Competing As A Couple by Jessica True

Competing As A Couple

Last year we had only casually spoken a few times in the gym. After he returned from Jr. Nationals he gave me the female freebies from the expo. What a smooth move, ha, ha!
Between October and November I had three shows. Jason was a great support system. In June we competed together. We traveled to Indiana for the GNC Classic and to Chicago for Jr. Nationals. After stepping off stage, we turn our competitions into mini vacations. Lots of eating (of course), lots of shopping and some sightseeing.
By no means am I implying that competing at the same time is a cake walk. The nature of dieting down into contest condition demands that you be selfish. Your main focus is what you are eating, your weight training and cardio, your rest, etc. And in the end you get pretty tired. Put these two people in the same house and it can be a strain. But, I’m a positive person so I prefer to talk about the “pros” of competing together.:-) For me it’s easier to stay focused and stick to my diet when my significant other is doing the same. It’s nice to share the same hobby. With competing, unless you’ve competed yourself, I don’t think you truly understand what someone is going through. A lot of times if you don’t share this interest one person gets jealous of the amount of time spent in the gym, your eating habits interfere with your social life or they can’t empathize with feeling hungry and irritable.
Many relationships fall apart because one or both parties are competing, some couples have only minor issues and some couples split their training cycles, meaning the man may compete in the fall/winter and the woman in the spring/summer to make things less stressful at home.

For us the amount of time spent in the gym or the way we choose to eat is never an issue for us. We have the mutual understanding that everyday life is not consumed with our lifting and nutrition because it is just a hobby.
Do what you love with someone you love