Muscles on women are sexy.

…Or maybe it’s not the muscles themselves but rather the evidence of effort. It is impossible to look at an attractive person (I mention women in particular because it seems to me that women have to work harder to obtain that defined look. Call me sexist if you wish.) who has obviously worked hard on their body as evident by toned muscles, and not acknowledge their effort. I don’t mean skinny either. Not to say thin people don’t work hard on their looks as well; I simply know the look can be attained by unhealthy means as well as healthy.

I went through a spell (or two… or 10) of not taking care of myself with exercise and diet in order to obtain that ‘thin’ appearance. I have tried hard core diets, obsessive exercise routines (OK, I am still a fan of those but now with different goals in mind), and a couple choice eating disorders, (hello my name is Rachel and I am an overeater, etc). But here’s the deal: I will never be thin. It’s not in my genetic make-up. I am of a muscular build even at my flabbiest, which in high school earned me a bit of a reputation as more of a hard-ass than my true pacifist personality deserved. So rather than fight my thick frame, I have learned to work with it and love it.

The beauty of building muscle, other than the fact that you are becoming stronger therefore preventing injuries, is that muscle burns more fat. So sure, walking for 2 hours a day, running, biking, swimming will burn fat and strengthen your cardiovascular system, lower blood sugars and increase metabolism, adding weights to your routine boosts all of the above. Plus, muscle tone is sexy.

The hubby and I are on another round of P90X. It combines weights, cardio and yoga for a very well rounded routine. I keep the weights light with high reps to avoid turning into the hulk which is a definite possibility with my very broad shoulders. Mixed in I am swimming twice a week (much to the dismay of my exercise induced asthma) and walking the mutts daily. After just two weeks of P90X (lots of pull-ups and push-ups) I can feel my swim getting stronger. Oh! And I am sleeping better.

Muscles are awesome, don’t be afraid of a little definition. Muscles make everything better!

(Too many parenthesis!)

(Evidence of my tendency to get sidetracked perhaps?)