Why being a girl with muscles is awesome

So after a nice boost of confidence yesterday, qualifying for weightlifting nationals, I decided to write about why being a girl with muscles is awesome.  I was bullied a lot in high school for looking the way that I do, but now that I'm discovering all sorts of things that my body is capable of, I've decided that having muscle is pretty awesome.

1) You get stared at pretty much everywhere you go.  I used to get pissed off, and thought people were being rude, but the truth is, you get to decide what those looks mean.  Most of the time, people are probably just impressed.  Let em stare.  Embrace being different in a world of people trying to fit in.

2) Girls with muscles attract guys with muscles.  I used to get upset because in high school and college I wasn't super popular with the guys.  Then I entered the real world, and started dating older guys who *gasp* have 30+lbs of muscle on me.  And then I realized what an idiot I was for being so upset that skinny guy on the swim team wasn't into me.  You get to be picky now, and you get that hot guy in the gym with the six pack, trust me on this one. :)

3) You never need to ask for help moving things.  Like 200lb couches.  Life is more convenient when you don't have to wait on a man to help you move things.  I once moved my entire apartment into a moving truck by myself (with a little help from the usps dude when I was having trouble with my dresser lol).  Independence is effing awesome.

4) Your arms look AWESOME in tank tops.  Nuff said.

5) People pretty much move out of my way when I walk into stores.  Sometimes being intimidating has its perks.

6) On a more serious note, being a strong woman means you're capable of defending yourself against creepy guys.  It's probably even more of a deterrent as well, and some don't even bother me after looking at my size.  I've had my share of run ins with creepy guys walking around New York City, but I knew if it came down to it, I'm probably faster and stronger than any average guy I have to defend myself against.  It really does give me piece of mind if I ever find myself in a bad situation.

7) Lastly, I get to spend the rest of my life trying new things, such as mountain biking, rock climbing, trail running, kayaking, back packing, going for a 2 mile run the night before weightlifing weigh ins to lose water weight because I can, entering in a random track meet, trying masters swimming again, and any other way I can think of to test my body, just because it's fun.  Being fit and strong means there are more possibilities in my future.

So the next time you hear a girl say she doesn't want to get "bulky" remind her of these perks.  Being a girl with muscles is fricking awesome.

-LB