A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog about “training for my old lady body” and how all the work I’m doing now to build muscle and strengthen bone isn’t about how I look today (although I do like the aesthetic benefits), it’s about how well I’ll function in the last decade or two of my life.

Since then, I’ve received several emails, texts and flexing-bicep emojis from lots of YOU so I know that this idea resonates and you too want to exercise for your old lady body.

Recently, I got a DEXA scan (a special, full body x-ray) that let me know my exact weight of lean body mass (muscle + bone), subcutaneous fat, visceral fat and bone density.

My results were great (the report literally gave me an A+) and I know EXACTLY how much my lean body mass weighs – which is 111 pounds. 

Even though I’m an A student in the body composition department, my lean mass is a little too low.

This means that I need to gain pounds of muscle to be at my absolute healthiest and to risk-proof my older years to the best of my ability.

Do you know how hard it is to gain one pound of lean body mass (not fat)? If you haven’t tried, it’s a lot of effort. And I need to gain a few of them.

Since last summer, I’ve been working on this, primarily by lifting weights in the gym and increasing my consumption of protein-rich plant foods. I have a daily target of protein grams per day and I’ve been hitting it consistently.  I’ll tell you, my body looks quite different now than it did when I started this project.

Progress you can see in the mirror is motivating for sure!

Which leads me to what this email is about: Does this mean I’m a bodybuilder?

I haven’t been able to say those words out loud, to call myself a bodybuilder.

I can easily call myself an athlete, a yogi, a runner and a cyclist… but a bodybuilder?

There’s a saying in weightlifting: “you don’t need a stage to be a bodybuilder” and I get that.

But I still can’t get on board with giving myself that label. Even though I’m in the gym to gain muscle.

“I’ve changed my lifestyle to build my body.”

I can say that.