Feel Great About Your Build
All of us today are way too self-conscious about our bodies. We believe there’s a specific way that every person should look, leaving no leeway for variability in builds. Most commonly, men believe they should look massively muscular, and women believe they should look extremely skinny. Despite knowing that different people have different builds, we’re all guilty of falling for these stereotypes. So let’s take a breather from our preconceptions and remember a few things…
- For both men and women, there are different builds. Some men are naturally bigger, some naturally smaller. Same with women.
- All of the builds look good.
That being said, don’t fall into the trap of believing that your build can be an excuse for being underweight or overweight. While you may be a man who is 5′5 and your natural weight is around 135, that doesn’t mean that it’s okay for you to be 120. If you’re a woman who is 5′6 and has a natural weight of 140, you shouldn’t be weighing 170.
That isn’t to say that if a man wants to put on a few more pounds of muscle, or a woman wants to lose a couple more pounds of fat, that you shouldn’t. You should. Me personally, I used to be a skinny 140 at 5′11. Now I’m a muscular 155, and still putting on weight, since I feel I should be a bit bigger. That being said, I understand that for my build and height it would probably be ridiculous to weigh 200, even if it’s muscle. My friend though, who is around 6′2 with a large frame, looks skinny when he weighs 200. That’s why it’s so important to understand your build when getting into shape!
Once you know your body-frame and your natural weight (here’s a calculator I found to help you do that) , you can then get fit with a better understanding of where your body naturally wants to be. Not only will you feel great, you’ll look great too!
-Rafi
