Well yeah training does help. I was already naturally stronger than what people expected though so I'd say maybe genetics play a role. Then training showed its results. I shouldn't have stopped though....those years when I stopped training did harm to my fitness level. I could have been stronger now if I kept going every month and every year. It was a mistake. I won't stop working out now. If I am busy with something for a few months and I can't go to the gym then I can work out at home with dumbbells and body weight. Stopping was a mistake because I could have been stronger now. Ups and downs in strength happened because I couldn't get myself to train constantly and eat properly when I wasn't motivated enough. Also diet is important and I neglected this side of fitness a few times. Now I am much more positive and motivated. Getting to grab that 45 lbs dumbbell easily made me realize progress happens to me too and it's real.
Too bad my muscles get limited growth because I don't have that male range testosterone in my blood yet, so my strength can grow quickly while muscle growth is slower and limited (and not eating enough for a few months could make me shrink a bit so I should also eat as much as possible constantly or I lose progress).
It just irritates me when people underestimate me because of my size or because of my body (in terms of "physical sex"). It's like ignoring my atheltic value. It's annoying. It's also a sign of being dumb and unnecessarily competitive. I don't understand how some cis men are so arrogant....it's like they feel stronger no matter what. I see guys who first start lifting struggling with weights that are pretty light to me now. But that's ok, after all lifting weights is no joke (and some serious injuries can occur).
Or when that cis male friend of mine laughed about my arms being small. My arms might be small compared to a 6 feet cis male, yes. But to me it's really stupid to do this comparison thing because estrogen dominated bodies and testosterone dominated bodies are different in shape and size. The comparison can be done after a trans guy starts T, not before. To me it seems AS ALWAYS that cis people just want to feel superior. Like when another cis male friend of mine had his leg next to mine (we were wearing shorts) and said "male and female legs differ, look". I was like SOOOO WHAT?
To be honest, my legs are pretty nice to me. It's the only part of my body (face excluded) that I like....cause they don't look feminine. The only difference I saw was the amount of hair (and not all cis guys are as hairy as he is) and the skin color difference (it might also play a role as dark southern Europeans tend to be hairier than the northern looking ones like me). But this way of undermining me just pisses me off. One of the reasons why sometimes I just prefer to hang out with women - cause my female friends treat me like their "brother", that bestest guy friend who tells them if they look good in a certain dress and the one they can trust because he won't look at them in pervy ways. Cis males on the other hand might be like "we're the real men here so we will bother you with all this nonsense competition bs".
Better not mess with me though, I'm one of those people who totally loses control when pissed off, and I have zero tolerance for that "friendly sounding, subtle cissexism". I know cis men compare themselves to others or challenge each other, but doing this with a trans guy pre T is like looking for waya to humiliate him and make him feel less of a man.
