Love Your Body

t Girls Gone Strong, we have a saying:

“Train because you love your body, not because you hate it.”

This is an incredibly important sentiment. So often we spend time focusing on and dissecting our perceived flaws. Today, we want you to put your attention towards what you love about your body, and train with that love in mind. To get you started, we’re telling you what we love about our own bodies, and we hope you’ll join in via the comments below!

Alli Loves Her Butt

On my build, my hips are relatively narrow, but my rear end is full and gives me quite a feminine curve. Maybe my backside is part genetics; maybe it’s a by-product of all the years of athletics and training. Either way, I wouldn’t change a thing.

I’ve always been happy with my backside and never really focused on the aesthetics of it when I train. For years I played soccer, I ran and sprinted and I’ve run the gamut of lower body exercises. Having a balanced training program in movements and muscles is important to me, so I make sure to get plenty of hip extension work, which emphasizes glute engagement. Naturally, my posterior side gets plenty of work as well, with any lower body compound lifts, athletic movements, sports, etc.

Why do I love my butt?

My Butt is powerful. My favorite female build is probably that of a sprinter/track athlete. Take Sonya Richards Ross, Allyson Felix and Lolo Jones for example, its no surprise that these female Olympic athletes all have a great set of shoulders, abs, glutes and legs. The glutes are a powerhouse muscle group! The Gluteus Maximus is of the largest and strongest muscles in the body.

 

One of my favorite articles on the glutes is from a summer edition of ESPN Magazine, titled “Call of Booty” by David Fleming that says: “Among elite athletes, a well-developed backside is a badge of honor, a bulbous symbol of a lifelong, body-altering commitment to the craft.” – I say, Amen.

My butt makes those jeans look good. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t love my booty so much if it weren’t for the aesthetics as well. From dresses to jeans to spandex, my rear end is one of my favorite accessories. It’s a curve that ranks one of my favorites and screams both athletic and feminine.

Molly Loves Her Core

Core is a word that gets thrown around a lot. People take it to mean abs, glutes, shoulders, trunk and a whole slew of other definitions. For this post, I am referring specifically to my anterior core (read: my abs).

Why Do I Love My Core?

 My core is strong. It allows me to transfer force between my upper and lower body.  It allows me to lift heavy things.  It stabilizes my spine when I squat and deadlift.  It makes me feel powerful.

My core keeps me healthy. Not only does a strong core help keep you safe when you’re training and safe as you age, but about 80% of your immune system resides in your gut, and a healthy gut means a well-functioning immune system.  I keep my gut healthy by taking digestive enzymes and probiotics, as well as avoiding a lot of processed foods and gut irritants.  I am also working on slowing down and being more mindful when I eat, and trying to chew my food more thoroughly.The other way I use my core to stay healthy is by focusing on diaphragmatic breathing, which drives posture, helps with stress management, and much more.My core nourishes my body. As I just discussed, the majority of your immune system resides in your gut, and not only does having good digestion help ensure a healthy gut, it also ensures that you get the most nourishment from the food you eat.  It should be no surprise that the more nutrients your body can assimilate from your food, the healthier your body will be and the better you feel overall. You will have more energy for your workouts, you will think more clearly, and you will be in an all-around better mood!

My core will be a safe place to create, house, and protect my future children. I don’t have children yet, but I am pretty darn sure I want to have them someday!  My Mom always tells me the most wonderful stories about how she loved being pregnant (yes, she was one of *those* women ;-D) and how much she loved carrying my sisters and me in her belly and feeling us grow and move.  While I am definitely several years off from having kids, I love the idea that my body will be responsible for creating a life, housing it, and protecting it!  What a big and special responsibility that is.

My core looks great naked. I would definitely be lying if I didn’t mention that one of my favorite things about my core is how it looks.  Even when I am not super lean, my tummy stays relatively lean and my abs are almost always visible.  My waist is relatively small compared to my more ample hips, thighs, buttocks, and breasts, and while it can be difficult to shop for clothing at times, I wouldn’t trade my shape for anything (which is good, because, well, I can’t!  I’m kinda stuck with it!)

Neghar Loves Her Shoulders

In high school, my nickname among my softball teammates was “Delts of Doom.” It’s funny that even then-when weight training was a dreaded, unproductive after school activity in the old, dirty basement gym-my shoulders were noticeable. I never trained them specifically, they were just…beastly. But over the years that I’ve been training heavy, they have certainly earned the title given to me so many years ago, and I hold said title with honor.

Why Do I Love My Shoulders?

My shoulders are strong. One of my favorite patterns to train is vertical pushing, or anything overhead. Whether it’s a kettlebell press, a pair of bells, a barbell press, a barbell jerk, a turkish get up or a bottom up press–A heavy thing over my head feels awesome. I’ve always excelled at overhead pressing and TGUs and I attribute that in great deal to the strength and stability of my shoulder girdle. I’m able to move furniture and hoist heavy suitcases and other odd objects over my head, all with the help of my delts of doom. I love when someone asks me “do you need help with that?”. No thanks; I got this.

My shoulders are sexy. I don’t care if they’re big, these suckers are HAWT. I love wearing sleeveless tops and strapless dresses and showing off the shape of my delts. When people who don’t know me see my shoulders, they usually compliment them saying I must be pretty strong. There is no greater compliment than that!

My shoulders rip shirts. For real. This has happened to me on several occasions, and I have had to return shirts that tore through the armpit or avoided buying certain clothing altogether because it was just too tight around my delts. While this could be viewed as annoying, I think it’s hilarious-and empowering. It makes me feel like a 5’1”, Lululemon wearing version of the hulk.