I surfed the Internet today for a different kind of topic. I usually talk about money, psychology, improving lap dance sales, or tell a funny you’ll never believe this story like yesterday.
I came across a thread on Stripperweb I want THIS body It’s long, and gets pretty retarded in my opinion, but it’s an accurate reflection of how some (not all) women derive self esteem from their physical appearance.
From a physiological standpoint, you can’t have someone else’s body. It’s like me wishing I was 5 inches shorter. Unless I have surgery to saw my bones shorter, I’m not going to shrink. I always wanted to be little and cute and a size 2; but at 5’11 with stout German/Scandinavian bone structure… its not going to happen. In my early 20s this was a hard pill to swallow. These days, I’m okay with it.
I see some of my younger coworkers grappling with that same bitter pill. The industry puts a little bit of pressure on us to stay fit, but not nearly as much pressure as we put on ourselves. Of all the times management has enacted “The Fat List” they’ve never fired someone who didn’t make an effort to shape up.
Ironically, it was dancing of all things that got me over my own body image issues. When you walk into a typical strip club, you don’t see airbrushed models. You see real women of all shapes and sizes. Some are pears with tiny waists, curvy hips, thicker legs, narrow shoulders and small perky breasts. Some like myself are apples with long limbs, straighter torso, wider shoulders, and fuller breasts. Some are rulers, straight up and down…waifs like Kate Moss. Some need to put down the burger and fries.
Its not the end of the world if you don’t look like Barbie. It might be the end of the world if you do unhealthy things like starvation or drugs in an effort to look like Barbie. So while you may not have “this body” or “that body” you can shape “your body” to be the best it can be.
My stripper/blogger friend Honey and I were chatting about work out routines. She asked me what my workout routine is since I’ve worked in the fitness industry since 1996. Considereing the fact that I take my clothes off for a living, I’m pretty dedicated to my diet and exercise regimen. It goes a little something like this:
Sunday :1 hour spin class, 1 Hour yoga
Monday: 1 hour spin class, plus 30 minutes steady state cardio when I’m just maintaining or 60 minutes when I’m leaning out
Tuesday: 1 hour spin class, plus 60 minute weights with my personal trainer who I refer to in this blog as Jack LaLaine. I personally no longer train with heavy weights. I have done sets of 5 reps in the past, but I do not want my muscles to get any bigger. Lately I have been lifting medium weights with sets of 10-20 repetitions.
Wednesday: 60-90 minutes steady state aerobic cardio. What I refer to as steady state cardio means that I maintain a target heart rate of 70-80% of my maximum heart rate. A long steady workout in the aerobic zone utilizes fat as fuel. Interval workouts where you push into the anaerobic threshold do not burn fat as fuel, they burn glycogen, adrenaline, and if fatigued the muscle itself. I personally get my anaerobic training in spin class, so I don’t do it on the treadmill.
Thursday: 60 minutes of weights first with Jack LaLaine. Then 30-60 minutes of steady state cardio. I’m a big fan of doing cardio after weights when leaning out. By doing the weights first you burn all the glycogen in the muscles, so your body has to revert to stored fat as fuel. As long as I stay in my target heart rate zone of 70-80% my body converts the stored fat to fuel.
Friday: 1 hour bodysculpt class, 30-60 minutes of steady state cardio.
Saturday: Either rest or Bikram Yoga.
Well, Happy Friday to everyone! I’m actually meeting up with one of Husband Vinnie’s High School buddies. Ah yes…the dreaded “so what do you do?” conversation.
I’m working ALL Fiesta Bowl Weekend: Saturday, Sunday…and maybe even New Years Eve…I haven’t made my final decision on that yet.
Tags: feminism, self esteem, self image, strip club, stripper