Veins on Women: Your Thoughts

warning. wordy post, but includes a small view into my past

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When I was in high school, I admired one of my gym teachers that had really fit and toned arms. She was at a healthy  weight and had visible veins. Call me crazy, but I thought that the sight of veins showed true strength. I vividly remember one day when she was demonstrating lifting (I choose weight lifting over basketball…and was a lifeguard for the rest of the time) and saying to one of other girls “these veins are not from weight lifting alone, its also genetic”.

Well I remember saying to myself that one day I want her arms. And those veins. In my head, it was like wearing a badge of strength.
To me, it meant that you worked hard for those muscles. You took care of yourself. You could bust out X amount of pull ups and shock everyone around you. You could easily defend yourself if (God forbid) you needed to in an emergency situation.

Throughout high school I was a pretty active kid. I was a serious lacrosse player too. Theres a banner in my high school gym with my name on it and everything! In all seriousness though, I loved exercising, sprinting (I was pretty fast! and did track as well), and lifting. It made me happy. I liked being strong. I loved the endorphin rush.
The summer before my freshman year of college, I spent the summer training for Division 1 Lacrosse.
I had the mile down in under 6 minutes. I was squatting heavy, doing drills and runs in the rain, and lifting. I was ready to kick ass in September when the season came. My boyfriend supported me 110% and he was training for Division 1 Track (he threw discus and shot put, and did really well all 4 years). So there we were, together at the track and gym training together. I was getting toned and felt amazing.

To make this long story long short, I ended up getting really really sick the day of the run test. Thats a story for another day though. But that day changed my path in college forever [I DID complete the test though! its a crazy story].
I was in the hospital, kidneys failing, and I kissed my hard work goodbye when I heard the words “no physical activity for a few months, and no lacrosse this year”.

Throughout my college years I went through phases. I became a rock climber. I lived in Australia for 6 months and had no access to a gym there, so I just ran, surfed, and did laps in the pool to stay in shape.
But then I started running more my junior and senior year, and lifting less. I still wanted those arms, and got them when I was lifting and running less, but lost them when running became my life. After I graduated, I sort of went back and forth, but never fully concentrated on lifting like I use to.

Today, I’m back to my roots. I couldn’t be happier. I’m lifting heavy, and sprinting on occasion. Feel amazing, barely run anymore, and find that my body really is thanking me for not clocking in all those miles every week. I found a way of eating that is no longer restrictive and emphasizes fats- something I feared throughout those college years. Less grains and less looking like I’m 6 months pregnant at the end of the day. Something I thought was “normal” for me for so long.

And still working on those arms every week…

With that, came the veins. I’m not sure if genetics has anything to do with it like my gym teacher said… but all I know is that I have the “badge of strength” that I always strived for.

Strength. Power. Ability to bust out a ton of pull ups without any assistance. And able to defend myself if (God forbid…) I had to.
First they only showed when I was lifting. Now they are pretty much always there, except when I’m cold. But when I’m warm? In the words of my boyfriend… “don’t get all incredible hulk on me!!”

Sometimes you can’t see them at all, and sometimes you can see a lot. And sometimes its just in between.

I understand body fat plays a big part in this. But I honestly have no idea what my body fat is, as I’ve never had it measured. I have calipers, but I’m not sure if they are reliable or not, so I’ve never used them.  Regardless of what my body fat is, here’s the bottom line:

I feel great. I rest when I need to, at least 2 full days off a week.
I don’t over work myself nearly as much as I use to. I eat when I’m hungry. I eat a LOT.
I’m lucky enough to be able to eat high quality foods (organic, superfoods, etc) to support my hormonal health and activity level.
I give into my  cravings when I want to and don’t deprive myself so I stay sane.
I say no to foods that make me feel like crap. I’m still learning every single day, but I’m a hell of a lot better off than I use to be, both mentally and physically. I’m at a healthy weight that I’ve been maintaining without restricting myself at all. My “highest” point was when I was 25 pounds heavier than I am right now..and that was a serious dark time for me. Not healthy on a mental or physical level what so ever.

So back to the veins. With it comes the comments. Both negative, positive, and just neutral (like “ohh wow, your pretty vascular”. thats it.)  I know some people find it to be  really gross on women, and others have the same mindset as I do: a sign of strength. Thats it.
And others I’m sure couldn’t care less

So, why am I even posting about this?? Because  I’m wondering what your thought are about being vascular. And you can be honest, I won’t go cry if you think its gross (k, maybe a little ) I want to keep working on myself and getting strong. With that, the veins sometimes show and sometimes they don’t. I embrace it though.

The disciple and strength that happens during my workouts are applied to my every day life, and thats what I’ve truly gained from this journey. Fitness and health is my lifestyle, not just a phase.

And because I might get comments or remarks from anyone who doesn’t know me well enough yet: my definition of health and fitness is not just about what I do personally. It doesn’t mean you have to be a certain weight and exercise for X amount of hours a week, and lift X amount of weight.
Everyone does things differently, and health to me also includes mental + spiritual health, along with the physical.

For those of you who could care less about all of this: tell me something exciting you have planned for the weekend!