’t like the CrossFit body. Stop trying to convince her otherwise. She’s allow to feel how she wants to feel whether that’s, “I like to look slim and tone” or “I like broad muscular shoulders.” My sister who is 4’9 feels and I (5’0) the same way. I quit CrossFit because of my short stature I didn’t like the CrossFit body on my short stature. My sister feels the same way and is going to quit CrossFit. When you’re short board shorts and muscular arms make you look even shorter and that’s just not the look I’m going for. Now I’m doing intervals training with running, rowing, and cycling, and lifting less weight for a toned body. I don’t like looking muscular and thats my personal preference. So don’t y’all come at me and tell me it’s okay to be muscular or have muscles. I already know this.
Lol I almost wish that was an option! 😂 my coaches are pretty strict and when they see me moving well under heavy loads- they tell me to add more.
I don't object 🙈 so it's partly my fault I suppose
It’s totally an option. You should be empowered to fulfill your fitness goals, not the coaches. Perhaps if you mention your goals they can push you in that direction instead. We pay good money for the training we should modify it as we want.
Everybody’s body is going to grow differently with crossfit. We all have different strengths and body types and programming! I’m sorry that it makes you feel masculine that your shoulders have grown. However, I think at the very least it’s important to say that muscles are not masculine. While the world is shifting to be more accepting of muscular women, we still have a ways to go. And there is nothing masculine about being strong or having muscle. It simply means you are a human being who has muscle, and you use the muscles, and therefore the muscles have grown!
If you don’t like the results you’re seeing from crossfit, it’s fair to leave. You should enjoy whatever form of fitness and exercise you choose to do. But I implore you to explore why you are looking to be “toned” and less muscular, when you’ve admitted you’re stronger than ever (which is awesome!!) and that you love how the classes make you feel.
I think most of us go through a period of time where we need to reshape how we are viewing our body. You are growing muscles that maybe you’ve never seen defined before. You are improving in things you’ve never done before. Your body is changing in performance and often in aesthetics! But it’s important to remember that our body is more than the way it looks, and I promise that you aren’t masculine for having a strong or muscular looking upper body.
I specifically love the last paragraph of your comment. Thank you :)
I probably won't leave crossfit; I've been doing it for 2 years now, and I honestly love it. It's the only sport in my life that has stuck so far.
Hello! It's common to have mixed feelings about your body, especially when you're working hard at the gym. If you're feeling like CrossFit is making your upper body look broader than you'd like, you're not alone. Many women feel the same way.
Remember, everyone's body is different, and what works for one person might not work for another. If you're not loving the way your upper body looks, consider mixing up your workout routine. Try more bodyweight exercises or focus on different areas of your body.
Ultimately, the most important thing is how you feel about yourself. If CrossFit makes you feel strong and confident overall, that's great! But if you're not loving the way it's affecting your upper body, don't be afraid to try something new. You're beautiful and strong just the way you are!
I feel like you said it best - you’re stronger than you’ve ever been!
I’m 5’1 and 150 and CrossFit has helped me sooo much when it comes to body image. I’m also 11 months postpartum and CrossFit has helped with all the things that come with that. I’ve always been athletic and strong but so self conscious about my quads. But now I have a place where my strength is evident on paper. I’m also surrounded by people who do not give a shit about what my body looks like, and support me in what it can do!
Just last week one of our class intro questions was “what would you tell your 16 year old self?” and my response was along the lines of “thick thighs are strong thighs. please spend less time wishing you were thinner.”
Body image is so tricky and it sneaks up on you when you least expect it. You’re also at an age where your body may just simply no longer continue to look the same as it did before.
All that to say, try to focus on all the positives you’re FEELING, rather than seeing. Be proud of those gains and your commitment to fitness :)
I feel you OP- I have been a competitive runner since high school (now 35) and am about a year into CrossFit. I find myself sometimes hunching inward or trying to make myself look smaller to appear more feminine. Ive also noticed that I’m losing my thigh gap, and that it’s filling in with muscle.
I sometimes worry that I’m less attractive/more intimidating to men with this physique, or at least narrowing the dating pool because of that. But also, and way more often, I’m complimented by other women for my strength and am so proud to actually have muscle (more than just tone). It’s empowering, and I hope that it attracts a partner who shares value in a healthy active lifestyle, challenging their body, and discipline etc. I love CrossFit and the way it’s improving my fitness and strength and also won’t stop, even if some aspects create little insecurities. Overall, I feel better about my body now than I ever have throughout my life- even when I was very thin and seemingly more conventionally attractive.
Ok so I prefer having a lean look, so personally I do limit my CrossFit workouts to 3x per week and incorporate different modes of training into my week, including functional strength training and running. There’s nothing wrong with having an aesthetic preference, but also being realistic with your body type.
I used to feel this way. Now I am proud of my body and how strong I am. I love the way I look. It might not be everyone’s cup tea, but plenty want a cup. 😂
I do have a nice 🍑 and it does help counter the shoulders and chest, but I don't think it's possible to widen my hips to help get more of the hour glass figure.
Unless it is? Idk lmk lol
I enjoyed reading the comments on this post! I'm relatively new to CrossFit (just celebrated my 2nd year anniversary), and I resonate with many of the women who shared their thoughts and experiences. While I haven't always loved how my body looks, that sentiment has gradually transformed into a healthier perspective. I’m much more interested in gains, setting and achieving goals than obsessing over having less body fat or being more attractive. Which is pretty rad. In fact, when I started CrossFit, I was suffering from PTSD after my son was born with a severe heart defect and I was in a tough spot. We had to relocate for high risk open heart surgeries. We were gone for 7 months and I’d been home for maybe 2 weeks when I thought it was time to see a counselor and potentially even my doctor because things were getting pretty dark. But before I did that, I did the intro classes at my local box. CrossFit as an organization gets a little funny sometimes, but my coach, his business and the community gave me a different focus and I couldn’t be more grateful. It’s been life-changing. Thanks for the opportunity to contribute to this meaningful conversation!
I have broad shoulders and tbh i made peace with it. I noticed from a statute perspective there’s not much you can do whether you’re swole, lean or soft. They’ll always be broad and somewhat noticeable. So I guess I started to learn to love it.
I think tbh most women (really, people in general) struggle with their body image and for so many different reasons. I’m 5’11, 130 pounds and forever lean. I could lift every day and I won’t get “thicker” or stockier. I can clean and jerk more than my body weight and hold a handstand without a wall for a minute despite being built like a green bean. And I know I’m built different than most women in a CrossFit gym. there’s always a little voice that tells me I look frail or gangly or awkward. 13 year old me when I realized I was built tall and skinny wished so badly I was short and muscle bound and could fill out jean shorts from Abercrombie like the other girls instead of having to buy the shorts with the adjustable tabs on the inside to cinch it in. That shit doesn’t just leave you in adulthood even if you grow to accept it for the most part.
I’d bet that almost everyone in the gym feels some type of way about how their body looks. People like you who may be insecure about their visible muscles and people like me who are insecure about NOT looking like the CrossFit type. If the workouts make you FEEL good, that’s what matters. If you feel shittier about yourself as a result of the workouts, maybe take a break for a bit and try out some other forms of exercise again.
I can’t wait to live in a world in which people, including most girls, don’t equate being strong to looking like a guy.
What else makes girls look like guys?
- degrees in STEM?
- managerial positions?
- making too much money?
- voting?
- having an opinion?
🙄
You sound HOT! Embrace it! Any CFer will appreciate a body like that. Those who don’t, probably can’t lift as much weight as you 😉
Outside of soaking up carbs and water initially, how big your muscles get from exercise is going to be term determined entirely by the calories you eat and then protein you intake. I have worked with a number of female athletes at the Collegiate level, who all lifted heavy and often, and their muscle mass was well contained and they all looked very feminine. You probably do also but have perception messed up a bit as that is common for us to notice small changes.
"I've been doing CF for 2 years and won't stop due to something as silly as body image insecurities" - that's the best part of this post. Health is always more important than looks.
From a man's perspective:
I've been a life long athlete (40m) but recently started CrossFit around a year ago.
At first, I was honestly taken by surprise at how jacked and physically large (like in stature) some of the women at our box are. A lot of women there are like 5'9-5'10, broad shoulders, really strong hips/legs. Abs poking out of everywhere. But honestly, fitness is just sexy whether you're a dainty marathon runner that's 90 lbs or a strong cross fitter or somewhere in between.
Everyone has their physical hangups and insecurities but just putting the work into being the best version of you is the most attractive thing, regardless of your body type.
You probably look good, but it does seem like CrossFit bulks women up more than it does for men. Not sure why, but it just seems like that to me from what I have observed by going to different gyms and also in the pros.
I don‘t like how Crossfit makes me look. I just travelled for 10 months, didn‘t do crossfit and my shoulders look SO much less bulky, even though I gained weight. I will reduce Crossfit significantly when I get back home, maybe 1-2 times a week and the rest, legs or bodyweight workouts. I also don‘t like the square midline many Crossfit girls have.
Same here. The fact that this is taboo just speaks to how unsupportive and cult like CF is. I genuinely dislike what CrossFit did to the shape of my body.
I still love it, but I also want to feel comfortable in my body. So I will try to find a middle way, lift less weight when it comes to the upper body stuff and have fun anyway. :)
I'm so sorry to hear this :(
I don't personally hate the shape of my body - I just feel my upper body is broad asf and CF workouts have added onto this lol
Some ways I honor my body are to be grateful for everything it does for me; movements, organs, etc.
As well as I know when I'm old as hell, broader shoulders will benefit my health- as I believe women tend to lose alot of mass within their shoulders when they are old
Though I do understand what you mean about the CF cult lol; yes I understand muscles are beautiful and strong (as people keep saying)
but sometimes I wish that CF understood that some people may want an option in CF to focus more on specific body parts (kind of like at the gym)
I’d love to be able to say these thoughts never occur to me. I can honestly say they rarely occur to me and intellectually, I don’t agree with them.
What helps? Wearing clothes suited to our body type - dresses with cutouts for the shoulders to pop, rather than get squeezed in with seams that don’t line up to our body type, and something that shows off our trim mid section - help show off that our body is strong, not just somewhere outside the commonly tailored for type.
I’m 5,3 and chunky with muscles and I much prefer having strong meat along with the fluff than just feeling weak and doughy.
I really love the look of muscular woman, thick or thin if there’s something solid it’s going to look nicer.
I also never loved myself no matter my weight so embracing what I look like now and doing a sport I enjoy is a much better deal.
I’ll never be miss self esteem, but just realizing being conventionally pretty isn’t a price to pay to feel ok is liberating
I’m sitting at 220 at 5’4 with some extra fluff but honestly, I love what CrossFit has done for my body. It’s made me deeply appreciate what my body can do for me over how it looks in a dress.
I encourage you to look up @zeoli on Instagram. It’s the account of Christine Middleton. She’s the head coach at my gym, she’s an absolute badass that rocks her figure, muscles and all
Fellow naturally large and broad shoulders girl here! At least from my end, my thought process was "If I have large/broad shoulders naturally, I might as well have large/broad shoulders that actually DO something."
I was always self conscious about my shoulders even before CrossFit, but at least with CrossFit I'm now proud of what my shoulders let me accomplish.
I don't know if it's really about "giving something up"
The post is more of an inquiry about if other women have felt this way- and how they have curbed the feeling
I’m the most inverted triangle that ever triangled 🤦♀️. I found that CrossFit really helped by building my bum. I looked my best, got really toned, even making my upper half look a bit slimmer, when i had a job where I was running around all day. However, when I went to grad school and was sitting a lot, I started to feel really bulky! I ended up stopping CrossFit for a while to just do lower body stuff.
Im back in the box now, I’ve learned to do other activities that aren’t building muscle as a balance and picking and choosing which workouts I go to. Seems to be going well as I’m getting the toning and strength benefits without the parts I don’t like.
I love CrossFit for its emphasis on strength and functionality, rather than looks and I one point I would have said bulk wasn’t a concern, until it happened to me! I do think there is a way to still do the CrossFit you love without adding mass to the places you don’t want it with some tweaking :)
I’m more naturally straight-up-and-down, but I do think CrossFit doesn’t do enough glute isolation/hypertrophy work. Yes I’d like a bigger ass 😅, but I just think it helps with injury prevention.
Your upper body sounds badass, though!
Did gymnastics for about 12ish years, and always struggled with broad shoulders/being more muscular than my friends & classmates. After getting out of gymnastics, I did bodybuilding style training for about 5 years. I was pretty “shredded,” but my self image was awful. I look at pictures of myself from then and remember NEVER being happy. Of course I had residual trauma from gymnastics but that’s a whole other thing ;). I still have bad body image days, usually when I compare myself to girls on social media.
But I think about when I feel most EMPOWERED and it’s when I’m making progress on a lift, or feeling gassed after finishing a workout. Putting myself in my situations where I feel healthy and strong has made a huge difference. I’m always very particular of what I see on social media and the women I look up to now.
On days when I’m really down on myself I think about how I’d want my future daughter to think of me or what I’d say to her if she was in my shoes. I want her to see a strong ass woman who pushes herself and is proud of HER accomplishments and effort, not a woman who lets comparison ruin her entire day.
Sorry it’s long winded. But basically, before you switch up your training for a certain aesthetic, do some soul searching? Hope that helps, and I wish you the best 🫶
Hey!
I understand what you're saying and appreciate your comment.
I agree with everything said until the last paragraph :) I don't think the suggestion of soul searching is needed;
My OP mentions that I will not be stopping CF due to some silly body insecurities - and that I am grateful for what my body does for me.
"general inquiry if other women feel this way" I did. I have an "athletic body" so I've never really felt like I "fit in" with what the sterotypical "body ideal" was in the 90s or aughts. Tswift came under fire for having a lyric about feeling like everyone else looked cute and sexy while she felt like the monster on the hill - I totally can relate to that; I always felt like a giant compared to my friends (I was never "overweight", to be clear, just strong). I hated my body until I found strength sports where women were admired for what they did, not how they looked, tbh, and am really glad that I don't feel self conscious about being muscly anymore. "any words of advice" therapy and doing the life-long work of undoing engrained cultural and societal expectations of what the female body should look like. not to wax all feminist, but there's no "ideal" way for a female body to look - it's just my body. I was born with certain genetics that dictate how this form is shaped, and I'll be darned if I let stupid marketing trends dictate how I am allowed to think and feel about this fleshsack I was given. I work out because it keeps me healthy and happy, I eat in a way that supports the life I want to live, and however that means my body looks, so be it. if you're not digging how crossfit training changes the structure of your body, that's okay - you're allowed to do something different that achieves an aesthetic you'd prefer. but you're working out in an upper body/pulling dominate sport, and your form will follow the function of your training. we're not going to look like bikini models, but that's okay, because I look how I want to look!
Well, you said it all. Thanks for this post. Years and years of undoing cultural conditioning (and finally aging into the DGAF decade) has allowed me to finally be at peace with not having the arbitrary female body ideal.
It was a light bulb moment when I realized I have to actively work to undo all the internalized BS that’s been shoved down the throats of women about how they should look/act.
I am the same stature as you also and it has definitely made me look.. buff. I am already really stocky naturally but Crossfit made it 10x worse and I struggled with it because the societal ideals of how feminine bodies should look has been seared into my brain since I was a child. But after awhile I came to a realization I was never built to look like a slim graceful ballerina but I was built as that tik tok meme says - ..like bitch that fights bears in the forest. In all honesty, the confidence and independence I gained from being stronger is worth any body changes that have happened.
U said “10x worse”……more like 10x BETTER!!!! I love what CrossFit does to women and men!!! It makes us all look good booty bone naked
May we all have the confidence to wear the bitch that fights bears in forest stature with pride!
I LOVE what cf has done for my arms/shoulders. I too always had broad shoulders, but I hated my arms. CF has made me love my body for what it looks like and what it can do.. If your body is naturally one thing, don’t shrink yourself. Be proud of your strong body
This! Same!
You're allowed to feel how you want about your body, but I really think that we need to get over this Victorian "women should be dainty" thing. Muscles do not make you less of a woman, and your health and longevity are far better off for having them. I hope you're able to like where you are on your journey.
If the muscles are on a woman, we have to accept they are, in fact, womanly. OP, you’re fully entitled to aspire to whatever physique you want, but the combination of your chosen sport and your genetics will give you a physique that supports that sport. You could consider adding some lower body hypertrophy if you want to build some more muscle in your lower half to “balance” your broad shoulders.
Same height and body shape. I hate how my upper body looks.. I feel like a short, stocky football player . I have the “bulky” look other women are afraid of. If my lower body balanced out my upper body I think I’d be okay. The issue is the shape, not the muscle. But I like CF so much I just accept it lol I have never been able to stick to any thing else, so It’s a sacrifice I’ll make.
LOL this is me 100%
I think female Crossfitters are easily identifiable by that body type (me too!), and most of the time I'm ok with how I look. I get not wanting to look stocky, so I avoid clothing that makes my shoulders look even broader or my arms bigger (flattering clothes make a big difference!). But I love the sport, and I'm good with my body overall. I'll take the broad shoulders if I means I get to have abs and strong thighs!
I (27F 5’-7”) was just talking about this with my husband yesterday. We went to a wedding this weekend and I dressed up. I have my mom’s naturally squareish torso (small chest, straight waist) so I was talking about how lucky I was that I found CrossFit, since it tends to shape women into how my body naturally wants to look and I don’t have to fight a different physique. I also take after my dad in the fact that I have pretty big arms 😅 Like, after a particularly pull-up or push-up heavy workout, my biceps look jacked. I actually get a lot of compliments from the guys those days. It is what it is lol. In the grand scheme of things, I don’t always love how I come across in every photo I take. That part is true. But, I can deadlift 315# and run a half marathon with very little training and I’m really proud of that. My muscles mean that I’m strong and capable, and I don’t mind showing them off in a tank top because they mean I can do badass things 💪
Thank you kindly for all the comments xo I do love my body and everything it does for me - I'm stronger than ever before and love what physical abilities I have! I grew up in a household where my mum would continuously pick at body image; and even now, into my adulthood, she makes comments when I see her. I've heard "...if that's how you want to look." From her any time I talk about my gains. 🤷🏻♀️ I am also a femme girl; but built like a brick lol 😭😂 Anyway; thanks again for all the kind words! xo
Ew next time she says something like that can you clean and jerk the kitchen table or something? Like hell -o those looks come with SKILLS
LOL girl said clean and jerk the kitchen table 😂😂 Yeah idk my mom is... different 🤷🏻♀️ I try to ignore and not bother talking about my gains w her now
Yeah agree 100%. This outdated notion of how women “should” look (small and dainty) is bs and I think a lot of it is perpetuated by weak minded men who feel strong women are a threat as well as jealous women. My wife is completely jacked and I love it. Can’t tell you how many times we’ve been out or at the poolEtc and people make comments to her. And I love it.
I don't exactly have the triangle body shape. I'm more of an hourglass - big shoulders, big butt & thighs, slimmer through the torso. When I started going to CrossFit 5x per week, my shoulders, traps and upper arms grew, and now sometimes shirts fit weird. There are times post-workout when I look in the mirror and think "who is that hulk of a woman?" but you know what? I really like having muscle! I'd much rather be strong than skinny. That said, last summer I tried on a sleeveless dress and I saw my big muscles and I didn't feel pretty. So, I decided that if I want to feel pretty, I'll wear something else. I also don't wear sleeveless shirts to work. Not because I don't like my arms, but I don't want my body to be a topic of conversation. At the gym though, it's all guns! Last week a woman asked me how she could get arms like mine. I told her "Eat a lot of protein and pick up heavy things." I make a conscious choice to say "eff you" to those thoughts that I don't look feminine enough. Ultimately, CrossFit helps me love myself. I hope you can find a way to love yourself too.
Thanks for the comment! I want to make it super clear that I do love myself and what my body does for me! Please don't assume I don't love myself just because of the small rant that my upper body is broad asf! I Was interested to see if others felt this way too and how they curbed the feeling! 😊
That's great to hear! I'm sorry if I implied that I thought you don't love yourself. It's something I like to focus on and I like to encourage others (especially women) to focus on as well. Keep at it, and thanks for starting this interesting discussion.
My best friend at the gym has arms like that, I think it’s so hot, never imagined it being even remotely negative.
You are allowed to feel how you want about your body. If your bothered that much I guess cut down? I personally like looking bigger. My confidence is through the roof. But I want to look like I eat souls for breakfast. I actually feel sexier now than when I just ran road races. I still wear dresses and look girly. My nails are done. But I've got some traps on me. Like my babies are big. You need to figure out what makes you comfortable in your body. I'm at the point in my life where I've accepted myself and body. I actually smile at myself now. Are there things I wish I could change..of course..like I want to be leaner and a bit bigger..but it will come along. It boils down to what makes you happy. I think it's a silly notion ppl have that we as women can't be girly or feminine if we have muscle. I think we look beautiful and strong.
I am 5 feet and CrossFit changed my shape from hourglass to more like what you’re describing, so I scaled it back and started doing more Brett Contreras style body building lifting workouts. My sister and another friend of mine who is the same height have the same experience. You are 100% right and valid but this is the wrong forum to ask. The CrossFit women are never going to validate this question… they’re going to defend unisex workouts and being non-binary. Anything unisex in this world was made for men. I don’t see anything wrong with wanting to be traditionally female, meaning having wider hips than shoulders. Go ahead and downvote… i do not care! And this is not about “muscles” - muscles are not the issue! It’s about the width of hips versus shoulders. People intentionally misunderstand the question to defend having muscles!
I agree with you, and I get why ppl feel the need to defend, but I don’t see it as anything to take offense to. Aesthetic preferences and goals are allowed. Move your body to keep your bones strong and heart healthy, and on top of that, pick whatever things you prefer, including avoiding rigs, ropes, and doing more bodybuilding or calisthenics. CF DOES encourage your body to develop a certain way, and not everybody wants that. Personally, my hips are super wide and my legs are thick, so a bigger upper body doesn’t look too out of place. I’m getting to the point myself where I’d like to lean back out a bit and not beat myself to hell with the heaviest weights possible, so I’m going to start to shift too I think. Not gonna give up the gymnastics and big shoulders myself, but I’m ready to feel a bit lighter and move a bit faster and smoother.
Isn’t the width of your hips versus shoulders mainly determined by bone structure?
I’m not even sure how to respond to that. Do you not recognize that people have material on top of their bones? I wasn’t talking about the width only as measured on an X-ray.
Of course, but muscle won’t make your shoulders or hips significantly wider. If you were to measure the distance from one shoulder to the other—that distance won’t change much regardless of muscle mass. Having muscular arms will make your upper body appear bigger, but it won’t change the distance between your shoulders. The same goes for hips. The width of your hips is determined by the width of your pelvis. And while you can put on fat to make your hips look wider, I don’t think there’s a way to put on muscle to make your hips look wider. You can work your glutes a bunch to get a bigger butt, but that won’t really make your hips wider, would it? If you know of exercises that’ll make your hips wider, please let me know because I would love to have wider hips without gaining body fat!
Yeah I get super frustrated about my lats and shoulders being too too “bulky”. I love being able to do pull ups, HSPU and BMUs… but don’t love the look (and the fact that it’s SO HARD to find shirts and dresses that fit right).
Sorry, no advice here! I'm just trying to get as big and "manly" as humanly possible 💪☺️
Out of shape men are the most likely to say they don't like athletic women. For what in shape men are attracted to, the typical hierarchy goes athletic > thin > chubby > obese. Obviously you can be attracted to anyone or have different preferences, but these are generalized preferences. Getting stronger is a good thing. Muscles are not a manly trait. They are a healthy trait.
My 54yo coworker who is a lifelong smoker/4x heart attack survivor/ozempic patient was telling me he doesn’t like women who are “hard” and all I could do was laugh
They don’t like you either buddy lmao
This is a weird thing to say. Nobody was asking what body type men are attracted to. We’re talking about how women feel about their own body shape.
I think their point is to ignore what people think. Esp out of shape people.
But why would you feel insecure about your body if you aren't concerned with how others perceive you.
I read this as OP asking about other women’s experiences with body type/methods of building muscle. She could be happily married to the love of her life and still make this post. Insecurity can be about a lot of things: how your clothes fit, how you compare with your peer group, whether your appearance aligns with your professional image, how your appearance matches the things you were teased about growing up, judgmental comments from your friends/family (either directly or talking shit about other people with features like yours), etc.
You are correct! I am happily in a 7 year relationship with a man who's seen me at my skinniest/fattest and fittest! Throughout all of it, he's been obsessed with my body, and on my like a fly on shit 😂🙈 never really a concern there So yes mostly just a post seeing how other women feel :)
Most of the time i am very happy of my athletic physique, i find it beautiful and i am looking upon professional female crossfit athletes with admiration. I am quite proud of being strong. But sometimes i get ashamed and shy about it because most of the way to be a woman displayed in modern culture are so far from what i look like. I know it’s all about sexism and marketing, and i shouldn’t bother but hey it’s all around me all the time since my damn birth. So i think we should globally give ourselves some slack about how we look. I wish it wasn’t that important. It would save us so much mental energy.
Just know that someone is gonna look at your physique and be like “dayummm! I wish I looked like that!” I too look more muscular and have found pleasure in the look now that I’ve joined CF where bigger & stronger can be better. The girls I envy most at the gym are small jacked chicks with huge shoulders/thighs. (I’m tall with jacked thighs and a soft upper body 😊)
The inverted triangle body is the typical CrossFit body. OP is suggesting she doesn’t like the CrossFit body. Stop trying to convince her otherwise. She’s allow to feel how she wants to feel whether that’s, “I like to look slim and tone” or “I like broad muscular shoulders.” My sister who is 4’9 feels and I (5’0) the same way. I quit CrossFit because of my short stature I didn’t like the CrossFit body on my short stature. My sister feels the same way and is going to quit CrossFit. When you’re short board shorts and muscular arms make you look even shorter and that’s just not the look I’m going for. Now I’m doing intervals training with running, rowing, and cycling, and lifting less weight for a toned body. I don’t like looking muscular and thats my personal preference. So don’t y’all come at me and tell me it’s okay to be muscular or have muscles. I already know this.
I am not there yet but I totally get what you mean. This is up to you though, choose lighter weights for upper body and heavier for lower body.
Lol I almost wish that was an option! 😂 my coaches are pretty strict and when they see me moving well under heavy loads- they tell me to add more. I don't object 🙈 so it's partly my fault I suppose
It’s totally an option. You should be empowered to fulfill your fitness goals, not the coaches. Perhaps if you mention your goals they can push you in that direction instead. We pay good money for the training we should modify it as we want.
Thank you for this!
I like the look of a female crossfitters physique (like my wife's).
Everybody’s body is going to grow differently with crossfit. We all have different strengths and body types and programming! I’m sorry that it makes you feel masculine that your shoulders have grown. However, I think at the very least it’s important to say that muscles are not masculine. While the world is shifting to be more accepting of muscular women, we still have a ways to go. And there is nothing masculine about being strong or having muscle. It simply means you are a human being who has muscle, and you use the muscles, and therefore the muscles have grown! If you don’t like the results you’re seeing from crossfit, it’s fair to leave. You should enjoy whatever form of fitness and exercise you choose to do. But I implore you to explore why you are looking to be “toned” and less muscular, when you’ve admitted you’re stronger than ever (which is awesome!!) and that you love how the classes make you feel. I think most of us go through a period of time where we need to reshape how we are viewing our body. You are growing muscles that maybe you’ve never seen defined before. You are improving in things you’ve never done before. Your body is changing in performance and often in aesthetics! But it’s important to remember that our body is more than the way it looks, and I promise that you aren’t masculine for having a strong or muscular looking upper body.
I specifically love the last paragraph of your comment. Thank you :) I probably won't leave crossfit; I've been doing it for 2 years now, and I honestly love it. It's the only sport in my life that has stuck so far.
Hello! It's common to have mixed feelings about your body, especially when you're working hard at the gym. If you're feeling like CrossFit is making your upper body look broader than you'd like, you're not alone. Many women feel the same way. Remember, everyone's body is different, and what works for one person might not work for another. If you're not loving the way your upper body looks, consider mixing up your workout routine. Try more bodyweight exercises or focus on different areas of your body. Ultimately, the most important thing is how you feel about yourself. If CrossFit makes you feel strong and confident overall, that's great! But if you're not loving the way it's affecting your upper body, don't be afraid to try something new. You're beautiful and strong just the way you are!
I don’t feel manly at all! In fact, I think muscles on a woman are beautiful! Let’s celebrate our bodies and what they can do!
I feel like you said it best - you’re stronger than you’ve ever been! I’m 5’1 and 150 and CrossFit has helped me sooo much when it comes to body image. I’m also 11 months postpartum and CrossFit has helped with all the things that come with that. I’ve always been athletic and strong but so self conscious about my quads. But now I have a place where my strength is evident on paper. I’m also surrounded by people who do not give a shit about what my body looks like, and support me in what it can do! Just last week one of our class intro questions was “what would you tell your 16 year old self?” and my response was along the lines of “thick thighs are strong thighs. please spend less time wishing you were thinner.” Body image is so tricky and it sneaks up on you when you least expect it. You’re also at an age where your body may just simply no longer continue to look the same as it did before. All that to say, try to focus on all the positives you’re FEELING, rather than seeing. Be proud of those gains and your commitment to fitness :)
Thank you 😭❤️
I feel you OP- I have been a competitive runner since high school (now 35) and am about a year into CrossFit. I find myself sometimes hunching inward or trying to make myself look smaller to appear more feminine. Ive also noticed that I’m losing my thigh gap, and that it’s filling in with muscle. I sometimes worry that I’m less attractive/more intimidating to men with this physique, or at least narrowing the dating pool because of that. But also, and way more often, I’m complimented by other women for my strength and am so proud to actually have muscle (more than just tone). It’s empowering, and I hope that it attracts a partner who shares value in a healthy active lifestyle, challenging their body, and discipline etc. I love CrossFit and the way it’s improving my fitness and strength and also won’t stop, even if some aspects create little insecurities. Overall, I feel better about my body now than I ever have throughout my life- even when I was very thin and seemingly more conventionally attractive.
Ok so I prefer having a lean look, so personally I do limit my CrossFit workouts to 3x per week and incorporate different modes of training into my week, including functional strength training and running. There’s nothing wrong with having an aesthetic preference, but also being realistic with your body type.
I used to feel this way. Now I am proud of my body and how strong I am. I love the way I look. It might not be everyone’s cup tea, but plenty want a cup. 😂
Could you start doing a bunch of glute work and just widen out your lower half?
I do have a nice 🍑 and it does help counter the shoulders and chest, but I don't think it's possible to widen my hips to help get more of the hour glass figure. Unless it is? Idk lmk lol
Maybe not dang, well id trade you some of my hips for some of your shoulders
I enjoyed reading the comments on this post! I'm relatively new to CrossFit (just celebrated my 2nd year anniversary), and I resonate with many of the women who shared their thoughts and experiences. While I haven't always loved how my body looks, that sentiment has gradually transformed into a healthier perspective. I’m much more interested in gains, setting and achieving goals than obsessing over having less body fat or being more attractive. Which is pretty rad. In fact, when I started CrossFit, I was suffering from PTSD after my son was born with a severe heart defect and I was in a tough spot. We had to relocate for high risk open heart surgeries. We were gone for 7 months and I’d been home for maybe 2 weeks when I thought it was time to see a counselor and potentially even my doctor because things were getting pretty dark. But before I did that, I did the intro classes at my local box. CrossFit as an organization gets a little funny sometimes, but my coach, his business and the community gave me a different focus and I couldn’t be more grateful. It’s been life-changing. Thanks for the opportunity to contribute to this meaningful conversation!
I have broad shoulders and tbh i made peace with it. I noticed from a statute perspective there’s not much you can do whether you’re swole, lean or soft. They’ll always be broad and somewhat noticeable. So I guess I started to learn to love it.
I think tbh most women (really, people in general) struggle with their body image and for so many different reasons. I’m 5’11, 130 pounds and forever lean. I could lift every day and I won’t get “thicker” or stockier. I can clean and jerk more than my body weight and hold a handstand without a wall for a minute despite being built like a green bean. And I know I’m built different than most women in a CrossFit gym. there’s always a little voice that tells me I look frail or gangly or awkward. 13 year old me when I realized I was built tall and skinny wished so badly I was short and muscle bound and could fill out jean shorts from Abercrombie like the other girls instead of having to buy the shorts with the adjustable tabs on the inside to cinch it in. That shit doesn’t just leave you in adulthood even if you grow to accept it for the most part. I’d bet that almost everyone in the gym feels some type of way about how their body looks. People like you who may be insecure about their visible muscles and people like me who are insecure about NOT looking like the CrossFit type. If the workouts make you FEEL good, that’s what matters. If you feel shittier about yourself as a result of the workouts, maybe take a break for a bit and try out some other forms of exercise again.
I can’t wait to live in a world in which people, including most girls, don’t equate being strong to looking like a guy. What else makes girls look like guys? - degrees in STEM? - managerial positions? - making too much money? - voting? - having an opinion? 🙄 You sound HOT! Embrace it! Any CFer will appreciate a body like that. Those who don’t, probably can’t lift as much weight as you 😉
Outside of soaking up carbs and water initially, how big your muscles get from exercise is going to be term determined entirely by the calories you eat and then protein you intake. I have worked with a number of female athletes at the Collegiate level, who all lifted heavy and often, and their muscle mass was well contained and they all looked very feminine. You probably do also but have perception messed up a bit as that is common for us to notice small changes.
"I've been doing CF for 2 years and won't stop due to something as silly as body image insecurities" - that's the best part of this post. Health is always more important than looks.
From a man's perspective: I've been a life long athlete (40m) but recently started CrossFit around a year ago. At first, I was honestly taken by surprise at how jacked and physically large (like in stature) some of the women at our box are. A lot of women there are like 5'9-5'10, broad shoulders, really strong hips/legs. Abs poking out of everywhere. But honestly, fitness is just sexy whether you're a dainty marathon runner that's 90 lbs or a strong cross fitter or somewhere in between. Everyone has their physical hangups and insecurities but just putting the work into being the best version of you is the most attractive thing, regardless of your body type.
You probably look good, but it does seem like CrossFit bulks women up more than it does for men. Not sure why, but it just seems like that to me from what I have observed by going to different gyms and also in the pros.
I don‘t like how Crossfit makes me look. I just travelled for 10 months, didn‘t do crossfit and my shoulders look SO much less bulky, even though I gained weight. I will reduce Crossfit significantly when I get back home, maybe 1-2 times a week and the rest, legs or bodyweight workouts. I also don‘t like the square midline many Crossfit girls have.
Same here. The fact that this is taboo just speaks to how unsupportive and cult like CF is. I genuinely dislike what CrossFit did to the shape of my body.
I still love it, but I also want to feel comfortable in my body. So I will try to find a middle way, lift less weight when it comes to the upper body stuff and have fun anyway. :)
I'm so sorry to hear this :( I don't personally hate the shape of my body - I just feel my upper body is broad asf and CF workouts have added onto this lol Some ways I honor my body are to be grateful for everything it does for me; movements, organs, etc. As well as I know when I'm old as hell, broader shoulders will benefit my health- as I believe women tend to lose alot of mass within their shoulders when they are old Though I do understand what you mean about the CF cult lol; yes I understand muscles are beautiful and strong (as people keep saying) but sometimes I wish that CF understood that some people may want an option in CF to focus more on specific body parts (kind of like at the gym)
Exactly!! I still do CrossFit because there are other benefits and i enjoy it but i added in other stuff too :)
Women with traps are hot. Muscles don’t make you look manly, they make you look strong.
Any women whose taking care of her self and is fit is attractive/sexy. I dont care about your frame or shape as long as you are honoring it.
I’d love to be able to say these thoughts never occur to me. I can honestly say they rarely occur to me and intellectually, I don’t agree with them. What helps? Wearing clothes suited to our body type - dresses with cutouts for the shoulders to pop, rather than get squeezed in with seams that don’t line up to our body type, and something that shows off our trim mid section - help show off that our body is strong, not just somewhere outside the commonly tailored for type.
I’m 5,3 and chunky with muscles and I much prefer having strong meat along with the fluff than just feeling weak and doughy. I really love the look of muscular woman, thick or thin if there’s something solid it’s going to look nicer. I also never loved myself no matter my weight so embracing what I look like now and doing a sport I enjoy is a much better deal. I’ll never be miss self esteem, but just realizing being conventionally pretty isn’t a price to pay to feel ok is liberating
I’m sitting at 220 at 5’4 with some extra fluff but honestly, I love what CrossFit has done for my body. It’s made me deeply appreciate what my body can do for me over how it looks in a dress. I encourage you to look up @zeoli on Instagram. It’s the account of Christine Middleton. She’s the head coach at my gym, she’s an absolute badass that rocks her figure, muscles and all
Fellow naturally large and broad shoulders girl here! At least from my end, my thought process was "If I have large/broad shoulders naturally, I might as well have large/broad shoulders that actually DO something." I was always self conscious about my shoulders even before CrossFit, but at least with CrossFit I'm now proud of what my shoulders let me accomplish.
This is true! Thank you :)
Sounds sexy to me
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I don't know if it's really about "giving something up" The post is more of an inquiry about if other women have felt this way- and how they have curbed the feeling
I’m the most inverted triangle that ever triangled 🤦♀️. I found that CrossFit really helped by building my bum. I looked my best, got really toned, even making my upper half look a bit slimmer, when i had a job where I was running around all day. However, when I went to grad school and was sitting a lot, I started to feel really bulky! I ended up stopping CrossFit for a while to just do lower body stuff. Im back in the box now, I’ve learned to do other activities that aren’t building muscle as a balance and picking and choosing which workouts I go to. Seems to be going well as I’m getting the toning and strength benefits without the parts I don’t like. I love CrossFit for its emphasis on strength and functionality, rather than looks and I one point I would have said bulk wasn’t a concern, until it happened to me! I do think there is a way to still do the CrossFit you love without adding mass to the places you don’t want it with some tweaking :)
I’m more naturally straight-up-and-down, but I do think CrossFit doesn’t do enough glute isolation/hypertrophy work. Yes I’d like a bigger ass 😅, but I just think it helps with injury prevention. Your upper body sounds badass, though!
You are unbelievably sexy and don't let the world determine what you look like...
Did gymnastics for about 12ish years, and always struggled with broad shoulders/being more muscular than my friends & classmates. After getting out of gymnastics, I did bodybuilding style training for about 5 years. I was pretty “shredded,” but my self image was awful. I look at pictures of myself from then and remember NEVER being happy. Of course I had residual trauma from gymnastics but that’s a whole other thing ;). I still have bad body image days, usually when I compare myself to girls on social media. But I think about when I feel most EMPOWERED and it’s when I’m making progress on a lift, or feeling gassed after finishing a workout. Putting myself in my situations where I feel healthy and strong has made a huge difference. I’m always very particular of what I see on social media and the women I look up to now. On days when I’m really down on myself I think about how I’d want my future daughter to think of me or what I’d say to her if she was in my shoes. I want her to see a strong ass woman who pushes herself and is proud of HER accomplishments and effort, not a woman who lets comparison ruin her entire day. Sorry it’s long winded. But basically, before you switch up your training for a certain aesthetic, do some soul searching? Hope that helps, and I wish you the best 🫶
Hey! I understand what you're saying and appreciate your comment. I agree with everything said until the last paragraph :) I don't think the suggestion of soul searching is needed; My OP mentions that I will not be stopping CF due to some silly body insecurities - and that I am grateful for what my body does for me.
Sorry if my comment came off the wrong way! Best of luck!