Recently on Threads, a young woman shared gym photos showing off her figure, quickly drawing thousands of views and sparking debate within hours. Many comments accused her images of being photoshopped or claimed she wore padded shorts to exaggerate her hips.
“It looks like two halves of a body stitched together, the top and bottom don’t match. The lower half is short and wide, way bigger than the top. Does she like it like that? Why not tone down the hips to look smaller? Or is it just the angle making it look weird?” “That outline looks like padded hips, right?” “Are you purposely editing your legs and hips bigger? Explain!” were some of the comments. Others argued that based on body proportions and training, this kind of figure isn’t uncommon in real life.
We reached out to the Threads account owner, Đoàn Thị Lan, 24, a PT leader and freelance trainer in Ho Chi Minh City. She said she wasn’t surprised by the mixed reactions online since she’s faced similar questions in person. She stands 1.49m tall with measurements 72-54-93 cm.
“Not just online, but in real life many people are surprised by my appearance. They ask if I’ve edited my shape because it looks unusual. When I post photos, questions like ‘Is this photoshopped? Edited or stitched?’ come up all the time. But if you’ve been training for a while, this body is normal and achievable,” Lan shared.
Lan also confirmed all her posted photos are 100% real, with no editing, stitching, or padded shorts as rumored. “Before, when I saw comments accusing me of photoshopping or padding, I wanted to prove my body was real by taking photos with a normal camera and filming videos.
But even then, people still assumed I was wearing padded shorts or squeezing my waist smaller. So now, I just take those mixed opinions as compliments. I’ve trained hard to have hips that make people think it’s photoshopped,” she said proudly. She added that her small waist makes her hips look even fuller.
Everyone has different beauty standards, so praise and criticism are normal. “Some people criticize, others say my look is amazing. Usually, slim and petite bodies with tiny waists are more popular and easier to dress.
But for me, a healthy body that I feel confident in is what matters, not following anyone else’s standard. I’m happy with how I look now,” she shared.
Lan also mentioned that some people get intimidated by her figure or assume gym makes women bulky. However, “Many girls hesitate to choose gym because they fear getting bulky or muscular, but that’s a misconception. Building a bulky body is really hard and takes years of strict diet and training, sometimes 5-7 years.
That’s their goal, and they work extremely hard to get that look. Not everyone who goes to the gym will have a body like mine. Training programs are tailored to individual goals, resulting in different body shapes,” the PT explained.
Lan has been exercising since she was 12, starting with running to lose weight because she was overweight and faced bullying that hurt her confidence. “Later, I did HIIT cardio, then street workout in 2018, and gym training since 2020,” she said.
To achieve her 93cm hips and 54cm waist, she follows a training plan suited to her goals and body type, sticking to it daily for results.
“Currently, I do powerlifting about 4 times a week. My favorite lower body exercises are squat, deadlift, RDL, Bulgarian split squat, step-ups, hip thrust, and hip abduction.
For diet, I focus on high protein and limit fat as much as possible without being too restrictive. Also, drinking plenty of water before, during, and after workouts, plus maintaining a healthy lifestyle and avoiding stimulants is important,” she shared.
