I am. My love of the great outdoors and my redneck upbringing means that I have been hunting since I was a kid. I also happen to like game. It is a great source of lean protein. But I digress.
I have been on the hunt for some time to find an example of a body image that I would like to embody. The people at Beach Body are great and I realize that they are real people, but they are also fitness models. They try-out to be on the videos, they are the people in Fitness Magazine and Men's Health. They make the cover of magazines because of their incredibly fit (and lean) bodies. My hat is off to them. They are all amazing athletes. But, and here is the but, if I am looking for a body type to work towards, a body to compare myself to, it is HIGHLY unlikely that I will ever achieve their level of fitness or their version of lean. Now, I know that I have preached time and time again that comparison is the thief of joy. Still true. But it is also important to have a goal and to be able to visualize that goal. That is what I am trying to do here.
The first person I found was at the cancer center. Sitting around waiting with Gram, I decided to pick up something to read. Enter Ronda Rousey. She too is on the cover of a magazine, but she is far from skinny and far from being a fitness model. She is UFC all-star Ronda Rousey. She is changing the face of UFC fighting and changing body image standards for women everywhere. She is tough, yet sensitive, motivated, successful, and hard-working. She is on the go ALL. THE. TIME. She doesn't just have a booming fight career, but she is now popping up in action movies all over the place. She has also been an Olympic medalist. Her income from films far trumps what she makes as a fighter, but fighting is still her top priority. Why? Because she is an athlete, she is the best at what she does, and she loves every minute of it. She looks strong, not cut. She looks like she isn't afraid to eat a cheeseburger every so often and can still run five miles if she needs to. She has actual thighs. That's what I want. Healthy. Strong. Normal.
The second body I found wasn't actually found by me. I saw a link to this article on FB. An old friend of mine tagged her teenage daughter to have her read it. I thought it was genius. This gal is also an Olympic athlete. Hammer thrower, Amanda Bingson. She is a stud. Her attitude is what we should all strive for. She loves every bit of her body and makes no apologies for one inch of it. In the article she is shown throwing the hammer... Naked. I'm not going to be able to say it any better than she does in this article. I recommend the read. Long story short, she too is strong, healthy, and normal. She has an A-mazing outlook on her self-image and I hope that she medals when she goes to the next Olympics. I know I'll be cheering for her!
http://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/page/bodyamandabingson/hammer-thrower-amanda-bingson-says-athletes-come-all-shapes-sizes-espn-magazine-body-issue
So, the hunt is over. I found two spectacular women to model my fitness regime after. I'm gonna keep on trucking until I have at least an ounce of the confidence and presence that these women have. I salute them for being the faces (and bodies) for women and girls to look up to.
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