Almost like clockwork, I hear these two phrases weekly from clients, other trainers and random peeps who pop in from here and there:
- You’re so lucky you work in a gym! You just workout all day long don’t you?
- It must be so easy living with and dating someone who lives the same lifestyle as you?
Besides how annoying it gets, it’s even more of a pain to TRY and explain to them how wrong they truly are.
Let’s dissect each “outsider opinion” shall we?
- You’re so lucky you work in a gym! You just workout all day long don’t you?
First of all, workout all day long? Are you outside your damn mind? Why on earth would I just want to work out all day long? Even as a coach, I don’t have the motivation or the stamina to do that! Working in a gym has been a part of my life since I was the ripe age of 16. No, I wasn’t exactly on the floor, but I was in a gym, doesn’t that count? By the time I had graduated to the adult part of the gym, I was wiping down sweaty, stinky machines that members had forgotten to clean. I was washing towels that were full of armpit BO and the face of makeup the woman who “never sweats” left on them. I was making smoothies and cleaning up messes left in the bathrooms. Where in there was I able to workout? Right.
Fast forward to running my own Coaching business where I run my own schedule but unlike you, I only get paid when I have clients. No in person clients, onto my laptop we go, where I need to check in and make sure all of my online clients are kicking just as much ass! Online work done, check in on nutrition clients. Macro targets are being hit, weight and measurements are being logged, everyone is winning! Yes! Class later tonight, make sure there is a full workout planned with the equipment we have based on the number of people showing up. Oh, and don’t forget to eat! I preach nutrition, so I better make sure I am getting it in just like my clients are!
Ok, phew! I finally found 1-2 hours that I could sneak in a workout. May have to rush it, may have to split it up between now and when I am off work at 7pm, but I WILL get it done! Won’t make it to long though because day starts again tomorrow at 5am!
- It must be so easy living with and dating someone who lives the same lifestyle as you?
Ok, let’s talk about this cereal eating machine that I call my other half. The man who can eat 2 burgers with fries, a soda pop and still lose weight the next day. The man who does one lap around the track and is shredded. The man who consumes 3,000 calories a day of chicken, rice and green beans and is immediately stage ready.
Oh yes, living and dating someone who lives the same lifestyle may seem easier, but when our “fitness” is on totally different levels, it is anything but. Our grocery bill is still just as high with his food and mine. Our pantry is just as chaotic with the cookies and chips, oats and cereals. Our fridge is full of my carefully macro calculate meals and his thrown together whatever looks good meals J The best part of living with a fellow competitor is when it comes time to prep for a show at the same time! Oh baby! No, scratch that, when it comes to prepping with or without him is just a ball of joy! Long workouts, less food, attitudes on an all-time high, tired and always sore, times that by 2 and oh its game time!
Now that I have given you all the negative of living with another fitness pro, let me tell you WHY it is works! We both understand what each other’s goals are. We understand why we need to spend x amount of time in the gym lifting, doing cardio and posing. We get why sometimes date night is meals in prepped meals or staying home so we can go to bed early for an early morning workout. We don’t question each other’s food choices or force each other to eat this when we can’t.
Is my fitness journey easier than yours because I am a Coach and I live with a fellow competitor? I say we agree to disagree. What looks easy to you on the outside is quite difficult behind closed doors. Your journey is hard, is a struggle, is easy to you because it is your journey! Mine is just the same.
Don’t worry about how “easy” it looks for others, worry about how you are going to accomplish your goals every day!
