Most people associate strength with muscles. If a guy has big muscles...he must be strong...right? So people go to the gym and they target certain muscles...biceps for example. Most guys in the gym want big biceps so they look "strong"...they hang out by the dumbbells and never think to learn complicated Barbell movements or Olympic lifts.. Who needs em?...right? The answer to that question is...everyone needs them. Young or old...fat or thin...people wanting to excel in sports as well as the everyday person that wants to be "fit"...no matter who you are...you can greatly benefit from working to improve your overall strength with a barbell and some plates. 
True strength is not about how
many inches around your bicep is or how sculpted your abs are. Don't get me wrong...those things are not bad...but they are aesthetic. It's okay to want to look good. I do...but it's also important to be well rounded and strong. I've thought a lot about what it means to be strong over the past week. When the whole "Strong is the new Skinny" thing came about on Facebook, I was just going about my life...being the best "me" that I could be. Since then, I have days when I wonder..."Am I strong enough?". I don't have the biggest muscles...there are lots of women that can probably lift a lot more than me. I wonder if I'm worthy to even be giving any advice or putting myself out there. So many questions run through my little blond head.
I've thought long and hard and here are the answers I've come up with... Yes, there are women with bigger muscles. Yes, there are women can lift or move more weight. But I am still worthy of giving advice...of telling my story...because no one knows me and where I've come from better than me. I AM the best at being me, and if I can inspire people with my story...my antecdotes, and my way of doing things then I don't need to worry about everyone else and how I compare. Am I lifting crazy amounts of weight??? No...but I am improving upon what I have been able to do in the past...and that makes me really happy.
Strength is relative in my opinion. What is strong for me, is not strong for Ronnie Coleman...and what's strong for Ronnie Coleman, is not strong for Mark Twight. Neither of those guys could ever be the best at doing what the other does. They are best at what they, themselves, do.
Don't compare yourself to other people. Don't try to be the best at being someone else. Do what it takes to turn yourself into the best possible version of YOU. Strong looks different for different people. I think that's what makes "Strong is the new skinny" different. There's not one way to look or one way to get there. It's about NOT feeling like you have to look like everyone else. It's about loving yourself and working towards a better stronger you each day.
"Am I strong enough?" Yes, I am...and so are you!
~Marsha
