Feeling like I don't look like I workout

[shadra]

@hendricks62 If you look at athletes of different sports their builds all look different. The details of the diet, training involved and your genetics to a degree are all going to control how you look. If you are wanting to look a certain way (like a fitness model or a specific class of bodybuilding competitor) then you may want to look into how someone in that sport/field eats and train.

I’ve been weightlifting In a gym for almost a decade and recently took up CrossFit as an additional hobby. Just about every other female in my CrossFit box looks less jacked and higher in body fat than me, but I assure you they are all outperforming me on just about every kind of exercise in the WOD. And they probably enjoy a steady lot more calories than I do.

 

[dawn16]

@hendricks62 I have lost 150 lbs and have loose skin (and still some fat). I definitely don’t look fit.

I have been working out several hours a week over a year.

I just started going to a CrossFit gym. Pretty sure everyone is surprised by my abilities. I look like an out-of-shape soccer mom but there is a beast in there.

 

[matchfox]

@dawn16 I love this journey for you! xo

 

[mosaic1948]

@dawn16 Honestly, this is goals. I love the idea of looking "regular" and then surprising everyone with the amazing shit I can do.

When I was a teen I was part of a lot of sports teams and worked out a lot at home, but I was chubby too. One thing I accomplished was being able to do 500 crunches in a row. In gym class we had this fitness test where one of the things we had to do was as many sit-ups as we could in one minute. When I handed in my sheet the gym teacher took one look and made me stay after class because he didn't believe me. I easily repeated my results and the look on his face was the best.

 

[dawn16]

@mosaic1948 You showed him! What an asshole!

 

[hendricks62]

@dawn16 Wow amazing weight loss! Congrats!

 

[fromnorway]

@hendricks62 Yes!! I feel like I only look like I work out when I’m at the gym. Good lighting, athletic clothes, having a pump, etc. but when I’m at home or out socially, I just look like an average person

 

[belindad]

@hendricks62 I once went on a date with a guy who told me - “you could look like an instagram model if you worked out everyday.” I was like... I do work out everyday? Awkward silence....

Every other guy I’ve been with has complimented my body a ton so I choose to think that guy was just a douche. Looking instagram fit vs being fit are two different things.

This video also really sums it up, I love his take on it -

He says something like... after I workout, I like to have a nice meal! Haha, exactly!!

 

[rutger]

@belindad He was negging you. Douchiness confirmed.

 

[dreis]

@belindad Oh my god what a turd

 

[colton1919]

@belindad

I once went on a date with a guy who told me - “you could look like an instagram model if you worked out everyday.” I was like... I do work out everyday? Awkward silence....

I dated this guy too. He was really into my "prominent hip bones" and one day hit me with line "You could have a legitimately hot body if you dieted and exercised."

Cue internal shrieking.

 

[pcippy]

@colton1919 "You could have a legitimately tolerable personality if you shut your mouth and stopped talking. "

 

[medicsti]

@colton1919 Ugh, what! Tell him you could be a legitimately nice person if you didn't say things like that.

What an asshole!

 

[danielfromcanada]

@hendricks62 I'm a mildy similar build to you. 5'11", but 170-175. I have a similar diet(though I do really focus on that protein number. But I don't work out and lift as much as you. Have you tried increasing your protein intake a little more?

Generally speaking, unless there's some part of your body that is slightly disproportionate to the rest it's not really going to "look like you work out" unless you either bulk for long enough to build a lot of muscle OR cut.

In my case, if I'm just walking around doing whatever, I don't generally look like I work out either, mostly because I don't keep strict control over my diet. But if I flex my upper or show pictures of my lower in profile, it "looks like I do".

 

[hendricks62]

@danielfromcanada Yah I look pretty proportionate, I will try and up my protein!

 

[struggle101]

@hendricks62 The rule of thumb I have always heard is 0.7-1.0g per pound! Your protein seems a bit low for sure if going by that measure. I try to go for at least 0.8g per pound. But I also feel you on this post. My lower body looks nothing like I work out and it’s discouraging.

 

[joshg111]

@hendricks62 I feel this hard. I’m a martial artist and I supplement with power lifting. I’m strong and fit, but with a squishy physique because I eat whatever I want instead of cleaning up my diet.

I went and got a massage a few months ago, and while I was talking to the masseuse about my pain points I mentioned that I was a martial artist and he gave me a weird look. He was clearly some sort of athlete and had like no body fat on him, and I suddenly felt really weird, like I wondered if I looked like I had never worked out in my life.

Also, someone else mentioned it but I’m super jealous of that 95 lb OHP!

 

[hendricks62]

@joshg111 Ha thank you!

 

[medicsti]

@hendricks62 I was once at a pool party with a friend from the gym. A woman asked how I knew the host and I said we met at our CrossFit gym and she replied “I can tell.” It was so unexpected and such a compliment. She didn’t have to say that. I definitely feel like I don’t look fit. But it was really nice to hear a stranger say that. It can be hard to view our bodies objectively.

 

[tamimolina888]

@medicsti I had something similar happen at work! Getting to know new co-workers, we were talking about hobbies and I mentioned I lifted at the gym and got the "yea, you look like you work out". I've only heard it twice before and it was a nice compliment, but I can't see myself objectively most of the time haha