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The Funhouse Mirror Effect Part 2: The Women’s Mirror

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It almost seems to be an inherent part of a woman’s nature to be self-effacing, so much so that women often downplay or neglect their beauty and talents. In fact, I am willing to bet that if you placed an average looking man and an average looking woman in front of a mirror and asked them to assess their physical appearance, the man would concentrate on his assets, while the woman would immediately zone in on her imperfections and problem areas. Though the natural human tendency is to practice self-enhancement, in which we rank our abilities or physical attractiveness as higher than it actually is, women are exposed to physical ideals which bust their confidence and often plant a seed of self-loathing. How can an average woman feel good about herself when she sees rail thin models in fashion magazines who are excessively Photoshopped? Consider this: the average high fashion model has these body statistics:

Fashion Editorial Model
FEMALE: Usually 5’8” – 6’0” (175 cm) in height. Tall, thin build, narrow hips, smaller bust, and usually young. Ages start at fourteen up to early twenties.
Weight: 113 – 128 lbs.
Bust: 32” – 34”, cup A, B, sometimes C
Waist: 26” maximum
Hips: 35 1/2” maximum

Thank goodness the tide is turning in favor of a healthy, realistic view of women’s bodies. Women are beginning to understand that fashion magazines depict a view of the female form which is so far removed from reality that it isn’t reasonable to compare themselves to it. I love this passage from an article I read on this subject:

Perhaps we’re finally starting to realize that so much of what we see on TV, in the movies and in magazines is actually fake. A few women’s blogs — particularly Jezebel — have become sort of watchdogs for Photoshop fakery in women’s magazines. Most recently, the blog attained an untouched photo of Jennifer Aniston, posting the untouched picture next to the airbrushed photo of the actress that appeared in an Australian magazine.
“I think those are great because they really remind people that what they’re seeing in the magazines isn’t reality,” says David Frederick, a psychology researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, who co-authored the survey along with researcher Kim Elsesser and professor Janet Lever of California State University, Los Angeles. “You’re taking someone who’s already considered really attractive, and then you’re saying, ‘She’s not enough; we have to do more to her.’ So you’re literally creating an impossible ideal. Even the perfect women aren’t perfect.”

I think it will take a while before we women are completely healed from the skewed perception of ideal female beauty which countless magazines, Barbie dolls, and fashion billboard ads have imprinted on us. It is that skewed view which contributes to the flaw-finding gaze which many women adopt when regarding themselves in the mirror and which makes that reflective surface act more like a funhouse fat mirror.

Oil and Water: Why Crossfit Is Detrimental For Bodybuilders

drstaceynaito 4 Comments

I will boldly state right now that I cannot stand Crossfit, and will be delighted when its novelty wears off. There are substantial reasons for my argument against the principles of Crossfit, especially when it comes to speaking to NPC and IFBB competitors who believe that Crossfit will enhance their efforts to get into contest shape. Not only will Crossfit widen your waistline as a result of the constant heavy lifting, it will also cause cortisol spikes which make your body hold onto belly fat for dear life.

Here are the nine fundamental exercises which Crossfit is built upon:

Air Squat
Front Squat
Overhead Squat
Shoulder Press
Push Press
Push Jerk
Deadlift
Sumo Deadlift High Pull
Medicine Ball Clean

I can only imagine how many lumbar disc herniations have occurred in weekend athletes as a result of performing most of these movements, not to mention the rotator cuff strains and tears from the stress on the shoulders. I also find it pretty annoying that Crossfit renamed the free squat or bodyweight squat in an effort to be catchy and original. What’s more, I see no point in getting a client to perform 200 or 300 “air” squats in a row, not unless your objective is to drive your client to complete exhaustion and overtraining. Based on what I have witnessed with the design of Crossfit regimens, exhaustion and overtraining is the inevitable outcome.

Crossfit routines also incorporate other exercises such as pullups and pushups. What bothers me is that these movements are performed in a high rep range, to the tune of 100 or more. Then the client may be pushed to do tire flips or some of the asinine Olympic lifts that Crossfit holds so dear to its faddish foundation. I am NOT impressed with the super high intensity workouts that define Crossfit. They tax the central nervous system to an excessive degree. Crossfit fanatics may love the feeling of being pushed to the limit, but this sport is downright DANGEROUS. When the body is fatigued to the extent that it is in a Crossfit routine, the risk for muscle breakdown and frank rhabdomyolysis is considerable. No physical discipline is worth the risk of landing in the hospital.

I understand that Crossfit offers a great social environment and a feeling of camaraderie, but at what price? Every single person I know who is a fan of Crossfit has been injured while doing it. The suggested Crossfit regimen of 3 days on, 1 day off is too rigorous when you consider the fact that Olympic lifts are part of the core of Crossfit training. The body simply cannot repair itself in enough time. To fatigue a Crossfit client by having him/her do a WOD (workout of the day for those of you not familiar with Crossfit) and then stack on deadlifts for reps or 5 foot high box jumps is insane. Benefits drop dramatically when the body is completely depleted like that. The Crossfit mentality of deplete and endure is pure bullshit. Bodybuilders, in contrast, train hard and heavy, and yes, they often train to depletion or failure, but they certainly aren’t going to attempt 100 pullups after destroying a traditional back workout. They understand the law of diminishing returns all too well.

Proponents of Crossfit often state that the training is functional and enhances the day to day activities which people perform. When was the last time you had to do a clean and jerk while on the job? Unless you work as a firefighter, stock room clerk or some other physically demanding work role, I seriously doubt that you are performing movements which mimic what happens while in a Crossfit box. Besides, if you’re injured as a result of Crossfit (or should I say WHEN), you can’t possibly perform any challenging physical movement which strains your injured body part.

Rich Froning World Champion Crossfit Athlete

Rich Froning World Champion Crossfit Athlete


Sadik Hadzovic IFBB Men's Physique Pro

Sadik Hadzovic IFBB Men’s Physique Pro


For those of you who compete in the NPC or IFBB (or INBA, WBFF, etc.), don’t expect to be able to incorporate Crossfit into your contest prep training and sculpt your physique in the manner required for bodybuilding. I actually had a client who begged me repeatedly to let her do Crossfit two days a week despite my recommendation that she abandon it and focus on traditional weight lifting. I finally acquiesced, and allowed her to incorporate Crossfit as part of her training. As I had predicted, she sustained an injury, her waist widened from all the heavy complex movements which made her midsection boxy, and she became soft as a result of the cortisol spikes which the high intensity Crossfit training created. After 3 weeks of seeing all her efforts from pre-Crossfit training unravel, I asked her to reconsider her decision to engage in Crossfit. As soon as she stopped doing Crossfit, her waist began to nip in, and her body began to tighten up again. Amen for old school weightlifting!

If it sounds like I am saying you will have to decide between doing Crossfit and competing in any of the bodybuilding divisions, I am. You simply cannot create the nipped in waist and beautiful taper that defines every single bodybuilding division. If you do Crossfit, you will create a strong body (plus some injuries), but you will also widen your silhouette and carry a layer of fat as a result of all that cortisol you will release from constant high intensity training. Look at a typical Crossfit athlete. Shoulders are broad, quads and hams are thick, and the abdominal region is thick and boxy. That is what happens when compound Olympic lifts are performed on a regular basis. If that is your aesthetic ideal, by all means knock yourself out with Crossfit, but you will be destroyed on a bodybuilding stage.

On the subject of Olympic lifts, even powerlifters have the sense not to rep out on these movements. Yet Crossfitters, blinded by the so-called warrior mentality that leads them to do stupid things that invite injury, will rep out on movements which recruit a tremendous amount of muscle fibers and hence tax the central nervous system. I am willing to bet that the Crossfit nation contends with adrenal burnout, permanent muscle damage, and repetitive tendon and ligament ruptures on a relatively consistent basis, and that such negative aspects will eventually cause the demise of this fad sport.

I will always staunchly defend the focus and the principles behind bodybuilding. I know that NPC and IFBB competitors are true warriors and know how to push through grueling training. I also strongly believe that for the most part, most competitors are smart enough not to overtrain or invite injury by performing movements which are biomechanically unsound. The world of bodybuilding not only rewards strength, but it also recognizes the aesthetic ideal which all bodybuilders aspire to achieve, regardless of division. Bodybuilding is not about flipping a massive tire across a gym, it’s about sculpting and defining muscle.

(Please also check out sportsuppguide.com for a posting of this article there.)

Are Bikini Competitors Getting More Ripped?

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I remember the general appearance of the top bikini competitors in the NPC in 2009 who eventually went on to earn IFBB Professional Status. With a couple of exceptions, these ladies displayed curvy yet toned bikini bodies without an excessive amount of muscular development in the quads, delts, or abs. Over the years, however, there has been an increasing degree of muscularity within the IFBB Pro ranks with a correspondingly lean and ripped group of ladies in the amateur ranks as well.

Jessica Anderson-women fitness models

Due to the extremely subjective nature of bodybuilding, it can be downright confusing to determine what the judges are looking for. Depending on the geographic region and level of competition, the ideal may lean towards a softer, curvier physique (as exemplified by Jessica Anderson who went Pro in 2009), or it may lean heavily towards an extremely lean, ripped body such as the one Nathalia Melo has brought to the Olympia stage. I completely understand the frustration which bikini competitors may face as they adjust their competition prep to come in looking a certain way, only to show up on the day of the contest and discover that the judging pendulum has swung in the opposite direction. This also explains in part why a competitor can go to one contest and do poorly, then hit another stage and place very well.

Nathalia Melo

Undoubtedly these ladies look incredible regardless of whether they are softer or more defined and muscular. But if you are a bikini competitor trying to determine what YOU should reach for with respect to degree of muscularity and conditioning, do some research into the region in which you are competing. I do know some competitors who are stubborn and who will not waver from their own personal ideal, but if you choose to do this, just be aware that while it may be rewarded eventually, there is just as good a chance that it will not. Judges look favorably upon competitors who work on weaker areas on their physiques.

There has been an increasing trend more recently towards a greater degree of muscularity and a leaner, yet compact, curvy, muscular frame without muscle separation. This will make it more difficult for a genetically blessed gal to simply jump onstage with little to no prep and get a high placing. I also strongly feel that this tendency legitimizes the division as a celebration of muscle and downplays the derogatory “T and A show” label that has been used unfairly by some naysayers.