Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Hi gals!  :)

I wanted to ask how does pre- everything trans-women compare in physical strength to bio males. Of course, when you are on HRT, upper body strength and overall endurance goes down, but prior it? For myself it was really painfull to get along in gymnastics classes, I was weaker than almost all boys and some girls as well. In the end I just got my doc to write a paper that I need special exercises and since teachers didn't have time for that, I had a legal reason to skip these classes. Years later I started doing martial arts, free running and other sports and noticed that despite I train very hard, I'm still weaker than average in ability to do push-ups, sit-ups and other purely strength based exercises. I'm suspicious that I have asthenia, but on the other hand it might be hormones. Oh and I really can't run much as well. After like 150m I'm out of breath no matter what breathing technique I use, it seems. Any similar experiences?

I'm not quite in the same boat, but not on the other end.  I'm small framed, but I'm stronger than one might expect.  I don't have problems carrying around heavy boxes or luggage, but I'm far from the weight lifter type.

The thing is that body type results a lot from life style, and while I have always shunned a macho way of life, there are those of us who make an effort to be macho for most of our lives in order to try to 'shake this thing', and so might end up more on the 'built' side.  I don't think there's any correlation between body type and trans-ness.

I know some trans ere quite strong before starting.
Some are quite strong even after.

I was weak before and after.. girls (of any sort) are actually offering me help with carrying things even if I don't ask O_o

I was pretty strong.  I had been rock climbing (sport and bouldering) for about 4 years before I started hormones, and as you can imagine my upper body strength was really high.

We did endurance and grip strength testing in A&P lab last year, and my grip strength and forearm endurance was a little more than double the normal for men.


Now though, I haven't been climbing in about 9 months.  I hopped on an easy route at the gym I work at, and I could still do it with relative ease.  I guess it takes a long time for that strength to go down.  I can see and feel that I am a lot weaker than I used to be, but I am still kinda strong.


I guess to answer more fully, before I got into climbing I was pretty weak.  I tried working out in high school to gain weight and strength but it didn't work.  I was always pretty weak when I was younger.

I was always one of the weaker "boys" even tho I was always among the tallest.. As a Freshman in HS I also got a doctor's excuse from PE.. mine was for asthma.. and it was both to stop myself from being embarrassed and harassed for how badly I would do (among other things), but also because I hated having to be in the boy's locker room..  Remembering it still gives me the shivers.. I did school service in the Admin office and Library during those periods...   more my kind of places.

Later I got a job in security at a time when I was trying to "man up" and did my best to gain strength and stamina.. I did ok.. was a good officer, and eventually made supervisor; but still had to rely more on tactics than strength.

FairyMonk; You mentioned you think you might have asthma? If you don't mind sharing.. what makes you think that?   I have been dealing with mine for pretty much my entire life. If you are concerned you may have it, please talk to you doctor.. they can determine if it is or not. Believe me, it can be very serious even in mild cases and is nothing to be toyed with, especially with the treatments and medications available today.

I have always been extremely weak in the upper body, but my shoulders are still too broad for my liking. Hopefully HRT will cure me of that, I think I am weakening. I probably cannot bench press 75lbs to save my life, never could. Did have very strong legs at one point though.

Unfortunately Christine, Hormones won't get rid of the shoulders once you have them..

I have the same problem, and at 6', it's a big problem.. I have learned to let them relax as much as possible, so they sort of sag a little.. that and stay as far away from shoulder pads as you can are the only things I have found that help soften the look.


And that song by Shania helped me through some very lonely times..  8)

My physical strength has been weaker than average men, but stronger than average women. In marathon courses, my rank is usually in the middle for men, but top 5 or 10 for women.

My shoulder is narrower than average men at my height, but still looks solid and wide for women's.

I am satisfied with my current physical strength, as I am relatively healthy and can help my wife with some works that require physical strength such as opening a plastic bottle.

So, HRT can diminish physical strength of pre-HRT M2F people? I do not plan HRT, but just curious.

Barbie~~

I'm pretty weak but have some muscle fat from before which I would like to reduce.

I was stronger from the waist down, weaker than most in the arms, and quite weak in chest, before Hrt.  I have been on HRT for several years.  My wife and I were walking in a park that has one of those exercise programs with various "stations" along the route.  You can stop at one, and it is set up to do pushups, walk a bit further and there is a station for chin-ups and rings. etc.  At the chin up station I stopped and was going to impress my wife with a couple of moves, just like I had done in the past (far distant past).  When I tried to pull up, it was exactly like Mr. Burns exerting himself in several Simpsons episodes. Much grunting, signifying nothing.  I immediately started an exercise regime to keep the arms and waist from getting flabbier.  We had already been rigorously walking, so the legs weren't a problem.

It depended on the task in question. Because my core is ravaged by scoliosis, sometimes simple lifts could hurt me when they shouldn't.

I still had the ability to throw around women who were significantly taller/heavier/stronger than me. I'd then say that testosterone is cheating.

And it is. Damn, I don't miss the muscles, but I miss the strength. I don't even try to move 45 pound weights anymore, when they used to be no problem at all. Of course that's more than 1/3rd my pre-HRT weight.

When I was trying to be a macho guy, I seriously lifted weights for a couple of years.  At one point, I weighed 165 and could bench-press 265.  Now, after almost three years on hormones, I can still carry a 75 pound dog up a flight of stairs, but I can't open a jar of pickles.  So, I'd say large muscle strength is not affected as much as small muscle strength.

I never considered myself strong or athletic and like many, I loathed gym class - especially the whole locker room/shower scene. I always had long lean muscles that never took on that male structure (thank god). I got into studying martial arts in high school and some years beyond and would work out intensely (as much as 4-12 hours per day 7 days per week). I found push-ups and sit-ups very easy and would do a minimum of 3-400 per day (as many as 1000), I was also very flexible for a guy and could easily do a full split. I never got into weight lifting, so never had the chance of that weight lifters body.

I haven't actively worked out for many years now and most of my muscle tone/definition has been lost and much of my strength has diminished. I still have fairly broad shoulders (yuck) and broad back (yuckier) and a lot of fat around the waist (gross), but I am rather happy with the look of my arms and legs. They have taken on a rather nice feminine tonality (pre-HRT), though I would be happier with a little more strength. Another thing I really miss is the flexibility.

Deanna

I was never particularly strong but did all right.  I have more of a runner's body.  Once my knees and ankles started giving me problems I switched to bicycling.  I was always agile but couldn't do strength stuff, and besides I have a small mass (skinny).  I did better at endurance kinds of things.  My daughter is similar - she always loved running in HS but hated the other stuff.  And she's not TG. :D

- Kate

Thanks for the replies everyone! :)

Seems that basically there is not much (if any) connection of physical strength and person being trans. Maybe it was that I played chess from age 4 to 12 many hours a day and had very liitle exercise at that time. I tried improving my overall fitness since 16, but it was (and is) very hard. And I can say that yes, I'm quite strong from waist down, but weaker in arms. I can walk lengthy distances fast, but not run.

 :D all i know is that i can't even carry grocery bags without complaining about it...that's why im hoping i marry a big strong man to do it all for me