I’ve always wanted to be curvy. As someone who is very short (I’m 5’1″ on a good day) and naturally has broad shoulders and a large waist, I never thought I could achieve the curves I saw on billboards and magazines. I’ve been told since I was a kid that I have a stocky, athletic build. While there’s nothing wrong with that, I wanted to see if it was possible to naturally build my own curves.
Before
I had heard from various people (OK, maybe most of these people were on Instagram) that lifting weights was the quickest and most effective way to shed fat, build lean muscle, and accentuate your body’s curves. I wanted to speak to an expert to find out if this was true, so I chatted with Dee (Diksha) Gautham, NASM-certified personal trainer and NPC bikini competitor.
Weightlifting, the form of exercise that is traditionally considered masculine, has helped me feel more feminine than ever before. “Muscle adds an amazing toned, feminine definition to the body,” she explained. “What will happen if you train with weights is that you’ll get sexy murves (muscle curves)!” I love lifting weights, so I figured it was worth a shot.
Over the last four months, I’ve dedicated myself to a rigorous weightlifting program. I spend three sessions a week on lower body – hip thrusts, deadlifts, squats, etc. – and spend another three sessions on upper body – one day is shoulders, another is chest and triceps, and the last is back and biceps. I will admit that this requires a lot of time and effort in the gym, but I love to work out (especially when weights are involved), and I’m fortunate enough to have the time to exercise this often. I limited my cardio to three or four times a week; any more than that would have taken away from my muscle gains.
Just last week I realized that the curves were finally starting to set in. Not only has my butt gotten much bigger, but my waist has gotten smaller and my shoulders and upper back have really toned up, which makes my waist look even smaller. When I look at the before-and-after pictures of myself, I can’t believe how far I’ve come.
After
Dee said that she too has seen herself develop new curves in her body after she started strength training regularly, and you’ll probably find many more women on Instagram who say the same.
One thing that many women forget about when…
No comments:
Post a Comment