# Is this young woman too fat or does she need her bulk for her sport of weightlifting? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 21, 2012, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812 "2012-06-21T03:23:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/41 "2012-06-22T16:35:52Z")
> [@SCSimmons](#): > > So, in recompense, let me be serious for a moment. (For a change.) I can’t see any point to criticizing the body style of a successful athlete. It seems obvious to me that if someone is competing at the highest level of a sport, then they are in appropriate physical condition for that sport. This applies to a 350-pound weightlifter (male or female) just as much as a 90-pound gymnast. The first isn’t overweight, and the second isn’t underweight, relative to the unique requirements of their sport. It may be that their dedication to competition will lead to long-term health problems, but that’s a personal decision. And it’s certainly uncalled for to show contempt for those decisions when it’s clear that their focus is on winning championships, whether they succeed in that or not. I agree 100% with this assessment. Having read some of the articles about Holley, I think she is a very cool person, as well as being extremely intelligent. She’s definitely fat, but she’s not too fat for what she’s doing with her life right now. Also, I thought your joke was one of the funniest I have heard lately (I am giggling as I type this). Weightlifting has been one of my favorite Olympic sports to watch since the days of Vasily Alexiev. I’m glad that I now have a rooting interest . Go Holley! ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/42 "2012-06-22T17:12:06Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > Also, I thought your joke was one of the funniest I have heard lately (I am giggling as I type this). Wow. Your standards are almost as low as mine. I do need to add that, when they implemented a separate physical education program for athletes at my high school during my senior year, I ended up spending a lot of time sharing the weight room with the offensive linemen, shot putters, and weightlifters (despite the fact that, at 6’0" and 145 pounds, I was already heavily over-muscled for a distance runner). And even though we were immature, callow youths, me and the other cross-country guys _never_ made stupid weightlifting jokes like that. Where they could hear us. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/43 "2012-06-22T17:39:20Z")
She’s morbidly obese and it’s not acceptable. I’ll tell you precisely why, and it’s not because I think she should be a size 4 and give up weightlifting. It’s because her weight is probably negatively effecting her performance. She’s a middling weightlifter. She’s 5’8" 357 lbs. Vasily Alekseyev, one of the greatest men’s lifters ever, was also precisely 357 lbs in his prime. This issue is that he was also 6’1". Yes, mass almost certainly goes a long ways towards helping you lug that weight around…to a point, then it begins having a detrimental effect when it impedes your ability to train and presents an additional burden to lift. If Holley were weighing in around 275-300 pounds she’d probably be a much better competitor.There’s a reason why sumos aren’t entering the weightlifting comps. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/44 "2012-06-22T18:51:50Z")
[QUOTE=Chronos;15192564 And if her body fat were high enough to make her obese, then there’d be no way she could be physically fit enough to be an Olympic contender.[/QUOTE] So simply because her sport is included in the Olympics, and she is an Olympic-caliber athlete in her sport, she therefore _cannot_ be considered obese? So lets say that in the next Olympics, sumo-wrestling was added as an Olympic sport. Would you then automatically say that any and all of the Olympic-caliber Sumo-wrestlers couldn’t possibly be obese, simply due to their status as Olympians? ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/45 "2012-06-22T19:23:08Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > I was hoping it would not happen, but I guess it was inevitable: > > Someone was bound to show up and make a really stupid joke along the lines of the above. > > I bet if I did a search on this guy’s posts I would get treated to all kinds of arrested development > in the form of jokes which any 13-year old would get a real kick out of. You must be the one that came in first. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/46 "2012-06-22T20:51:17Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Holy fuck, would you ever make that kind of a joke if it was a male bodybuilder with the exact same stats? I mean I’m all for humor but that’s ridiculous. Fuck, yes. For an aspiring Olympic male weightlifter of that poundage, a 242lb snatch would be [pathetic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_world_records_in_Olympic_weightlifting). (World record for a _56kg_ man is 25% higher). Pointing and laughing would be entirely justified. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/47 "2012-06-23T00:02:40Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Fuck, yes. For an aspiring Olympic male weightlifter of that poundage, a 242lb snatch would be [pathetic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_world_records_in_Olympic_weightlifting). (World record for a _56kg_ man is 25% higher). Pointing and laughing would be entirely justified. Well, yes, but she isn’t a man. Obesity has nothing to do with that; women aren’t as strong as men. Female weightlifters will never lift anywhere near as much as equivalent male weightlifters. The world’s best female sprinters wouldn’t win a major men’s NCAA event, either, but it’s not because they’re fat. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/48 "2012-06-23T08:58:05Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Well, yes, but she isn’t a man. Obesity has nothing to do with that; women aren’t as strong as men. Female weightlifters will never lift anywhere near as much as equivalent male weightlifters. The world’s best female sprinters wouldn’t win a major men’s NCAA event, either, but it’s not because they’re fat. Understood. I was just explaining how a man with a snatch like that would get laughed at too. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/49 "2012-06-23T12:38:22Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > She’s morbidly obese and it’s not acceptable. I’ll tell you precisely why, and it’s not because I think she should be a size 4 and give up weightlifting. It’s because her weight is probably negatively effecting her performance. She’s a middling weightlifter. She’s 5’8" 357 lbs. Vasily Alekseyev, one of the greatest men’s lifters ever, was also precisely 357 lbs in his prime. This issue is that he was also 6’1". Not acceptable for what? How is it your business or mine how much she weighs? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/50 "2012-06-23T20:57:36Z")
Here’s[a non-fat female weightlifter](http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/295054_473419822684613_415920594_n.jpg) so apparently no all weightlifters have to carry excess bulk. From here > **[The 2023 CrossFit Games](https://games.crossfit.com/)** > > The CrossFit Games are the ultimate proving grounds for the Fittest Man and Fittest Woman on Earth™ and are world-renowned as the definitive test of fitness. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/51 "2012-06-24T14:44:12Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Here’s[a non-fat female weightlifter](http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/295054_473419822684613_415920594_n.jpg) so apparently no all weightlifters have to carry excess bulk. The only place where carrying extra weight is beneficial is at the unlimited weight class. At all other weight levels you do need to be lean in order to compete successfully. But the photo is of a CrossFit competition, which doesn’t have the same constraints or goals as Olympic powerlifting. ---
**Author:** ![misterW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@misterW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misterW)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/52 "2012-06-24T20:20:14Z")
Please explain why carrying extra weight is beneficial. I can see (in the unlimited weight division) why it might not be a big handicap, but why beneficial? So are you saying that if I can lift X amount of weight now, and I eat like a pig and gain a bunch of fat with no added muscle, I can lift more? Please explain. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/53 "2012-06-25T00:43:34Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > But the photo is of a CrossFit competition, which doesn’t have the same constraints or goals as Olympic powerlifting. This olympic medal winner is as lean as it gets: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOWcrqOSevs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOWcrqOSevs) ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/54 "2012-06-25T02:24:47Z")
**astro** , Crossfit isn’t a good match for this. They do incorporate Olympic lifting movements, but Crossfit competition is vastly different from standard Olympic lifting. To be competitive in Crossfit, you have to have high strength to weight. You have to be able to do some basic gymnastics movements, execute Olympic lifts as well as some other weightlifting movements with reasonable form, run any distance from a sprint to a moderately long distance (7–15 km) well. A 300 lb. Crossfitter would get knocked out in the first of the qualifying rounds unless the only exercise was a heavy deadlift. Unless that 300 lb. athlete was Spartan 117. For Olympic lifting, you need about enough conditioning and endurance to walk up to the platform and do your lift. Yeah, it’ll help if you’re in good shape overall, but if you’re just strong, have good reflexes and speed, and good coordination, you can be competitive. Coordination and speed are probably the most important qualities. Top-level Oly lifters are within millimeters of an optimal movement path and have to execute with split-second timing. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/55 "2012-06-25T02:50:52Z")
> [@misterW](#): > > Please explain why carrying extra weight is beneficial. I can see (in the unlimited weight division) why it might not be a big handicap, but why beneficial? So are you saying that if I can lift X amount of weight now, and I eat like a pig and gain a bunch of fat with no added muscle, I can lift more? Please explain. That’s definitely not the case. As I understand it, it’s more a matter of fatter people having a lower center of gravity, which helps with stability when the weights get heavy. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/56 "2012-06-25T05:02:58Z")
> [@Dog80](#): > > This olympic medal winner is as lean as it gets: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOWcrqOSevs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOWcrqOSevs) He competed in the 85kg class so of course he’s going to be lean. In 2000, he did a 215kg Clean and Jerk in the Sydney Olympics. Meanwhile, Hossein Rezazadeh did a 260kg clean and jerk in the unlimited weight class of the same Olympics while weighing 152kg (340lbs). ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/57 "2012-06-25T17:29:46Z")
> [@misterW](#): > > Please explain why carrying extra weight is beneficial. I can see (in the unlimited weight division) why it might not be a big handicap, but why beneficial? So are you saying that if I can lift X amount of weight now, and I eat like a pig and gain a bunch of fat with no added muscle, I can lift more? Please explain. A bunch of fat with no added muscle is probably unhelpful except possibly as a counterweight, but you can probably add extra muscle more easily if you’re not trying to keep the fat down while you’re doing it. You only need to up your total lifting power; it doesn’t matter if you screw up your power to weight ratio in the process. ---
**Author:** ![misterW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@misterW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misterW)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/58 "2012-06-26T01:26:09Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > That’s definitely not the case. As I understand it, it’s more a matter of fatter people having a lower center of gravity, which helps with stability when the weights get heavy. But it still seems as if you are saying that is the case. If I got fatter, I would then have a lower center of gravity, which would help my stability while lifting. Not saying I agree or disagree with this idea, just clarifying that that is in fact what you are proposing. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/59 "2012-06-26T01:50:32Z")
> [@misterW](#): > > But it still seems as if you are saying that is the case. If I got fatter, I would then have a lower center of gravity, which would help my stability while lifting. Not saying I agree or disagree with this idea, just clarifying that that is in fact what you are proposing. What I’m disputing is the claim that you can become stronger by becoming fatter. Even if you eat to bulk, you have to do the training to lift big weights, or you’ll just be fat and not any stronger. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812/60 "2012-06-26T03:48:23Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > What I’m disputing is the claim that you can become stronger by becoming fatter. The goal is not to be strongest. The goal is to lift the most weight according to the rules of the sport. In some cases, with the amount of muscle being equal, having more weight is advantageous. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-young-woman-too-fat-or-does-she-need-her-bulk-for-her-sport-of-weightlifting/625812.md?page=4)