Why are you obsessed with the gym? Do you have that muscle dysmorphia thing?

I don't think I am. No.

So now that's cleared up, let's go.

So to explain the title. These are frequently asked questions that annoy me so much that it chips away at my soul just ever so slightly. Why? Because it feels like a personal jab stemmed from someone's uneducated bitterness as they want what I have but don't want to put in the work... Or maybe they are genuinely concerned about my health and well being and I am too ignorant to see it.  

Over the years, I have been training and trying to push my body to be the toughest it can be, often times feeling like Krillin from Dragon Ball - training religiously to be the strongest to then cross a milestone that everyone around you has unknowingly crossed a long time ago with ease… by accident. This could be enough for me to think ‘why try’ and end the journey there. But this is the reason I created this blog and dedicated a lot of my posts to state of mind, personal reflection and self-growth. Training isn't just physical, but mental too. In a world of 7.7 billion people oftentimes you can find over a couple 100 people who you think do what you do but so much better and effortless and that can be a massive demotivator, but does that mean we give up? No, but it might mean that going gym or training once a week or twice a week will just not cut it, maybe we will have to train every other day. We just might have to sacrifice some of our social gatherings, time spent on social media or entertainment.   

Muscle dysmorphia, commonly known as bigorexia, is defined by ANRED (Anorexia & Eating Disorders Information and Resources as) as "The opposite of anorexia nervosa. People with this disorder obsess about being small and undeveloped. They worry that are too little and too frail". People with this mental disorder believe they are never big enough, strong enough, ripped/ shredded enough no matter how much they meal prep, plan and train, often spending their life trying to reach an unattainable goal in unhealthy ways.

Now I am going to take a wild guess and say I think everyone - including me - has felt like this at some stage in their life, even if it was for a couple of hours or even minutes (If you haven’t, then comment below and let me know, I will be intrigued) and that is totally normal, in fact, I would even say to some extent it’s actually good for you as it gives perspective, humbles and provides motivation.

So what's the difference muscle dysmorphia and pushing your body to be the toughest it can be? The relationship you have with the gym, is it healthy or obsessive?  

But that's for next week.

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