Vascular arms, bulging biceps and sculpted shoulders aren’t how American pop culture likes women to appear. There’s no other way to describe Butler’s Theresa Ivancik — an amateur bodybuilder with her sights set on going pro.

The only similarity you’ll find between Ivancik and models in magazines or on TV is the smile.

But there’s a key difference. Those glossy smiles are a facade, a setup selling a fictional ideal. Ivancik’s, on the other hand, is the real thing.

The 2001 Butler graduate recently won the female heavyweight division at the International Federation Body Building North American Championship in Pittsburgh.

Ivancik, who has been training since 2008, is still in search of her professional bodybuilding credentials. In a couple months she’ll have a shot, at a national show in Miami, Fla.

Ivancik’s story, told in Saturday’s Butler Eagle, is about more than weight training, cardio work and eating right. It’s the story of a woman learning to be true to herself.

Jeff Harlan, Ivancik’s business and training partner, says her accomplishments are amazing. He was talking about the muscle she’s packed on and the relatively short time — three years — it’s taken her to reach her ripped physique.

But the 32-year-old former sequinette has labored under weights heavier than anything you’ll find at a gym.

Ivancik said she developed a serious eating disorder while trying to stay thin and live up to society’s expectations of how she should look.

That part of her story — a woman struggling with how magazines and television shows tell her she should look — is not unique.

As many as 30 million Americans struggle with eating disorders — anorexia, bulimia and binge eating — and the vast majority are women, according to the National Institutes of Health. Only 10 percent will ever get professional help.

Ivancik made the decision to pursue her own happiness and health. That’s a kind of strength you can’t build in a weight room, no matter how much time you spend pumping iron.

“I believe to this day that body building saved my life,” she said.

Ivancik was 110 pounds — about 7 pounds lighter than the average American model, according to the National Eating Disorders Association — before she found bodybuilding.

Now Ivancik is 155 pounds and the healthiest she’s ever been. She’s poised to make a successful career of being true to herself and finding her passion.

More importantly, Ivancik says she’s happy and has the support of friends and family members; she says she gets inspiration from them.

There are plenty of women — young and old — who could use some inspiration as they struggle with how our society depicts what a strong, successful women looks like.

Ivancik’s story can help show them the way to be strong, not just look strong.