Pressed Like A Bench: Signs You’re Low-Key Jealous Of Someone Else’s Fitness Journey

When you share video or pictures of yourself working out, what is your motivation? Is it to hold yourself accountable by letting people know when you’re exercising? Is it to encourage other people who may not feel the push to be active? Is it to have a visual record of your progress? Or is it to internally motivate yourself to keep going?

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Whatever the reason, there are people out there who can’t stand it when people share their workout updates. They think it’s narcissistic. They think it’s “extra.” They might be right. There are some who like to do a lot of humblebragging about themselves. But sometimes, the people with the problem with such posts are really just hating and looking for a way to feel better about the fact that they’re not being active themselves. I’ve seen a lot of stories and conversations as of late about how before and after pictures, exercise videos and fitness updates are annoying, but not very much talk about how, in many cases, issues with these things stem from envy. We’re all guilty of it from time to time.

Could you be someone who is quietly jealous of the work someone else is putting in? Here are a few signs. If it sounds like you, don’t hate. Instead, get moving.

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You’re comparing yourself to them.

Instead of being happy for your friend, associate or whomever you’re following and the progress they’ve made, you look at their posts as a slight to your own confidence. You start comparing your body to theirs and slowly but surely start finding their posts to be negativity you don’t need in your day.

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You put conditions on how they can share their photos.

If they have on too tight or too revealing clothing, you can’t take them seriously and consider their videos and pictures to be thirsty as opposed to inspiring. Or maybe they have to have an inspirational quote or message attached for you to take something positive away from whatever they’re sharing of their workouts.

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Image via Getty

You say they need validation from strangers.

You look at their profile and say it’s “sad” how important validation and compliments from randoms are to this person, even if that’s far from what they seem to be seeking.

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You start picking apart their body.

Sure, they’ve put in work, but is that booty natural? They could do some more work on their legs. And what good is a six-pack when you have a flat chest?

Those are the thoughts and opinions of someone who reads deeper into a workout video or picture than they need to.

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Image via Shutterstock

You think they’re humblebragging.

You don’t want to give the person props for their hard work because you think it would be gassing them and making their head bigger than it needs to be.

For example: “So you ran a marathon. Good for you. No one cares!”

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You roll your eyes when you see their profile.

When their profile pops up in your feed, you roll your eyes or sigh deeply because, to you, it’s a “Here they go again doing the most” moment coming your way. You can’t take all of their energy and enthusiasm, and even though you wouldn’t tell anybody, you’re thinking about unfollowing them.

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You start to feel bad about what you’re not doing.

If you’re not comparing your body to the person with the consistent workout updates, you’re comparing your development (or lack thereof) to what they’ve been able to accomplish. You see them exercise daily, even if they have to just do a quick yet strenuous routine at home, and you start to feel bad about the fact that you have a gym membership you barely use.

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You say they’re doing too much and looked better before.

Instead of congratulating someone on the work they’ve done that has helped them feel better about themselves, you start to question why they went so hard in the gym. You say they looked just fine as they were and if you’re really bold (which I’ve seen), you put it out there that maybe they’ve been using performance-enhancing drugs to have the results they’ve obtained in a short span of time.

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You root for them until they get close to reaching their goals.

You cheer for their progress — that is, until they start getting closer and closer to the goals they’ve set for themselves. You were all in when they were just starting to get active and motivating you to do the same. But when the poster surpassed what you’ve been able to do for yourself physically or in terms of healthy eating and wellness, you realized you’re not feeling their videos and pictures anymore.

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