Bulking up and developing obscene musculature is overwhelmingly one of the most common fears among women, and typically their reason for steering clear of CrossFit. My favorite excuse, is “I have to workout first, before I can start CrossFitting.”
The first three months of CrossFitting, I did nothing but watch the pounds fall off of my body, just as my pants did. I crept down from a tight size 14, to a 12, then 10, and all the way down to a 4 in three and a half months, I kid you not. The most amazing and ironic thing about my transformation is that I’ve NEVER worn a size 4; not in high school, not EVER.
Comfortably in a size 4, I’ve noticed that all my jeans are beginning to fit just a bit tighter in the thighs. Also, while I’m down to small shirts, they’re all snug around my shoulders and upper arms. Explanation? Baby, I’m bulking up, and I like it!
I have never received so many compliments on my arms, and looking in the mirror is always new and exciting, as a whole new body is staring back. I look at muscle definition where I never knew I had muscles, and at the pecs that have replaced my old “C” cups. This Halloween I finally got to show a little leg, and was proud when someone pointed out how muscular and long they looked (at 5′2″, long looking legs don’t happen too often).
CrossFit will bulk you up, but it won’t happen over night. When I started out, I squeezed into clothes reluctantly everyday. Getting dressed was really a chore, and I despised looking in the mirror, wearing shorts or skirts, and even showing my arms. I hadn’t owned a bikini since God knows when, and baring my stomach was absolutely out of the question. And then there was the muffin top; that perfectly disturbing roll around the midsection that draped uncomfortable over the top of my jeans, actually folding them down.
That muffin top is gone, I bought a bikini, showed my midsection at a few workouts and out in public on Halloween, and when I squeeze into clothes now it’s because of muscles, not fat. If visible strength is the price I have to pay to wear a bikini and size 4 jeans, I guess I just don’t see the problem.
I’m not an anomaly; CrossFit women are notoriously lean and mean. Robb Wolf, owner of CrossFit NorCal, presented the CF Nutrition Certification this fall in Bozeman, and revealed that the majority of women in his box are between size 2-4, and can deadlift 2-3X their body weight, whip out pull-ups and push-ups like it’s their job, and hold their own next to the guys. Now THAT’S what I’m talking about!
You can’t get fit before CrossFitting, and I guarantee you’ll never wake up one day miraculously looking like a competitive body builder, so what gives? You’ve got nothing to lose but the fat!
No Excuses
