thanks for posting this - i know some women who really, really need to read it!

cheers!

-mistress k

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ill advised racing inc.

I dislike the title. It implies that thin athletes aren't real.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

..yet the term "real women" has, for ages, been a way to politely refer to women who don't fit the toastrack fashion model mold. it's very nearly derogatory, but this article does a decent job of taking it back for those of us who will never be 100lbs without a well-advanced terminal disease.

cheers!

-mistress k

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__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.

In many of these sports, these women excel BECAUSE of their weight not despite it. It was interesting to me that Lindsey Vonn is the only skier able to control men's downhill skis - which she is able to do because of her strength and weight. Her weight helps her ski faster.

And a lot of this extra weight is pure muscle- not fat. If they gave up their respective sports they would likely lose weight as the muscle disappears.

To compare a 5'4" average American woman who weighs the same as a 5'4" Olympic bobsledder and presume they have the same body is kind of ridiculous. Even the figure skaters have REALLY strong leg muscles.

Excellent point!

I think it is great to publish heights and weights of these extremely fit and muscular women. It reinforces that muscle IS heavy and THAT'S OK because it's performance enhancing!

However, I hope the average sedentary 5'4" overweight woman wouldn't use those stats to justify a too heavy weight when she has next to no muscle!

"I think it is great to publish heights and weights of these extremely fit and muscular women. It reinforces that muscle IS heavy and THAT'S OK because it's performance enhancing! "

I agree. While some women may try to justify their sedentary weight, I find this refreshing because I am not a waif-like triathlete and have a good amount of muscle - yet my belly is flat and my arms are toned. And sometimes I have to remind myself or check myself when I hear - I'm X foot X inches and weigh XXX and should lose 20 lbs to be at race weight, I'm bulky... and yet, I was about the same as their current height and weight.

I think here as women we should encourage each other with threads like this! Keep it up!

The message that needs to get across is to do the best with what genetics you've got. There is a fine line between that message and the message that excess fat is okay.

Last week I was looking at Canada's XC skiers, who arguably are the fittest people around, on the CTV website. They've posted their height and weight. I love it. I see that at my ideal race weight, I'm about the same size as them. Meanwhile, I go to a running race and feel like a cow.

I agree that it's always great to see women athletes of all sizes showcased and what's been said before is true. It's really important for people to realize that muscle weighs twice what fat does so if someone is 5'6" and 150 lbs but they are mostly muscle they'll look dramatically different from someone who's the same height and weight but is mostly fat. I like to showcase women with muscles in my photography to show that it is beautiful so it was great to read this.

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genex magazine

Only if you specify that you have equal volumes of muscle and fat.


1 lb muscle = 1 lb fat ;-)


sorry... math and sciency... can't resist

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

good point! :)

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genex magazine

I've long thought that it would be better if women's sports did the same as men's sports -- list both height and weight of the athletes. It's very noticeable to look at a roster, or watch TV coverage, of a women's sport and see only height listed, and then look at the men in the same sport and see both height and weight listed.

I'm a guy, so I don't know the perspective that you women have. But I'm a husband and also a dad of a teenage girl who is about to turn 15 and plays club soccer and other sports. On this point, my view is that it can only help to have to have more information out there about more realistic weights, especially for healthy, physically fit women. Because it seems that pretty much the only information, or at least the predominant info, in the public eye on weight of women comes from celebrities and models who are definitely on the "waif" end of the spectrum. So much societal pressure is on girls and women to be thin that it should only help for them to see that many women who are undeniably healthy and physically fit just happen to be "much heavier" than what popular culture thinks is "ideal."

Absolutely, someone who is a certain ht & wt but fat and sedentary is nowhere near as healthy and fit as someone with the same ht & wt who is athletic and active. But this is true for men and women. Are there sedentary men who think they're in great shape because they know they weigh the same as a NFL linebacker? Maybe, but my guess is you can't help those guys anyway. Probably the same holds true for any woman who thinks she is fit simply because she weighs as much as Lindsay Vonn.

To me, weight is not an important number. Far more important are simply being active and eating well. Doing those two things will usually put you at a healthy (and healthily-achieved) weight for you -- whatever that number is.

Anyway, that's my view on it as a dad/husband.