I have a desire to be waif thin. The result of one too many women’s magazines? Possibly.
I see this as impossible to attain in regards to my body shape and genetics (even when I was young and thin I was always more athletic looking than tiny) but completely desirable.
Suggestions of ways to achieve this are welcomed. Maybe I need to be more aggressive with my workouts and eat less. Maybe I just need to imagine away my child baring hips and pray to the goddess of waify, willowy goodness.
I feel so fragile, maybe I just need the body to match.
As someone who likes the ‘waif thin’ look and frequently feels guilty for it, I’d encourage you… not to do it. I know it’s fashionable and guys like me tend to like that sort of thing, but it’s not real and when it comes right down to it, it’s not healthy for most people either. That kind of thin requires depriving your body of appropriate nutrients in most cases and/or allowing your muscles to atrophy.
I know a few people that come by it (mostly) naturally, but one of them has been doing martial arts for 13+ years and has the genes, and the other just has the genes and likes running. A mixture of tai chi, muay thai, aikido, push hands and/or yoga tends to do a lot for your muscle tone and can lead to the development of full body coordination. That helps tremendously to give the impression of a delicate wispy body. When you’ve practiced yielding and striking and learned to combine them (Oftentimes the yielding is the hardest part.) it allows you to project a wispy/willowy demeanor and body movement that (I think) is far more attractive and definitely more healthy.
Full disclosure: This is coming from someone who’s only been doing martial arts for ~1 year and spends FAR more time practicing muay thai striking than push hands and tai chi yielding.
I’ve watched people who do both fairly extensively and am always impressed by how calm and delicate, even fragile they seem.
That said, the really good ones can generate more force and power than those of us who study exclusively striking arts.