Anyone out there that has a hard time finding a fitness buddy

I

ilovefitness

Cathlete
Most of my friends are male. They are cool. I feel more at ease hanging out with men largely due to my education background, chosen career, and personality.

I do have few female friends. However, they don't seem to share my interest in fitness and sports nutrition. I am a perfectionist. Currently, I am in my own little personal contest so as to achieve my absolute best. I am very regimented in my training and my nutrition. I don't live in a small town, so it's not the issue with the population.

Just wondering and curious to see if anyone has fitness buddies either online or in close vicinity?
 
Yup.
I'm also hyper-conscious about talking fitness with many people in my real life, because I think many folks automatically equate a love of fitness with an obsession with one's own appearance. a) I'm happy with my body as it is and b) I don't want people who don't understand to make assumptions about me.
 
I never scrutinize the way other people eat or what their fitness habits are, but they sure do it to me! I am not vocal about exercise or good eating habits, but when some folks see my lunch or ask what I'm doing after work (it's always a Cathe workout!) they get hyper-critical of me and very defensive of themselves even though I am non-judgmental. The flip side to this was about a year ago when a new member to our team asked me about what I do for exercise and was actually interested in trying something new. I told her about Cathe and lent her some of my DVDs. She is hooked, and is currently doing the Getting Started with RWH rotation. I must admit, I really enjoy "talking shop" with her, but we limit it to only ourselves (lots of eye rolling from others). She is 20 years younger than I am and we both inspire each other.
 
Repo said:
Lucky you!! I love to find someone passionate about Cathe and other workouts locally.
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I can only find men around my age to talk about fitness locally. :) Unfortunately, I cannot find any local gals that share the same fitness passion with me. I am an advanced fitness junkie. :p Most local gals here are casual about fitness. :-( I guess that's why I hang online to find camaraderie. :)
 
I have found a friend who shares my passion for fitness and nutrition, but her viewpoint is a little different than mine. We don't do exactly the same things, but we have a common bond and do weights and interval classes together. She doesn't run (she used to, but stopped), and she doesn't understand my exercise DVDs. She calls them the "little workouts I do at home". She has NO IDEA! I am 10 years older, yet in better shape overall, but she doesn't understand that it's because of my Cathe DVDs.

Still, despite her not getting that part of my life, we are best friends and enjoy working out together. Other than her, there is absolutely nobody else. Everybody in my life is very complimentary and appreciative of what I do (no eye rolling and no condescending), but in the same vein they are not interested in hearing about it OR doing it! Like ilovefitness said, most people are very casual about any sort of fitness they participate in. It's just a different level of interest and commitment. That's one reason I enjoy the online community so much.... everybody "gets it"!
 
JeanneMarie said:
I have found a friend who shares my passion for fitness and nutrition, but her viewpoint is a little different than mine.
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What you said is so true. :)

Less than a handful of female friends I have I'd categorize as good friends yet not friends I would share my fitness passion with. They are great to talk some certain things with but quite limited in range of topics; therefore, I envy you. ;-) The male friends I have are cool - we talk about fitness, travel, technology, gaming, sports, etc. Sometimes I just miss the female camaraderie, if you get my meaning. :)

I respect my female friends' or other female acquaintances' casual attitudes on fitness. After all, we're all different. I am a perfectionist but then I don't force my opinion on anyone. One thing I cannot tolerate, though, is the fact that some of the female acquaintances actually get jealous of my results. I don't flaunt my body or have a showy attitude; plus, I am still striving for my personal best atm. I just don't get why some blatantly diss me without seeing how much hard work I have put into my fitness and nutrition. It's so hateful and disrespectful, IMHO.
 
Most of my friends, especially those that are close to my age, have no interest in fitness. Their attitude, fitness is only for someone younger. They have been on the planet so long that fitness is not, and should not be a priority. But then again, they are always whining about their belly fat, or the fact that they are always tired. There was a time, when I tried to talk to them about fitness.They told me I was a fanatic. I don't talk to them about fitness any more.
 
desertambrosia said:
Most of my friends, especially those that are close to my age, have no interest in fitness. Their attitude, fitness is only for someone younger. They have been on the planet so long that fitness is not, and should not be a priority. But then again, they are always whining about their belly fat, or the fact that they are always tired. There was a time, when I tried to talk to them about fitness.They told me I was a fanatic. I don't talk to them about fitness any more.
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Thanks for sharing. The guys I hang out with that I can talk fitness to are in my age bracket - 20's or early 30's. The gals of the same age bracket just aren't interested all that much in fitness and well-grounded nutrition. Again, I respect their views. I just don't get why I have to be the subject of hate and envy talk behind my back. Very hurtful, indeed.

Also in the office environment (I am in a professional service conglomerate). Again, not to diss anyone of my own gender. It just seems a majority will talk trash if I decline the donuts. Just to be clear, I don't have orthorexia. I just prefer healthy wholesome foods. I seriously don't have a sweet tooth.

I can certainly understand your frustration in your fitness journey. It just seems to me after a certain age, some people succumb themselves to inevitability of aging. I think a lot of times it's all in the mind set. I have seen mature women in excellent physical shape to evoke envy of the younger counterparts.
 
Yes I know the feeling. I avoid the topic of exercise, because people know that I workout, but most of my friends don't. Also, I think they assume because I don't have a job its easy for me to exercise because I don't work, or have kids etc. Its a topic I avoid talking about unless someone asks.

Thats why I come here. I workout at home also because I don't do gyms and also I can't afford them. I am quite a introvert so working out with Cathe suits me fine. Also I have all you lovely people to share with. Also being in the UK not many people here workout at home. The only ones I've met are on these forums. People don't tend to workout at home, choosing a gym environment. I would love to meet people here who workout at home.

Laura
 
desertambrosia said:
Most of my friends, especially those that are close to my age, have no interest in fitness. Their attitude, fitness is only for someone younger. They have been on the planet so long that fitness is not, and should not be a priority. But then again, they are always whining about their belly fat, or the fact that they are always tired. There was a time, when I tried to talk to them about fitness.They told me I was a fanatic. I don't talk to them about fitness any more.
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Oh my gosh....if anything engaging in fitness becomes MORE necessary as we age!
 
Pippadog1 said:
Yes I know the feeling. I avoid the topic of exercise, because people know that I workout, but most of my friends don't. Also, I think they assume because I don't have a job its easy for me to exercise because I don't work, or have kids etc. Its a topic I avoid talking about unless someone asks.

Thats why I come here. I workout at home also because I don't do gyms and also I can't afford them. I am quite a introvert so working out with Cathe suits me fine. Also I have all you lovely people to share with. Also being in the UK not many people here workout at home. The only ones I've met are on these forums. People don't tend to workout at home, choosing a gym environment. I would love to meet people here who workout at home.

Laura
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I know your frustration and can empathize with you whole-heartedly. I travel extensively to Europe so I know what is like in UK. It is so hard for me to understand the mindset of certain people. I am single and have no kids. However, I have a busy work and social life. I will always sneak in at least one hour of exercise in the morning 6 days of week with scheduled rest days and rest weeks. The sarcastic remarks I receive always make me tighten up my jaw.

Fitness and sound nutrition has always been my passion growing up. Perhaps it has something to do with a long line of medical doctors in my family. Even then, most doctors are not educated about fitness and sports nutrition.

I am usually a lurker on this forum. This time I just wanted to say my piece about how it can be lonely sometimes in the fitness journey.
 
Justinef said:
Oh, and I get REALLY annoyed when people say ' how do you stay so slim when you eat that much?' and in the same conversation say 'you'll get bulky lifting weights', or 'why on earth do you do all that walking'.... etc.

Actually, I no longer get annoyed - I just cringe inwardly
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I KNOW!!!!!!! And what I dislike the most is: most would tell me stuff such as "you need to put on some fat and here have this ice cream...." I am sorry I may look slim but I actually weigh a lot more than I look. I eat 6 meals a day and on a good day I can manage about 7 pullups in excellent form.

I am just disheartened that it seems to me our own gender tends to be the frequent offenders. That's why I prefer to hang out with my male buddies. I know men have their issues, but....

Thanks to all the ladies who chime in. I don't feel so alone in my fitness journey. :)
 
It's the same for me. None of my close friends are into fitness like I am. I don't usually bring up the subject anymore because I get the eye rolls or they get defensive and start to critize my healthy habits. I've also had people comment on the 'light' workouts I do at home, and they think I can't possibly be getting a good workout without going to the gym. Just once I'd like to see them dying as they try to get through any Cathe workout! I love coming to these forums as an outlet to talk about my passion with other like-minded people. Just a great group of people here!!
 
catwoman7631 said:
I've also had people comment on the 'light' workouts I do at home, and they think I can't possibly be getting a good workout without going to the gym.
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This made me laugh as I have a "friend" who is 30 pounds overweight, not interested in the least in nutrition/ fitness, and did not believe my Cathe spinning workouts were anything like what a real spinning class would be like - as if she'd know - ooops that was nasty! I think she'd collapse and require rescucitation if she tried Pedal Power LOL!! I have, however, been lucky and found a few fitness buffs at work so we can regularly chat about our workouts and brag about how many push-ups or burpees we did.
 
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catwoman7631 said:
It's the same for me. None of my close friends are into fitness like I am. I don't usually bring up the subject anymore because I get the eye rolls or they get defensive and start to critize my healthy habits. I've also had people comment on the 'light' workouts I do at home, and they think I can't possibly be getting a good workout without going to the gym. Just once I'd like to see them dying as they try to get through any Cathe workout! I love coming to these forums as an outlet to talk about my passion with other like-minded people. Just a great group of people here!!
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I know what you mean exactly. I don't understand why it all has to comes down to this. I only have less than a handful of female friends. I cannot say they are my best friends. I guess my best friend is someone I can totally talk anything about without being judged and feeling unease. I guess these days I can call some of my male buds my best friends. They are always there for me.
 
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