People who have dedicated themselves to a specific sport or the sport of being fit and healthy live a different lives than the normal person. They have different needs and follow different rules. Which can make them difficult to be in a romantic relationship with. As someone who is dating a serious athlete and is a fitness enthusiast themselves, I know first hand about the struggles this lifestyle can cause in a relationship. I’ve learned to manage and understand how to date an athlete and have come up with some tips to help other people understand.
How to date an athlete/fitness enthusiast:
- Understand they’re hungry all the time: Athletes and people who workout burn a ton of calories and require a lot of food to refuel themselves. Without the proper amount of food and protein the’ll become what is know as “hangry” (hungry and angry), this could lead to fighting. I’ve learned to always have snacks in my purse or backpack to hold my athlete over till the next meal.
- They don’t have a lot of time: Between workouts, competitions, traveling, school/work, eating, and sleeping athletes don’t have a lot of down time. When they do have down time they just want to relax. This makes it difficult to plan much and puts requirements on what you can do. You have to understand their tired and date night might have to be a night in watching a movie. After a long week of training their not going to want to go on a bike ride around the bay.
- They require a good nights sleep: In the college lifestyle people are used to staying up late partying and studying. An athlete can’t afford staying up till 2 a.m. drinking or staying up all night cramming for an exam. As a significant other you should help your partner get sleep not take sleep away. Going to bed before 10 p.m. might be unusual for some but that’s late for a serious athlete.
- Be supportive but don’t lie: After a bad performance an athlete will probably hear how awful they did by their coach, so they don’t need to hear it from you too. Be their number one fan but don’t over do it. You don’t have to lie to them about how great they were if that’s not the case. The best thing to do after an athlete has a bad performance is to let them come to you if they want to talk about it, don’t force anything just be there for them.
- All the sacrifices come with reward: Dating an athlete is tough and does require sacrifices but there is so many good things about dating an athlete. For one, you are dating someone who knows all about commitment, dedication, and hard work. They can also be a source of inspiration for you. Another plus is that they usually don’t like to party that often which can help you cut back on nights out drinking. The type of mind set and work ethic that comes with being an athlete can also help build a strong relationship.
Tip of The Week: Tell someone that you love how much you appreciate them, it’ll make them happy and you’ll good!
Song of The Week: Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding