paulradcliffe.me archive
Tag: Body Image
June 22, 2012
Barrel Chested?
We had a meeting last Sunday for the pacers for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon (more on the meeting another time). The gentleman in charge was giving out some old shirts as random prizes, but he said the mediums he had wouldn’t fit me because I am too “Barrel Chested.” I’m sensitive about my body shape so that comment has stuck with me for a while. I took some measurements and figured out that I really am barrel chested, but not in any way I could control. Being barrel chested means that a person has a deep chest, leading[…continue reading]
August 22, 2011
Body Image Issues
Let me be very clear: I am very happy with how I look. It would be nice to have a physique like a comic book superhero, but I’ll leave it as a ‘would be nice.’ There is certainly a notion in advertising and popular culture of what a ‘beautiful’ people look like: Women should look like Barbie, skinny with impossible curves. Men should have huge shoulders, 6-pack abs and biceps as large as their necks. Images and goals are not terrible, but they are dangerous when they come at the expense of real health. It struck me really hard when[…continue reading]
August 5, 2011
Wait, wait, weight?
Throughout all this training, I’m bound to make some mistakes. Several of them are now manifesting in one of my quantitative stats: In the last month I’ve gained almost 5 pounds! And it’s not all good weight because my body fat percentage has gone up about 1.5% too! I’m noticing it physically around my mid-section too. How embarrassing to be running over 40km each week and still get fatter! I am well aware that it is unwise to weigh yourself regularly because fluctuations are normal and can lead to unnecessary stress. I also readily acknowledge that too many people, even[…continue reading]
