It’s not that being fit is not awesome, honestly, it’s freaking amazing, but there are rare occasions when it can cause a slight degree of frustration.
In this article, we present to you the sweet troubles a person may get themselves into when they start getting to some pretty advanced levels of fitness.
And if you are one of these people, then you will surely enjoy reading it, nodding and chuckling all the way through. So, why does being fit suck?
You’ll need new pants
If you are a bodybuilder, it’s very likely you have legs that are far larger than those of a regular person. This means that you’ll have to get rid of all the skinny jeans in your closet unless you wanted to see if you can fit your foot in the pant leg.
Every bodybuilder wants to show off his hard-earned muscles, but unless you are a woman, wearing tight jeans is simply not an option for you or any guy for that matter. Well-fitting and tapered jeans, that’ll do. But tight, skinny jeans, never.
That is unless you want to make a funny scene in your gym and tear them apart when squatting down. Or you don’t plan on having kids.
On a serious note, you probably know what’s we’re talking about. You go to the store to buy yourself a pair of jeans, finally find something you can fit your legs into, only to find out you have a waist larger than you thought, bulging because of the extra fat.
Then you go to buy a belt but this is only a short-term solution. On the other side, you shouldn’t buy jeans that are too big either, only to accommodate the future planned leg “expansion” unless you plan on becoming a rapper anytime soon. This is definitely not a good look.
You should at least strive to show off some of the hard work in the gym by buying something that’s a bit more fitted. In any case, trying to find a nice pair of jeans off the shelf can prove to be very challenging.
You’ll also need new shirts
As your waist gets slimmer and your shoulders broader, you’ll most definitely want to accentuate the V-shaped torso by buying some nice shirts that will fit well. But that can be really frustrating since finding a shirt that suits your specific body shape can be hard.
You can always pick the safe choice and buy a larger size so that your arms won’t turn into sausages or your delts tear the shirt apart. And now that you’ve gone down the safe route and picked an oversized shirt so that it fits the upper body, you look down and are disappointed.
You have something akin a maternity top around the waist. You didn’t spend months on end eating clean food, sometimes even starving and busting your a*s off in the gym so that you end up wearing something that hides all that hard work you’ve done. That’s a real bummer. And that’s only t-shirts we are talking about.
You might also be thinking about getting a button down shirt. Well, good luck with that. And you’d better have a good lawyer if you plan on walking around in a fitted button down. You know, just in case you make the accidental wrong move and seriously injury someone with the projectile that will be your flying button.
The things that apply with a t-shirt, apply with button down shirts too. You should not limit your movement, and then go and buy something larger to accommodate the volume of your muscles.
In that case, again you’re left with excess material covering up the waist, whilst if you have your shirts tailored; you could off your v-shaped torso. Broad shoulders and small waists aren’t apparel-friendly, that is, unless you have an awesome tailor to make clothes fitted just for you, which you should by the way, provided you can afford one.
Bigger collars
Well, you’ve finally managed to find some t-shirts and button downs that look good on you. The size perfectly fits around your torso and hugs it properly everywhere.
Then, you started preparing for that wedding you got invited to and tried to button the top button, wear a tie and again you failed miserably. This is a common reality for fit people. Most of the time you won’t be able to button the top button unless you want to strangle yourself.
Sometimes big guys can’t even get it even close to the hole. That is one of the main problems with shirts nowadays. They are made for small guys.
The pencil necks, if you will. Those who have 15-inch necks know best how frustrating it can be. If you’re able to find a dress shirt in the store, put it on and find the perfect size for you which fits your frame and you can still fit it around the neck; you have really won the jackpot.
So, what do you do now? You pay a lot of money to get yourself a tailored shirt, especially with a collar that fits perfectly, or you buy a custom-made dress shirt which will fit your body measurements.
You certainly won’t be able to find this in the store. Almost nothing fits well off the rack on a person with an athletic frame. Forget about the 30$ shirts you can find at the big stores. There’s no way you can buy anything below 100$ if you are both athletic and muscular.
Sitting in airplanes
Most of the time, there’s always some guy with extra blubber on him on the same flight with you. Usually more than one, unfortunately. And you had the extreme luck of having to sit next to him, with your body in an awkward position to avoid his volume spilling over your seat.
Well, the same applies for bodybuilders. So, while the overweight guy might be taking up space with extra fat, and is usually kinda nice, bodybuilders take up space with extra muscle. You could say it’s not his fault, but it most certainly is.
Bodybuilders like to look the way they look, it’s their lifestyle. They don’t go around looking for ways to piss off people, it’s just that they strive to have broad shoulders and attain a powerful, strong look.
Airlines simply don’t have bodybuilders in mind when they plan the average size of an airplane seat. Although, the rate at which the obesity epidemic is rising in the US, that could change really fast.
Sleep Apnea
If you have too much muscle on you, and most bodybuilders do, then it’s very likely that you could be suffering from a condition known as sleep apnea. This is a condition where having too much muscle on your frame can lead to intermittent pauses in your breathing while sleeping.
This condition usually appears in people suffering from obesity, but it can also appear in people who have a lot of muscle. To treat this condition, the majority of people would need to use a CPAP machine (continuous positive airway pressure) at night which requires you to wear a mask, akin to Bane from The Dark Knight Rises.
The good thing about using this thing is that you can sleep at night without having to worry that you’ll suddenly stop breathing. The bad thing is that it usually takes people a long period of time to get used to the machine and some can be pretty loud and will not only bother you but also the person sleeping next to you.
Constant hunger
When you are fit and athletic, your body basically turns into a space heater and it will burn calories constantly due to your metabolism being sped-up.
What this does is create a feeling of constant hunger during the day. It’s as if by the time you are finished eating one meal, you immediately become hungry again and crave the next meal, wondering what to prepare. The good news about all of this is that when you’re fit your body doesn’t have the tendency to store the food as fat, but uses it as an energy source instead, which will keep you lean throughout the entire year.
This will also allow you to enjoy your favorite foods which otherwise wouldn’t be included in your diet. This pisses off a lot of folks since they’ll see you eating ice cream, while they’ll file like gaining pounds just by looking at you.
The need to consume lots of protein
Consuming enough protein during the day from whole foods can be really tiresome. Some might say that this is no problem since there’s a lot of variety in protein sources like beef, turkey, chicken, ham, fish, eggs, and many others.
However, taking the amount of one gram of protein per pound of body weight can be a challenging task if you’re really busy. That’s why a lot of people decide to use protein shakes to ease the process of getting the right daily amount of protein.
To build lean muscle mass and preserve it, your body requires protein. This is why it is vital that you refrain from eating anything that is considered junk food, stick to your diet goals and consume as much protein as possible.
Sore muscles
A lot of people nowadays think that feeling incredibly sore is a good indicator of a successful workout. But this is simply not the case. This is especially true after a leg workout when you can barely muster the strength to get on and off the toilet seat to go to number two.
Not to mention climbing stairs or any other task involving your legs. You will feel crippled for days to come and you might get some awkward stares from people around you. No one will understand what you are going through except for the people who train regularly and take care of their health.
And this does not apply to people who only train on the weekends. If you want to get into this elite club of people with sore muscles, you need to be training several times per week and not just going through the motions but giving everything you’ve got each workout.
This thing called life
Do you know about the thing that happens all around you when you’re not working? It’s called life. Maybe you’re a boring person and you don’t have one. Maybe you would rather spend the night hanging out with your friends at the bar, having some drinks. But then, you remember it’s leg day.
And you say good bye to your friends and go to the gym to get pumped up. Of course, exercising is good for your health and you should make it a part of your lifestyle, but then again, you should also make it a priority and make it an essential part of your daily routine if you want to maintain an athletic physique.
There are some who completely eliminate all physical activity and get overweight fast. But if you’re dedicated, have a strict regimen and exercise daily you will avoid this. You ensure that exercise fits in your daily schedule. And when everyone else is wasting their time watching TV or playing video games, you’re at the gym hoisting some heavy iron.
Take a loan from the bank
Consuming clean foods all the time is not cheap. Eating all that amount of protein will cost you some extra bucks. Processed and refined foods are cheaper than healthy foods, which is one of the reasons why people often choose unhealthy options leading to the obesity epidemic in the US.
Organic foods are a lot more expensive. Lean protein sources too. It seems that the only thing we save money on is when buying water, compared to all the sweetened beverages available in the stores today. In any case, you’ll be spending some real cash each week just to meet the basic macro-nutrient and calorie goals. Clean food is definitely not cheap and you should not be surprised if you find your wallet getting slimmer faster than before.
Jealousy
Whether you’re already married or dating, being athletic and fit can create tension between you and your partner. When you become fit, it is only natural for people to start paying more attention to you and find you more attractive.
It all boils down to your attitude, how you manage those awkward situations and if you can do it in a manner which is respectful to your partner.
It’s likely that jealousy will get you in trouble at some point, it’s just a matter of time. And in most cases, it’s got nothing to do with you or some thing you did or did not do. Just being in that particular situation is enough to trigger conflict. When your partner notices other women checking you out, some insecurities may show up.
Jealousy is a nasty emotion, it can cause a real conflict and break up the relationship. Expect conflict, prepare to handle it and learn to defuse the situation before it goes out of hand.
