What's Wrong with "Bulky"

I am so ashamed that I haven't updated this blog in a month!

So much has been happening, and I don't want to make any excuses, but I do want to let you know what I've been up to that has kept me from writing any posts.

 First, I am almost finished with my first two college classes since deciding to go back to school. Originally I went back to school with the goal of eventually becoming a Registered Dietician. So much about this goal beckons to me still, BUT the second time-consumer I have been distracted with has me wondering if I actually should get a second degree…
I have finally put my first degree to use and have been teaching FAST here on post for our wonderful Illesheim soldiers for the past three weeks. There is so much that I love about teaching adults, and through this opportunity I have been fortunate enough to be reminded of all the reasons I wanted to be a teacher in the first place. I hope that I made a positive change in my students' lives, because they certainly have made a positive change in mine!

Along with the job and school aspect of life, I have been Crossfitting in the evenings now because of my new work schedule; which pretty much makes for full days.
ALSO, I had an awesome visit from my first friend ever and we spent all of last weekend visiting Christmas markets (Nuremberg, Bad Windsheim, and Rothenberg), drinking gluwein, and catching up on about a billion years of lost time! The past month has been absolutely wonderful (minus the time that I was missing the hubs who was in the field training) and has also been a thought-provoking time for me.

Tonight's post is short, though I want to get more into this topic later...

When I started Crossfitting, I jumped on the bandwagon of telling my female friends who were interested in trying it, but scared or intimidated,
"Don't worry about getting huge, all the girls I work out with are super fit, but none of them look manly or anything."
I feel like this "encouragement" is almost built into the Crossfit culture. I see it in pretty much every article that I read about women doing Crossfit. I actually see it in almost every article I read about any kind of working out. And it used to make sense to me. I used to like that distinction.

But you know what I want to know?

What's so wrong with "bulky"?????

I have actually started to get kind of annoyed with all these assertions about how women should not be afraid to lift heavy weights because they won't bulk up. And this is why:

FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION!!!

In brief summary: Our bodies have evolved to have the skeletal shape, organ systems, muscle fibers, etc. that we have today because this body design is the best structure (or form) for the functions that we do daily. In other words, no matter how you LOOK, you should be using your legs, arms, stomach, butt, heart, etc. for their intended purposes; eventually you will find functional translates into beautiful!

I want every part of my body to be the best at doing what nature intended it to do. Period. I want to be able to jump high, I want to be able to carry anything and everything, I want to be able to run as long and as fast as may be necessary. I want to squat, lift, hang, pull, push to my body's highest ability.

If I gain muscle and get "bulky" through this process, then AMEN! I love looking in the mirror and seeing more muscle than I could see six months ago. I revel in the ability to flex and see my biceps, delts, and traps. I feel strong and confident when my clothes fit tightly around my shoulders….

(If this is "bulky", please sign me up!)

To all you women out there- when you tap into your body's potential and begin to see the limitless possibilities for your strength, fitness, and overall health, you will not care if you are "bulky" vs "toned". All you will care about is that you are healthier and stronger than you were yesterday. And if you are anything like me, you are looking forward to the day that somebody (meant as either an insult or a compliment) says, 

"Damn, that girl is jacked!"