Category Archives: Goddess

Breast Augmentation: Post Surgery Recovery?

September 14, 2011   Becca   2 Comments
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Those of you who have been reading ModernAthena for a while know that a little over a year ago I underwent breast augmentation surgery. (For anyone wanting to know the reasons why, you can read here – “What Makes Being a Woman Amazing.”) For me, it was and continues to be a positive experience and I am completely happy with my choice.

Over the last year I have been contacted by numerous women considering taking this path and I am always happy to discuss. Lately, I have been contacted multiple times by different CrossFit coaches whose clients have come to them wanting to discuss post-surgery recovery and exercise. In each case, these women were told by their doctors they could not lift weights or elevate their heart rates for three months post augmentation surgery.

So, I am writing this blog to share about my recovery – which is by no means official medical advice – and to hopefully help some other women out there have as positive of an experience as I have had.

Doctor Choice

First off, there is something you can do before surgery to aid with recovery — I cannot stress how important it is to be on the same wavelength with your doctor. If your doctor tells you you cannot exercise for three months and this horrifies you, that tells me you and your doctor are not of the same mind and end goals. Take your time finding a doctor. If you can, find fellow athlete women who have had the procedure and find out who their doctors are. That’s what I did and I felt very confident my doctor understood my priorities and my lifestyle — I knew it was important to HIM that I be able to exercise and continue being athletic.

Why Do Doctors Say 3 Months?

This is how my doctor, who is one of the top cosmetic surgeons in Beverly Hills, explained it to me. Basically doctors just want to cover their butts and not get sued. There is  a condition that can happen with breast implants called “capsular contracture,” which if you have had consultations with surgeons you have hopefully already been told about. Basically the capsule of scar tissue that forms around the implant (which occurs in all implants and is totally normal) starts to harden and contract. Once it happens it is difficult to fix and requires more surgeries. As my surgeon explained, there really is no link between exercise and capsular contracture, but doctors don’t want to risk being blamed for telling someone to work out and having a lawyer somehow link all of it together. If someone is going to experience capsular contracture studies have shown it is going to happen whether you exercise or not – you’re just prone to it.

So When Can You Work Out?

Personally – I was back to working out (modified) 7 days after my surgery. My doctor asked that I not do upper body exercises for 2 weeks and that was his only request. Otherwise, he told me to do anything that felt okay and didn’t cause pain. I was running again in 2 weeks and back to normal weight lifting within a month.

I healed really fast which I credit both to my amazing doctor and also that I was in peak condition going into the surgery. I couldn’t do anything involving my chest muscles for a while and I couldn’t run at first either. Push ups were the last thing I was able to do again and it partly had to do with pain and partly  because it just felt really weird and, quite frankly, sometimes still does.

As a Coach, What Do You Tell Your Student?

As a coach, I treat it like a pregnant client — basic rule of thumb is, if it hurts or feels unnervingly uncomfortable, don’t do it. Depending on the incision site, that could mean different things — I had them put in through my armpits, so I couldn’t lift my arms up overhead for a few weeks without pain because all the muscle between my armpit and ribcage had been lifted from my chest wall and need to heal/adhere back down.

I did lots of other things, though – rowing was great, situps were fine, squats and anything lower body, box step ups, etc. The hard things at first were anything too jarring (jumping, running) and anything that engaged the pecs.

Other Considerations

One other thing to keep in mind in regards to working out — your surgeon will put you on steroids after her surgery to help your recovery. So, if you work out, drink a LOT of water to avoid muscle cramping. I literally had a calf cramp for two weeks straight – I think that was more annoying than the surgery recovery!

For anyone who is considering breast augmentation or any coaches who have questions, feel free to contact me anytime. I am more than happy to share my experience.

If you are curious about my surgeon, his name is Dr. Minniti.

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Miss Independence

June 29, 2011   Becca   8 Comments
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Since quite a young age I’ve been an independent person. My mother tells a story of when I was four years old and it was my first day of Kindergarten. I remember my brown dress and my school bag shaped like a school bus. She asked me if I wanted her to accompany me to the bus stop. Never mind the “bus stop” was the end of our driveway; it was the concept of waiting to be taken off somewhere big and new.

“Do you want me to wait with you?” she asked.

I said no. I waited by myself while she watched from the family room picture window.

Throughout my life I have repeatedly struck out on my own. In fact, learning to include others was just that for me, a learning process. Now, I believe the adventures of my independence and my authentic sharing with others has combined and culminated into a wonderful life. I get to be a contribution to people, as they are to me and I treasure that connection.

But, I still need my space.

And while my parents never predicated any of their advice to me growing up based on my being female, I believe my current dilemma does arise from being a modern independent woman.

Whenever I start a relationship there is excitement, but also inevitably a moment of panic – that “What did I do? Now I’ve got to keep talking to him” moment. I resist the perceived, probably not real, obligation. And when the relationship ends comes the same dichotomy – a sense of mourning and a sense of relief.

A couple years ago a relationship ended with a boyfriend I cared about deeply. We had been together for two years. I was heartbroken and distraught. And, at the same time, I thought, “Thank God I don’t have to drive to the Valley anymore.”

That weekend I cleaned my closets and completed every household project that had been on my to-do list for the prior year. I re-enrolled in kickboxing classes. I tried a new restaurants on Sunday morning. I went to the movies on my own and whenever I felt like it.

I missed him terribly, but I had missed myself, too.

So the challenge for me, and for other women as well, I think, is this – how to honor the relationship and honor yourself. To know when to compromise and when to hold ground. To know what’s negotiable, what’s forgivable, and what’s essential.

To find independence within the structure of commitment, not obligation.

To have no missed opportunities, but a platform for greater possibilities – for both halves.

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Who Fits In These Jeans?

May 18, 2011   Becca   29 Comments
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For a number of years I only wore skirts. I had mini-skirts, long skirts, all sorts of skirts. My friends would occasionally comment that they never saw me in jeans. I did genuinely enjoy wearing skirts and at the time I worked a job where dressing nicely was part of the deal. As much as I loved skirts, however, my enjoyment was not the whole reason I was wearing them.

I was wearing skirts because I couldn’t fit my booty in a pair of jeans.

At that time, I owned one pair of ill-fitting jeans I never wore and I had long before donated all my dress slacks to Goodwill.

Now, I wasn’t fat, I don’t think I was shaped any differently than a lot of women out there, and I put a fair amount of effort into finding a pair of jeans that would fit me. They just didn’t exist.

This wasn’t always how life was for me. When I was younger and not an athlete, I could buy jeans off the rack. Even then I had more leg than the average girl, but I still fell within the fashion industry’s parameters for how a woman is shaped. After I discovered martial arts and CrossFit things changed. Endless lunges, horse stance, clean and jerks, deadlifts and squats resulted in Kung Fu Quads and CrossFit Booty.

I loved it. I would way rather have a caboose than fit in size two jeans. But, I do want to have the option of wearing jeans.

This was my dilemma: If I found a pair of jeans that fit my quads and glutes, there would inevitably be inches and inches of extra fabric around the waist. If I found a pair of jeans that fit my waist…well, I could maybe pull them up past my calves and that was it.

“Who fits in these jeans?” I thought. “Whose legs are this skinny? There’s no way she can squat.”

So, rather than give up my athletics and join the world of calf-less flat-butted skinny-fat girls, I stuck with my kickboxing and CrossFit and invested in a dozen skirts.

Before long, the irony that is life struck hard. I started dating a guy who was obsessed with jeans. His closet was wall to wall denim. Brands I never heard of. Who knew what selvedge meant? Well, now I did. I learned all sorts of things only a denim geek would know.

Then one day he popped the question.

“How come you never wear jeans?”

I didn’t really have to say much. He was clearly familiar with my booty. What he said next, however, changed my world: He offered to take me to the annual clearance sale at Lisa Kline and he offered to introduce me to his denim tailor. The full brilliance of these two items was something I could not fully understand until the day came.

First up – Lisa Kline. Lisa Kline carries ridiculously expensive, absolutely beautiful clothing. Jeans that cost hundreds of dollars. Except, at the annual clearance sale these jeans are $20. And, if you’re not a skinny-fat flat-butted girl, your sizes are not sold out and are in fact the majority of what is available. Who knew my CrossFit booty would pay off in such an amazing way! Not to mention my boyfriend knew all the brands so he did all the selecting, I tried the jeans on, and we were in and out in under an hour. $800 worth of denim for under $100.

Next up – Dr. Blue Jeans. Dr. Blue Jeans is a man of magic. I went to his shop, he literally put me on a pedestal, flicked his little nub of chalk on a few places on my jeans and when I returned a week later it was like they had been made just for me. I couldn’t even figure out how he did it. They looked untouched and perfect.

And there it was — a whole new world in front of me! A world of wearing sexy designer jeans and a cool pair of heels. A world of not having to shave my legs every single day. A world where my legs were no longer at odds with the fashion industry and I could now show off the disparity in my waist and my quads, instead of being a fashion victim to it.

This was my new world indeed.

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My Arms vs. Your Manhood

May 03, 2011   Becca   40 Comments
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Recently I did something I’ve done only once before. I signed up for an online dating service. Last time it didn’t result in much, but this time I’m trying a different site and am open to the possibility of a different result.

One thing that has become apparent very quickly is a common theme with men in the “real” world, too – they feel compelled to comment about my arms. I work out. I have muscular arms. Girls always tell me they want my arms; guys have to make a point about my arms. What they don’t realize is, guys inadvertently let me in on their own self-confidence in regards to their masculinity with these comments, and therefore, my arms are a great filter when it comes to potential dates.

The details of the comments vary, but they tend to stay within the same general areas:

1) “Wow, your arms are bigger than mine.” I sometimes intentionally wear sleeveless shirts on a first date to fish this one out. If it makes you feel funny as a man because I have muscular arms, this situation is not going to work for either of us. I’m not a big fan of my arms being bigger than yours, either.

2) “So, how much can you curl?” I’m not going to think you’re cool because you’ve drudged up the weight room lingo you remember from college. I understand that you’re trying to relate to me, but this just tells me you haven’t seen the inside of a gym in fifteen years.

3) “I bet you could beat me in arm wrestling.” Again, I don’t want to be the tough one in the relationship…and I really don’t want you to be that into me being the tough one, either. There are a certain group of guys out there that are a little too excited about strong girls, if you know what I mean.

On the rare occasion a guy will actually pull off a clever variation of one of these lines. This past week I was in line at the grocery store, carrying a large basket of items when the male cashier turned to me and said, “Can you please not get in my line next time if you’re going to have better looking arms than mine?” I laughed.

On a side note, I also get a lot of guys who seem to think asking me nutritional advice is a good pick up line and a lot of guys who make karate chop hands at me when they find out I do martial arts. Here’s a quick tip, guys – neither of these tactics will get you a date. This was the downfall of the grocery store clerk – he went from his clever line to immediately discussing how much healthier my groceries were than his. Again, I understand you’re trying to develop a connection between us, but it come across as a crazy pick-up line when you clearly don’t understand what I do and yet are pretending you do. Tell me about yourself, ask me what I do, or just tell me you like my arms!

So where does this muscular-arm-filter leave us strong girls? Well, for me, in the past I have ended up dating the gamut of alpha-males, from law enforcement to professional athletes, because, let’s face it, loudmouthed alpha-males don’t find strong girls intimidating. These days I’m holding out for someone a little more well-rounded, someone with a little more ability to communicate, who perhaps even knows how to use a computer and is on the same internet dating service as me.

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Why Can’t I Lose Weight Like a Guy?

April 25, 2011   Becca   4 Comments
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Alright ladies, you know the scenario — you’ve been really diligent about your diet, giving up everything you love and measuring out your oh-so-tiny portions. Your husband/boyfriend/guy-friend gives up beer for one week and he drops five pounds. What’s up with that? Why is it so easy for them?

Here’s the answer – nature doesn’t know we’re living in the modern world. As far as nature knows, men are still spending their days hunting animals and women are spending their days bearing and raising children. It’s really important to nature that women be able to do this, because while men are without a doubt pretty cool and fascinating creatures, without a woman’s ability to have children the whole human race would come to a screeching halt.

So how does our caveman ancestry get in the way of your weight loss?

1. Men have naturally lower body fat than women to start with.
When comparing lean body mass and body fat percentages, men have more muscle and women carry more fat. If you consider cavemen were out hunting food, it makes sense they have more muscle than women. Cavewomen needed higher body fat to protect a growing baby inside them. A general rule of thumb I use to put this in perspective is that women carry about 10% more body fat than men – so a really lean man is between 5-10% and a really lean woman is between 15-20%.

2. Men carry their fat differently.
Not only do men have less fat, but they tend to carry their fat in one central area on their torso, whereas women carry it throughout their body. This makes it seem like guys can “spot reduce” easier than women. In addition, the last place a woman is likely to lose weight is probably the first place she wants it to go from, i.e. “baby protection” fat around the lower midsection.

3. Men have higher testosterone.
Testosterone makes it possible for us to build muscle and men have higher testosterone than women. Having more muscle also means having a higher metabolism. Men naturally have about a 5-10% higher rate of metabolism than women. (This is all the more reason to do heavy weightlifting days, ladies — increasing your muscle mass will increase the base amount of calories your body needs each day. You’ll burn more even without moving around if you have more muscle.)

So there you have it. You can blame it on the ancient cavemen and cavewomen that modern men can eat more and still lose weight. On the upside, women tend to be far more diligent and detail oriented about weight loss than men. So stick it out ladies, you may have to be stricter (watch your nuts and fruits in particular), but your body will come around.

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  • Mod·ern [mod-ern] –adjective
    -Characteristic of present and recent time.

    A·the·na [uh-thee-nuh] –noun
    -Deity of the ancient Greeks worshiped as goddess of wisdom, fertility, the useful arts, and prudent warfare.

    Mod·ern A·the·na [mod-ern] [uh-thee-nuh] –noun
    -A Rennaissance woman. The ultimate combination of fitness, intelligence, and beauty.

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