Kelsey Landrum

Muscular might just be the new skinny for women. In fact, many KHS females have found their way to a workout room after school to achieve a toned body status.

Jim Cibulka, physics teacher, oversees the action in the KHS weight room after school Monday through Thursday. While he said there are quite a few female students visiting the workout room, many are still shying away.

“A lot of girls are scared off of working out from that idea they will look bad,” Cibulka said. “And I’ll tell you, the girls who have been in there have worked their butts off.”

Elise Tadros, senior, has been working out for six years. Tadros plays water polo, what she calls “a guy’s sport.” To prepare for this sport, she works out 3-4 times a week during the off-season. Tadros does not care about being labeled for working out.

“I am pretty athletic so I try to always stay in shape for sports,” Tadros said. “I say I’d always rather be fit than super skinny. I think that girls who are fit are the healthiest looking. I don’t think it’s masculine. I think it’s healthy.”

Elisa Steele, senior, started working out her freshman year for many of the same reasons as Tadros. However, Steele said the belief that females working out to be viewed as “masculine” is a choice more than anything.

“I think some people might have that preference, but that’s not been an issue for me,” Steele, who plays varsity volleyball and runs track, said. “As an athlete, whatever is required to do the sport well is fine. An athletic girl is just as pretty as a girl who is not as athletic.”

According to a WebMD article, due to a naturally lower muscle mass, women cannot build as much muscle in a span of time as men can. But this does not matter to Tadros.

“I don’t want to be super muscular,” Tadros said. “It’s more about being toned. It’s more about physically fit. I don’t need to get ripped for my sport. It would be cool but I don’t think I could achieve a bodybuilder’s status.”

Steele, on the other hand, makes decisions to not build up too much muscle.

“I make a conscious effort to do things that would not make me bulk up a ton,” Steele said. “But for girls, it’s not really that natural anyway to build huge amounts of muscles, so I’m not very worried about that.”

Both Tadros and Steele have similar workout routines. Each start their workout with approximately 20 minutes of cardio and move on to stations. Tadros enjoys jumping ropes and lifting with her legs, while Steele focuses on arms and abs. Tadros believes her workout routine does not differ too greatly from a boy’s.

“I don’t lift much but when I do, I do a lot of leg work because in water polo we do a lot of treading and swimming,” Tadros said. “The only thing that I probably can’t do that a guy can do is the amount of weights [they lift]. I try to run. I try to lift. I try to improve.”

Cibulka praises the female students who work hard to improve their bodies after school. He believes working out relieves stress, making one feel better both physically and mentally.

“You sometimes see people really not lifting,” Cibulka said. “This is often true among the young ladies. They think if they work out hard they’ll get big giant muscles, and that’s really so sad. Most the girls who work out, you think they’re the most beautiful people around–they’re awesome–because they are in great shape. They don’t have huge muscles. It turns out women can work out and can look great. They don’t have to worry about looking too much like a guy or too much like a bodybuilder. That just doesn’t happen.”

According to a Yahoo.com article, star actress Angelina Jolie completed two-hour workout sessions five days a week in preparations for her role in “Salt” in 2010. However, these were not just training sessions to build up stamina. Jolie’s workouts consisted mostly of fight training and strength building exercises. Cibulka believes teenagers do not fully understand the association between celebrities and working out.

“If you see the Hollywood actresses and you say ‘I want to look like her’. She’s working out really hard, a lot more than you’d expect,” Cibulka said. “Name an actress in Hollywood and you’ll look and go ‘Wow she looks great’. She’s working her butt off.”

Steele recognizes the benefits of working out. She said it keeps her in shape, relieves stress and lets her eat more of the foods she wants. Steele also believes it prepares her for the volleyball and track season. In November, she was named to the 2012 Suburban South second team all-conference volleyball team.

“After you workout it’s like this great feeling that you’ve done a lot of work,” Steele said. “I recommend it to all people: guy and girl. I think especially girls. I think people don’t realize if you throw in a little cardio or just get into a simple routine you’ll see good results if you just keep up with it. You’ll feel healthier and have more energy. It’s good for everyone.”