Is Sasha Cohen Too Thin? | Page 5 | Golden Skate

Is Sasha Cohen Too Thin?

sk8addict

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 22, 2004
behaved myself

Johar said:
Wow, you sat next to her! Did you hear any good stuff? Did you get an autograph?

Sasha is on the thin side but looks very healthy to me. I've seen athletes with eating problems and she is not one of them, going by looks.

I personally know a Colt's cheerleader who is thin like that (but has larger breasts;) ) and she is naturally that thin, as are her mom and sisters.
No..I didn't ask for an autograph. We behaved ourselves. I did have my tickets around my neck since we were headed back to the arena after diner so they did notice we were skating fans. They were with 2 elderly asian men. We all left at the same time so after we were outside we wished her good luck right before our friend who was driving almost backed over them. I thought she looked out of place with no one near her age wiht her...guess that was part of the Wagner isolation.
 

rob43

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 1, 2005
I thought Sasha was too thin at Nationals but thought maybe it was the flu she had. She was definitely more athletic looking in '02. And Michelle was very thin in '02. I remember Carroll siad something about seeing her after the split & her being thin as in in shape but my first thought was forget thin give her a sandwich.

I think Sasha's general shape, very small framed/long torso, makes her appear thinner because she isn't as curvy to begin with.
 

bethissoawesome

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 12, 2005
I don't think she is too thin. She is definitely more thin than the average person, but she is very fit and muscular. And in my opinion, everyone looks thinner when they are in skates :biggrin: because they give the same effect as high heels. She doesn't look nearly as thin in candid off-ice photos.
 

tomoya

Spectator
Joined
Mar 16, 2005
I don't think michelle looked that thin back in 2002..she looked toned...what she looked like this year is worse compare to her old self..she looked really out of shape at both Marshall and the olympics. I don't want to say this, but she really looked heavy when she was practicing at the olympics
 
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Mathman said:
I had the same thought watching Michelle in those Visa ads. Was she really that thin? In retrospect I do think she overdid the dieting in the Fall of 2002.

In 2003 I think she deliberately undertook to build up her upper body strength. The result was the Aranjuez program, to which IMHO she brought a new power that contrasted with the epherimal quality of her earlier programs.
MM
Geez, who the heck resurrected this thread?! :laugh: As for your comment, MM, "Was [Michelle] really that thin [in 2002]?" Criminy! That's only what I've been saying in every post in every thread on body weight since 2003 when, as others have put it, Michelle started "wearing muscle." And wearing it well. :)

BTW, Michelle worked with a personal trainer on her off-ice training and built herself up all over her body. It just showed up most in her arms and upper body because when you diet, as MK had done prior to the '02 Olys, you lose muscle first from where you use it least. For a figure skater, that would be face, arms, and torso. Although figure skaters need good upper body strength, they can get away with small jumps and slow spins, which is what tends to happen with less than optimal upper body strength.

But a skater must use her lower body muscles just to stroke around the ice and jump at all. Working with her personal trainer, Michelle's body mostly just evened out in terms of muscle mass, it's just that her arms went from skinny sticks to beautifully bulked and ripped works of art. As many of us noted, at '03 USN, when Michelle did "Aranjuez" her skating and body looked faaaaabulous!

I hope people have also noticed how much more bulked up Sasha was in '02. Soogar, stop reading here. ;) Let's assume Sasha was 4'9" and about 80 LB in '02 and is now 5'2" and 95 LB (based on info in the SI article). Using insurance company and medical standards, the average woman should gain 5 LB for every increase in height of one inch. Based on these standards, without dieting, Sasha would now weigh 105 LB at 5'2". So it's as if Sasha has lost 10 LB since '02 or, to put it another way, it's as if Sasha weighed 10 LB more in '02 than she does now.

If you don't believe me, look at photos of Sasha from '02 and focus especially on her back--her lats (latissimus dorsi) are magnificent--and her legs, which are much more muscular in '02 than they are now. Assuming the change in Sasha's weight relative to height has been virtually all muscle, which is denser than fat, a 10 LB loss of muscle is not going to look as dramatic if it were a 10 LB loss of all fat.

All I would like to see Sasha do is, over the summer, add 5 LB of muscle to her 5'2" frame, 2.5 LB in her upper body, 2.5 LB in her lower body. A good personal trainer who knows figure skating--Sasha should steal whoever Michelle's trainer was ;) --should know how to build muscle where Sasha needs it for skating. I'll list each muscle for you and its function in Latin:

:laugh: People run screaming from this thread. :laugh:

Seriously, imagine Sasha with 5 LB of pure muscle added in just the right places. I think she would not only look magnificent, but that it would add a stability to her skating that she has been lacking without taking away any of her ethereal quality. Also, with the COP having become more demanding each year since its inception, IMO the additional muscle would also help protect Sasha against injury by giving her more strength and endurance.

However, I want to emphasize is that the added muscle would help Sasha's skating only if she also trains the right way, that is, by using the SAID principal, Specific Adaptation of Imposed Demands. This just means that as she builds the additional muscle, Sasha will have to train so it will help the right muscle groups work in the specific ways they work in the figure skating skills she wants to improve. This is why working with a personal trainer who understands figure skating is imperative.

Okay, Soogar, you can start reading this again, if you want to, lol.

Rgirl
 

soogar

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2003
I just want to comment (not on Sasha), that NBC panned to footage of Emily coming off the plane into Italy and Emily is *skinny*. She was wearing reasonably fitted jeans and I was stunned to see how thin her legs were. Several people have commented that Emily is kind of heavy, but I think that's just the skating dress. In regular clothes, she is a stick.
 
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
soogar said:
I just want to comment (not on Sasha), that NBC panned to footage of Emily coming off the plane into Italy and Emily is *skinny*. She was wearing reasonably fitted jeans and I was stunned to see how thin her legs were. Several people have commented that Emily is kind of heavy, but I think that's just the skating dress. In regular clothes, she is a stick.
Emily also gained quite a bit of weight, which she said herself, when she was sick over the summer--viral meningitis, IIRC. It required her not only to recover from the illness, but to also remain sedentary for months afterwards. When she first competed this season--I think it was Campbell's, but am not sure--Emily was quite big.

Intelligently, IMO, she lost the weight she gained gradually over the six months since August. I've noticed that she was thinner at Nationals than she was in early November and thinner in the footage of her skating for news reports during Michelle's withdrawal. I think she's been wisely getting in shape as if she were going to the Olympics even though she might never have gone. My guess is that she's probably lost about 10 LB since Nationals.

Of course, being in well-fitting jeans rather than a short skating costume can definitely make one look thinner too, especially the legs. :)

Rgirl
 

ladysarahchatto

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Rgirl said:
Geez, who the heck resurrected this thread?! :laugh: As for your comment, MM, "Was [Michelle] really that thin [in 2002]?" Criminy! That's only what I've been saying in every post in every thread on body weight since 2003 when, as others have put it, Michelle started "wearing muscle." And wearing it well. :)

BTW, Michelle worked with a personal trainer on her off-ice training and built herself up all over her body. It just showed up most in her arms and upper body because when you diet, as MK had done prior to the '02 Olys, you lose muscle first from where you use it least. For a figure skater, that would be face, arms, and torso. Although figure skaters need good upper body strength, they can get away with small jumps and slow spins, which is what tends to happen with less than optimal upper body strength.

But a skater must use her lower body muscles just to stroke around the ice and jump at all. Working with her personal trainer, Michelle's body mostly just evened out in terms of muscle mass, it's just that her arms went from skinny sticks to beautifully bulked and ripped works of art. As many of us noted, at '03 USN, when Michelle did "Aranjuez" her skating and body looked faaaaabulous!

I hope people have also noticed how much more bulked up Sasha was in '02. Soogar, stop reading here. ;) Let's assume Sasha was 4'9" and about 80 LB in '02 and is now 5'2" and 95 LB (based on info in the SI article). Using insurance company and medical standards, the average woman should gain 5 LB for every increase in height of one inch. Based on these standards, without dieting, Sasha would now weigh 105 LB at 5'2". So it's as if Sasha has lost 10 LB since '02 or, to put it another way, it's as if Sasha weighed 10 LB more in '02 than she does now.

If you don't believe me, look at photos of Sasha from '02 and focus especially on her back--her lats (latissimus dorsi) are magnificent--and her legs, which are much more muscular in '02 than they are now. Assuming the change in Sasha's weight relative to height has been virtually all muscle, which is denser than fat, a 10 LB loss of muscle is not going to look as dramatic if it were a 10 LB loss of all fat.

All I would like to see Sasha do is, over the summer, add 5 LB of muscle to her 5'2" frame, 2.5 LB in her upper body, 2.5 LB in her lower body. A good personal trainer who knows figure skating--Sasha should steal whoever Michelle's trainer was ;) --should know how to build muscle where Sasha needs it for skating. I'll list each muscle for you and its function in Latin:

:laugh: People run screaming from this thread. :laugh:

Seriously, imagine Sasha with 5 LB of pure muscle added in just the right places. I think she would not only look magnificent, but that it would add a stability to her skating that she has been lacking without taking away any of her ethereal quality. Also, with the COP having become more demanding each year since its inception, IMO the additional muscle would also help protect Sasha against injury by giving her more strength and endurance.

However, I want to emphasize is that the added muscle would help Sasha's skating only if she also trains the right way, that is, by using the SAID principal, Specific Adaptation of Imposed Demands. This just means that as she builds the additional muscle, Sasha will have to train so it will help the right muscle groups work in the specific ways they work in the figure skating skills she wants to improve. This is why working with a personal trainer who understands figure skating is imperative.

Okay, Soogar, you can start reading this again, if you want to, lol.

Rgirl

I don't think Sasha is 5'2'. Michelle is listed at that same height and side by side she is visibly taller than Sasha (look at their podium shots standing together). I've met them both in person and I'd say Sasha is maybe 5'0 to 5'1.

edited for spelling!
 
Last edited:
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
ladysarahchatto said:
I don't thing Sasha is 5'2'. Michelle is listed at that same height and side by side she is visibly taller than Sasha (look at their podium shots standing together). I've met them both in person and I'd say Sasha is maybe 5'0 to 5'1.
I went by the info in the Sports Illustrated article as well as photos taken within the last year of Michelle and Sasha standing next to each other. MK and SC have different proportions and MK may be 1/2 an inch taller than SC, but they're pretty much the same height.

Rgirl
 

show 42

Arm Chair Skate Fan
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Rgirl, you lost me at "soogar, stop reading here"..........I wanted to chime in here and say I think Sasha looks great. She's in her "fighting weight" zone and ready to kick "bootie"..............42
 

Sk8n Mama

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
I thought Sasha was too thin at Nationals but thought maybe it was the flu she had

I agree-I thought she looked very thin at Nats but I just chalked it up to the flu. Even when she's gained a little weight she has always been a teeny tiny girl.

I don't see Emily Hughes as 'tiny'. I saw her up close and in person at Junior Worlds last year and (he's not huge by any means) she has vey solid, muscular legs. I remarked right away that she has a different build than Sarah. I do agree thatt he camera and dress-styles can add weight, though-Joannie Rochette never looks tiny on tv but in person she is just an itty butty thing. She was standing right beside us for quite awhile and I couldn't get over how little she was.
 

tarotx

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 30, 2005
Sasha in 2006 is an older version of her 2000 self not her 2002 self. She was training the quad that year and she packed on thigh muscle. She also did a lot of damage to her back in 2001 and 2002. She has to train differently now because of it. I think Sasha would look better with a little extra weight but in the Olympic year you train more, there is pressure stress and Sasha's family issues added stress. Less of 10lb's does not make an anorexic and there for a non issue for now.

Sasha in 2000...

http://www.sashafans.com/media/gallery/2000nationals/index.php

Sasha 2-20-2006...

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/060220/483/olypa32602201401

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/060220/483/olypa32502201401
 
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Sasha_4_The_Win

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 12, 2006
When you can bench press 400 pounds I'd say you probably aren't 'too thin'. Obviously she must be muscular.

I can't believe some of the gossip on Sasha I've read on these boards. What the heck!
 

RubyNV

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 11, 2006
Not the point, exactly

I am actually concerned, not about Sasha's extreme thinness, but about the lack of physical maturity. She keeps getting older each year, but the hormones just don't seem to be kicking in. I still am concerned that some gymnasts and figure skaters take something to delay the normal hormonal surges that cause full physical maturity to take place. She also looks extremely short.
 

RubyNV

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 11, 2006
Not just short

Sasha isn't just short. Where are the breasts and hips?
I realize that she could be naturally small, but she's at the age now where these things should be growing!! Since many skaters and gymnasts are like this, I find it shocking and worrisome--also suspicious!!
 

IDLERACER

Medalist
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
The strongest argument that she is too thin can be made by looking at THIS photograph. Here, she is 20, and has the body of a 12 year old. Her sister, on the other hand, is 16 and has the body of a normal teenager. There is no question that Natasha has the more attractive physique, but whether or not it is as well suited to figure skating on this level is another question altogether.
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
oh no. here we go again. "Is Cohen anorexic?" Part II. (or more like Part XXV?)
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
IDLERACER said:
The strongest argument that she is too thin can be made by looking at THIS photograph. Here, she is 20, and has the body of a 12 year old. Her sister, on the other hand, is 16 and has the body of a normal teenager. There is no question that Natasha has the more attractive physique, but whether or not it is as well suited to figure skating on this level is another question altogether.

that's an old photo. I think she's more like 16 or 17 in that one.
 
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