I’m not expecting to walk out of the house and bump into a Sarah Hayes clone at the corner shop (nice as it would be), I’m under no illusions that pro female bodybuilders are everywhere. I’m thinking more of the unknown women, the women often referred to as the ‘Muscle Girl Next Door’.
I don’t live in London anymore, but neither do I live in the middle of nowhere. Surely you would think I’m going to see a few of those from time to time. But sadly, I don’t. And if I think back to when I did live in London, I didn’t see a lot of them there either. So who exactly do they live next door to?
Despite my (quite understandable) scepticism, they really are out there somewhere. Back in the days when trips to the newsagent’s was the only way to get my fix of female muscle, the women I saw were only ever big name bodybuilders or fitness competitors. Now, any woman who wants to share her newly-developed muscles with the world can do so, and fortunately for the female muscle head, lots of them are so inclined.
So they really are out there somewhere. And they’re not just posting images of themselves proudly flexing their new bits for our enjoyment, on muscle forums they’re asking for training tips, discussing nutrition, giving each other support and encouragement, and (as women are so good at doing) talking about how they feel about themselves and their bodies.
I just noticed a few days ago that my under arm jiggle went away! Now, my entire arm is firm.
A few weeks ago I frightened myself in the bathroom while I was washing my hands...I saw my arms in the mirror and there were these two balloons of biceps and flexing muscles in my lower arms.
My arms have always been wimpy, like I'd flex and tell my boyfriend to feel my bicep and he'd say "well, flex it!" AND I WAS FLEXING ALREADY! Haha. Pathetic little arms! NOW They are getting much more defined, and you can actually see them get BIGGER when I flex!
For the first time ever, I can actually see my abs in the mirror now thanks to re-working my diet and doing a lot of cardio.
I love when I find new lines. My biceps have recently begun to show more and my inner thighs... the sexiest muscle!
I've just recently noticed that I'm starting to see my triceps, and my shoulder muscles are more defined. I just realized this last night and I'm sooooo excited!
This morning while I was brushing my hair I noticed that I could see the muscles moving. Then I spent a few shameless minutes flexing and watching in the mirror.
Women feeling positive about having muscles and sharing that feeling can inspire others to do the same and add to the amount of female muscle in the world, which is, I’m sure you will agree, just wonderful. But there is another reason to celebrate the ‘Muscle Girl Next Door’.
Last month, I came across an article in the Mail Online that reported that Faddy diets and fears that muscles aren't feminine have left modern women weaker than their grannies. In the article, London-based physiotherapist Sammy Margo says we are facing a massive epidemic of weak women who have no muscle strength. Both skinny and overweight women face health problems in the future. The skinny have no muscles to support their skeleton while the overweight women have no muscles under the fat. Lack of muscle may lead to problems such as osteoporosis and fractures, arthritis and back pain.
It takes only a cursory comparison of the covers of men’s and women’s magazines to understand the differences in what motivates men and women to exercise, says the article. While men strive to get ‘the ultimate six-pack’ and ‘more body bulk now’, women’s objectives tend to be negative - to lose fat and burn calories rather than gain strength. The majority of young females want to look thin. They don’t eat much, they don’t exercise much, and because of that they have weak musculatures - it’s really not a healthy way to be.
The ‘Muscle Girl Next Door’ then, is not only looking better (although that’s just our opinion), and feeling better, but they are also more than a few sets ahead of the vast majority of their peers when it comes to strength and future health.
As a reflection of this, I think I’m going to stop using the phrase ‘Girl Next Door’. It’s not only inaccurate in the specific sense that it doesn’t apply to my neighbours (past or present), but it’s also inaccurate in the general sense that the vast majority of women are, according to the article anyway, totally lacking in any muscle at all.
I propose ‘Future Goddess’ as a better description. Again, for two reasons. Number one is that, well, every muscle goddess started out as a ‘Girl Next Door’, so even if only one of these hundreds and thousands of budding muscle babes make it to the pros, they are all potential goddesses. Secondly, well, if the research reported in the article is to be believed, these women will, in the future, seem like goddesses compared to their peers: strong and dynamic as opposed to hunched and arthritic.
Theresa Ivancik (from Area Orion)
Every goddess was once a ‘Future Goddess’
They’ll be a breed of super women. Super women who bucked the trend and encouraged others to do so too. They will grow in number, and with a bit of luck, one of them might move in next door!
Hail the Future Goddess!
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