We are not the same, you and me.
To compare one with another would be like comparing apples and oranges. We have different goals and ambitions, different physiques and abilities. Comparing myself to anyone else would rob me of my own goals and progress.
I am my own competition.
YOU are your competition.
Sometimes, it’s detrimental to compare current me to my past peak fitness and former glories, but it’s far better than wishing I were someone else or wishing I were better than someone else.
"Comparison is the thief of joy" -Theodore Roosevelt (maybe)
I’m lucky to think this way, I guess. Not everyone agrees.
This debate missed the point
An argument broke out on Fitness X recently about whether people should disclose whether they are taking performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) or not.
The original poster said:
“I think everyone should disclose whether they’re building naturally or not. It’s very misleading to see results and think they were achieved solely through hard work. What do you think?”
On the surface, and read on its own, this might read like a valid, reasonable point. However, to add some brief context, it appears to be an aimed post. The poster recently cast doubt over someone’s waist size by comparing their photograph to her own measurements. Additionally, I’ve followed this account for a year or so, and gradually the posts have become more narcissistic and include provocative half-naked shots, scantily-clad dance videos, and a display of dumbness that is unbecoming of someone who has been attending the gym daily for years.
It seems that jealousy and the need for attention/validation drove this post, but the question is an interesting one and divided opinion.
Some people argued that enhanced athletes are an illusion. They didn’t build their physique naturally, which to some people translates as they didn’t put in the work. The implication was that they achieved their physiques by cheating and they’re giving natural athletes false hope that they can achieve the same bulging biceps, chiseled abs, and vascularity that would make a vampire horny.
Others said nobody owes strangers an explanation of their choices.
Posts that divide opinion bring eyes, and that’s exactly what debates about being natty or not do.
Hard work doesn’t disappear
People achieve results naturally, or with assistance, but the common denominator is hard work. You can’t take PEDs and instantly bulk up or get shredded without showing up at the gym consistently and working for it.
An equivalent running example is thinking that someone can only run fast because they wear carbon shoes. They didn’t roll off the couch, put on a pair of super shoes, and run a sub-3 marathon. They worked hard. They put in the miles when it was cold, dark, pissing with rain or scorching hot, when it was easy, when it was hard, when they would rather have been doing something else.
The same applies to lifters.
Every session is a new opportunity to be better, however that looks to them.
The comparison trap (and how to bust out)
The bigger question is:
Why do we care so much what other people do?
Do you work out for other people or yourself?
For my part, I’m not saying natural or enhanced is best. People have to do what’s best for them.
That’s the point.
The gym is not a team sport.
It’s not a competition.
We are not the same, and we’ll never all be the same because the playing field is not level, and it never will be.
There will always be someone stronger than you.
Someone leaner.
Someone faster.
Someone with more time to train.
Someone with fewer responsibilities.
Someone who started ten years before you.
If your success depends on beating all of them, you’ll never feel like you’re winning.
Focus on personal progress and stop whining about things being unfair because someone has bigger biceps, more chiselled abs, or a smaller waist.
Focus on your next rep, not someone else’s.
That’s how you make progress.
I’m a nutrition coach with 8+ years of running experience, 2+ years of strength training experience, and a background as a Run Leader and Female Captain of a running club.
Years of training and coaching have taught me that most people don’t need more information. They need support, accountability, and a plan that works around real life.
Let’s work together.
I’m active on X. Find me here.
Enquiry form here.