Sexism and weightlifting

I sometimes get friend requests from strangers on Facebook.  Usually when I take a look at their profile they are mostly guys and girls who are into fitness.  So I just accept their friend request and classify them under "Fitness Junkie".

Ever so often I get a request from some guy who has a  profile pic of himself (I assume that is himself) shirtless.  And obviously when you pose shirtless you have to look good.  And on my side, whenever I see these kind of profile pics I automatically assume they've got hold of my profile from the myriad of fitness pages I 'liked' on Facebook.  So naturally I just accept the friend request and categorize them under "Fitness Junkie".

Perhaps I shouldn't assume, as I have actually received some stupid comments (well, I think it's stupid) from these buggers that are in my friends list like:

1. You lift weights?
2. Oh, you're into bodybuilding?

And other similar things.  I have this one fuckwit who commented on an article I shared on FB about the correct squat technique... and the whole conversation ran something like this:

Fuckwit:  You're into bodybuilding?

Me:  No I'm not into bodybuilding.  I'm more into powerlifting.

Fuckwit:  Oic... really?  But you look so small (I just LOVE the condescending tone)

Me:  So?  Small doesn't necessarily mean weak and big doesn't necessarily mean strong

He has yet to reply.  But what irks me is that someone who is into the sport of bodybuilding/powerlifting (I assume) would make such a stupid comment like "you look so small".  Anyone who has actually spend time to do a bit of research would know that size does not determine strength.  There are so many examples of 'small looking' powerlifters who can lift monumental weights.

Besides, I am a woman for crying out loud.  Add in the fact that I am an ectomorph and you can easily deduce that there's only so much growing that I can do.  It's guys like this particular Fuckwit I encountered that make women shy away from the sport.

Luckily for me, I have a lot of guy friends who are supportive of my passion in weightlifting.  It's too bad that there are those who have a chauvinistic and cynical attitude towards women who are into the sport.  I'm not sure whether it is because of the lack of knowledge or just their overall attitude towards the opposite sex, but all I can say is I am not the only one who is subject to stupid remarks by ignorant guys.

p/s  I am NOT declaring war against men.  A lot of people that have helped me along the way are great guys who are very happy to see women indulge in weightlifting.  But like many things in life... the minority who are opposed to the idea makes the most noise.

About conditioning... Or the lack of it

Strength and conditioning goes hand in hand. Muscle without muscle endurance does not translate into much. Conditioning work can be grueling yet fun at the same time. If you decide to indulge in only one form of masochism, doing conditioning work should be it.

I for one am worried about my muscle endurance. Yes I am getting stronger, but is my strength akin to a spark.. It burns brightly and brilliantly for a few seconds and then it fizzles out or is more like a burning candle... Burning steadily for hours.

Looking at things now, I am more of the former than the latter. But I am slowly trying to improve things. I do my kettlebell swings on upper body day. But upper body days come once or twice a week and I should do conditioning a bit more frequently.

So I'm looking at swinging on lower body days as well. Just to up the ante a bit. Once it gets to easy than perhaps I'll incorporate some snatches as finishers.

P.s. I do 3 sets of 30 swings as finishers on upper body days.

Increased caloric intake = more mass?

I'm not feeling so good right now. I was under medication, and i guess my stomach wasn't agreeable to it as I kept on puking after I take it. So I have decided to ditch the darned pills and visit my doctor and see if I can get something milder which my tender tummy can handle.

Anyway, prior to me puking my guts out I was actually about 49kg which is pretty impressive for me. Impressive because I didn't really try to devour more than what I usually eat. The only additional 'meals' that I took were cashew nuts and soy bean milk prior to a training session and soy milk again as a post workout drink.

The rest of the time it's the typical day consisting of breakfast, lunch and dinner.

From this little outcome I can conclude that ectomorph me don't really need to stuff myself silly with Big Macs and fries just to get some extra calories in. Eating fairly clean and weight training regularly does the trick. Again, I'd like to emphasize that eating nutrient dense food, and eating clean I.e. Unprocessed food would help you gain mass without gaining too much fat along the way.

At least this is the case for me.

The by-product of weight lifting

I like the way I look. Sure, I'm the typical ectomorph and can't build muscle as well as my more genetically endowed counterparts... But hey, it's okay. When I first started hitting the gym it was more for killing time and improving how I look.

But as I progressed, my objectives changed. I'm now more concerned about getting as strong as I can get. I only do very basic, compound exercises: squat, deadlift, standing press. I add some basic bodyweight stuff like the humble pushup and rows. And of course, I throw in kettle bell swings as well.

I don't work on any particular body part.

Looking good is the by-product of lifting heavy.

Of course, diet plays a role. No doubt about that. Ectomorphs have some leeway when it comes to diet. We pretty much are able to eat anything without accumulating a tub of fat around our bellies.

But what I am trying to get at is this: forget about chasing the pump or working on certain parts of your body and ignoring the rest. Your body will only look disproportionate. Concentrate on getting strong and agile and before you know it you'll have your dream body.

P/s I don't look like Sarah O'Connor in Terminator 2. But I can safely say I look better than all of the sedentary girls out there. The only advantage they have against me is that they have boobs and I'm pretty much an airport runway.

Strengh Training Books

Let's face it.  Most fitness magazines suck.  They tell you to do 10,000 crunches and slave over the treadmill.  And when you don't get results they entice you to buy yet another useless issue and the vicious cycle starts all over again.

And then you have the internet.  The internet could be a good friend or a sneaky bastard.  It feeds you with a wealth of information.  But not all of the information are legit.  You have to sift through a lot of junk to get to the gems.

As for me, I prefer to read books to get some credible facts.  Ehem... since I got myself an iPad I have procured quite a few fitness books.  Some of which I've already read through.  And many more still to be read.  Here's a list of what I've read and what I'm about to read:

1. Power to the People - Pavel Tsatsouline (I recommend that anyone who is interested in strength training to read this book first and foremost)
2. Enter the Kettlebell - Pavel Tsatsouline
3. Starting Strength - Mark Rippetoe
4. The Poliquin Principles - Charles Poliquin
5. Beyond Bodybuilding - Pavel Tsatsouline

Yeah I know.  I have quite a few of Pavel Tsatsouline's books.  He has a way of explaining complex fitness science concepts in a simple way.  It makes learning easier.  And it makes the information stick in your head.  That's what good teachers do.  

Do you have any fitness books that is a particular favourite?  Care to share?