Balancing Act ( keeping an athletic build that doesn't clash with your Femme look)

[Michelle K]

I'm wondering how most of the ladies here work their fitness programs to stay fit but also stay looking feminine when dressed as a woman?

I'm 5'11" and currently weigh in at 186 Lbs. I have a little belly fat but we are getting that to come down. Diet and excercise. I have always been into fitness even when I cross-dressed when younger.

I have found that lifting and excercise over the years have put on some hard packed musle and since my SO and I do plan on having girl trips to other places around the Pacific NorthWest, are trying do lean out my muscle's to look more feminine without losing any significant mass.

I have seen some very athletic looking GG's that looked very good and am tryin to atleast look like a very fit "COUGAR" when I'm all dolled up.

Any advice will be appreciated

Michelle K

[Kate Simmons]

Nothing wrong with being en femme and looking fit. Personally, I just take a lot of herbs and supplements to enhance my immune system and get aerobic exercising by club dancing.

[GeminaRenee]

My best advice would be plenty of cardio, and probably weight training with higher reps and a lower weight. Focus on interval training to reduce fat. Lots of bodyweight and core exercises should do you some good.

This is roughly what I do. Admittedly, no-one is every going to mistake my upper body for that of a woman, and it can be a real pain to find a dress that fits nicely around both my hips and shoulders. I'm sure a lot of it is genetics. I am predisposed to a stocky build, so almost anything I do is going to accentuate that. Luckily, I don't mind. I know some around her would wag their fingers at my build, but it suits my life: guy 95% of the time, girly in what's left.

Good luck!

[Michelle K]

We do lots of cardio. We workout 6 days a week. We did the ISANITY cardio program last fall. SO lost almost 20 lbs and alot of inches and I lost inches in the waist and hips but gained 8 Lbs during the 60 day program.
I am working on our diets as I do all the cooking and things are getting better in our food choices.
My waist and hips are slimming and toning nicely.
My abdomen fat is starting to shed but when it gets where I want it to the V from my waist to shoulders is gonna be definately noticable if I wear tight stile tops.
I'm also trying to get a female shape without using hormone's or too many pads or other aesthetics other than breast forms

I know it gonna be hard to do, but if it was easy we'd already be women.

Michelle

[FelicityMay]

I've been working on the same kind of thing...
I weigh 125 pounds, and am 5'11''.
The thing about working out, is that if you work really hard, such as lifting extreme weights, it will give you lots of bulk.
If you want a slim, but fit look that can seem more like a feminine figure, its better to go with endurance workouts, like running or dancing.
I am a runner, and also a ballroom dancer, so it has helped me keep fit, while also having a small agile body!

[Jenniferathome]

regardless of the exercise you do and weight you lose, you will never have the "shape" of a woman's body. Your biceps will be bigger at any size and weight when compared to a woman of that size and wight. Your trapezius muscles will be way bigger, shoulders too. If you were an Olympic marathoner, your body, muscles, shape, will still look like a male.

If you drop weight and stop lifting you'd get closer but that's no good in man mode. Cover the arms.

[Michelle K]

regardless of the exercise you do and weight you lose, you will never have the "shape" of a woman's body. Your biceps will be bigger at any size and weight when compared to a woman of that size and wight. Your trapezius muscles will be way bigger, shoulders too. If you were an Olympic marathoner, your body, muscles, shape, will still look like a male.

If you drop weight and stop lifting you'd get closer but that's no good in man mode. Cover the arms.

These are good points, It is why my SO believe's (I kind of agree) that going for the look of a athletic looking woman ( for instance IFBB ( International Federation of Body Building) Bikini Competitor's or Figure competitor's may be better for me. I am extremely active and do alot of back-packing and back country hiking in the mountains and have done this in my female attire when I was younger that my SO thinks I can pull off the look en-femme with out too many 2nd glances. When I was younger yes, now not so sure. My SO has more faith in this approach than I do.

Will probably always work-out and stay fit so just gotta deal with the after-math of my fitness program...LOL!!!

Thank You
Michelle K

[Alana Wests]

On the note of dance, I think another way to keep as femme as possible is to practice yoga or pilates. Some Rep-and-Balance based workout that helps your muscle control and keeps you limber. If you're in good shape, and have great control of your body language, you can pull off femme with incredible finesse!

[Mikaylagirl]

For me. I'm 5'8" 150-155lbs. I stay slender,toned and cut by....doing girl ab workouts. Girl butt workouts. I Take Zumba classes. Tae Kwon Do is awesome for nice hip/groin cuts AND comes in handy when in "man" mode if ever needed. I do mass cardio too. Mountain biking and jogging and hiking. Not on machines in the gym. On the trails. All weather. Then again I am training for Tuff Mudder too.
I do not do any weight training at all. Weights build mass. I do not want or need mass. I like to be more on the petite side. I watch what I eat,big time. I do a lot of salads,fruits and veggies. Oranges are great for feeding the hunger and not gaining weight. I dont eat the standard 3 meals a day. I small snack throughout my day/work shift. Raisins,oranges,apples,bananas,dry non sugared cereal. I try to stay away from pastas and sugars as they are weight gainers. If Im going to dinner with the family,I avoid that huge porterhouse and baked potato and order fish/chicken with veggies. Hold any dressings. Another weigh gainer. I cut back my alcohol big time as well and fell in love with diet drinks and spring water.
Sad to say,but weight goes with height due to genetics. Petite men,have better chances of getting close to a fem figure.

[Beverley Sims]

The secret is simple. I learned it from watching my ex wives and daughters. Eat a lot of chocolate and talk on the phone a lot. It is even better if you do both at the same time.

Tongue in cheek I think the answer is here.

No the other ladies have a variety of good advice, pilates and abdominal exercises.

[Suzanne F]

Thank goodness I started running marathons before I started dressing. I am 6 feet and weigh 170. I am trying to qualify for Boston Marathon and plan on being around 160.

[Ms. Laura]

Alas, there's not much that you can do besides lay off the upper body and work the hips/buns really. I've dropped from 5'11" 210 down to 172 and look OK in a dress but I still have a masculine build that needs some balancing in the hips. (As Jenifer mentioned) I don't know if you've found this but I've lost fat my veins show like crazy on my arms when I'm warm. Definitely an unintended "masculine" consequence.

But, you can't get too hung up on it, I don't think. Do the best you can, cover up if it helps you blend but there's only so much you can do and being read is inevitable for most.

[suchacutie]

Sculpting the body is a real issue. My wife took one look at me and said, "you are never going to be a small girl"! It's the shoulders, and no amount of body sculpting will get rid of them. On the other hand, there's no need to spend a lot of time building up the shoulder/arm area if a feminine look is desired. On the other hand, doing all we can do to make the waist smaller and the butt bigger is terrific. The legs are normally over-muscled already, so they don't need any more training.

Thus, it comes down to the "core", keeping the butt larger and the waist smaller.

The good thing is that we age we lose muscle mass if we don't do anything about it. That means if we keep the "core" in shape, the rest will begin to be more feminine in shape.

[KimberlyJean]

Along with staying fit and slim is dressing for your body shape, I am always amazed at how different my upper body looks with my breastforms on. they totally change the depth of my chest and make me look slimmer. I also do not wear anything that bares my shoulders or arms. My legs are good but I have to try and balance my bottom with the top, boot cut and flare jeans are good, leggings and flats are very hard to pull off. I have found that a slouch boot will balance enough though.

[Miranda09]

I know what you mean Michelle. I've been trying to get my physique slimmed down a bit, but weight lifting in the past makes it difficult to slim down muscle mass, tho I have found that replacing heavy weights with lighter weights and more reps helps alot. At 6'1" and 222lbs, I don't have anywhere near a fem figure, BUT, I have found out that clothing can also help with that. Dark colors, blousy, long tops with full sleeves (e.g. dolmen), helps to over come my larger upper body. I have also found that working my legs helps to achieve a better visual proportion. Oh, and don't forget a corset...which can really make a nice hour-glass figure!

[Trysha]

I lifted heavy weights for years,so I know the challenge to develope a more feminine body. As Jenniferathome said we males
Have a different body. I have seen woman who lift heavy, but still have a nice woman's body. The best we can do is
try to strive for a lean look, and keep enough muscle to maintain a good metabolism, and muscle tone, but combine
That with things like yoga,Zumba, Pilates etc. to get a more loose, and relaxed look to strive for better feminine body
Posture and mannerisms which when combined with proper dressing and mind set we can present our best Fem self. I must
also say that squats develope a great butt which every woman desires.

[Michelle K]

Thank You all so far for the idea's especially the clothing style and tips.

Higher reps and lower weight is a good option also.

We do workouts at home with workouts like INSANITY, We are doing the original Power 90 program right now I have been using bands for the sculpt workouts which seems to be giving me a leaner tone than using dumbbells. We have worked my diet over that I'm now high protien and low carb. We will start a new fitness program in may which is another 90 day program called Power 90 Masters series, these programs concentrate on a solid core. when we finish thst we will start a program called Brazilian Butt Lift, I have talked to actual people that have done this program and seen the before and after pics. This program gives you options for the shape of butt you want to have and a specific program of excercises for that particular shape so we will start that in august.
Even with these other things we will try we both agree that clothing types and styles are gonna dictate my look for now.
We did notice that just adding a B cup push-up bra changes my aesthetic shape some.

Michelle K

[NikiMichelle]

I'm 5' 11" and maxed out at 176...I too wanted to get back to my "girlish figure" as I had some belly fat. At my age (or any age for males) belly fat is not healthy! I eat better, run and do yoga and have gotten down to 165 lbs....I look good presenting as either but more importantly I feel great?

[Jenni Yumiko]

Michelle K - Higher reps, lower weight works. P90 and P90x complete will build mass. (Cardio one is nice)
Trysha - Yoga, Zumba, Pilates - I love Zumba!
Running, Cycling - open road, skating - ice, roller, board builds legs thighs butt and falling builds up a skaters butt. (This takes years)