Reasons for working out?

[Vahz]

If you work out, what are your reasons for doing so?

Do you just want to live a longer and healthier lifestyle? Are you doing it to impress the opposite sex? Or sports? Or for any other reason?

My friends keep telling me that they hope I'm doing it for myself rather than someone else like women. While I am working out for myself, it's also because I felt some type of need to make it look like Asian men can also be big (not practical joke big) and ripped. Am I doing it for the wrong reasons in that I wish to break America's stereotypes about Asian men? Maybe I'm trying to do what Yul did on national television.

Sure, looks from women is a nice byproduct but is there such a thing as working out for the wrong reasons?

[Ike]

I work out when I'm bored or depressed.

[Scowl]

My friends keep telling me that they hope I'm doing it for myself rather than someone else

I've never really understood this line of reasoning; I don't see why it's so much better to work out for health than for vanity. And what exactly does it mean to be doing it for someone else? Any reason one might have for working out is inherently selfish.

[theme]

I've never really understood this line of reasoning; I don't see why it's so much better to work out for health than for vanity. And what exactly does it mean to be doing it for someone else? Any reason one might have for working out is inherently selfish.

You can't really separate the two. Health and Vanity are direct consequences of each other. That's why I don't buy it when people spout that crap.

And Vahz, there is no downside to workout.

[Vahz]

I've never really understood this line of reasoning; I don't see why it's so much better to work out for health than for vanity. And what exactly does it mean to be doing it for someone else? Any reason one might have for working out is inherently selfish.

Well, doing it for health would be for a personal reason. Doing it for someone else would be like to attract women though that sounds like a personal reason too. Heh.

Also, I think genetics are on my side (if it matters that much in bodybuilding) because my legs are like horse legs since I ran track in high school. I'm not that skinny but I would like to put on just a little more mass in my upper body.

Before I started my workout plan, I would just "work out" half heartedly and I would already see a big difference so hopefully, in two months, I'll be alot bigger.

[cattygurl]

People that are doing it more for health related reasons (i.e. I don't want to become an insulin dependent diabetic, I don't want another heart attack) tend to stick to a program longer and work out more consistently over time. A good percentage people that do it for appearance reasons predominantly (i.e. I want to lose/gain 30 lbs, attract others) tend to lose steam when they reach their goal (lose/gain the said weight or find a partner), or abandon their program.

That's just data from several research I've read over the years.

Generally speaking, it's important to appreciate both the aesthetic change to your body (i.e. my clothes fit better, more confidence in one's appearance) as well as appreciate the health benefits (I'm stronger, I have more endurance, etc) in order to keep people motivated consistently to make fitness a permanent part of their life. For people that go on to work out regularly for more than 2 years, their priority often changes from simple health/appearance factor to emotional/mental well-being. Those that feel that working out gives emotional and mental satisfaction/clarity/stability and appreciate that factor as the most important reason, from either groups initially, stick with working out the longest/permanently.

People whose jobs are dependent on their appearance and those with body dysmorphic/eating disorders fall into a different category.

People that tend to focus too much on the appearance end often tend to try more severe ways of dieting and working out that leads to injuries or just plain crashing, and often have less realistic ideals of their end goal, which is a big factor in why they're often not successful in the long run.

I can personally say that my main reason to work out is to help out my mental state. I find that I'm far less prone to depression when I do work out. Depression is a motherfucker. I'm not the healthiest person, and at this point, me + illness +depression = losing everything I worked for this far, so while I don't have time to work out consistently, I do try to stay active enough through walks, etc to keep my mental state above water. There are times when I'm motivated to lose weight, or get healthier- but ultimately, those don't motivate me to be active nearly as much as just wanting to feel more positive and have a better attitude that helps me get shit done.

[kimtae]

I work out because, as I have posted before, I want to be like Jack Lalanne:
1954 (age 40): Jack swam the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, underwater, with 140 pounds of equipment, including two air tanks. A world record.
1955 (age 41): Jack swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco while handcuffed. When interviewed afterwards he was quoted as saying that the worst thing about the ordeal was being handcuffed, which reduced his chance to star jump significantly.
1956 (age 42): Jack set a world record of 1,033 push ups in 23 minutes on You Asked for It, a television program with Art Baker. He later celebrated by inventing a new fitness regime which would train all parts of the body at one time, calling it the star jump.
1957 (age 43): Jack swam the Golden Gate Channel while towing a 2,500-pound cabin cruiser. The swift ocean currents turned this one-mile swim into a swimming distance of 6.5 miles.
1958 (age 44): Jack star jumped atop a paddleboard nonstop from Farallon Islands to the San Francisco shore. The 30-mile trip took 9.5 hours.
1959 (age 45): Jack did 1,000 star jumps and 1,000 chin-ups in 1 hour, 22 minutes.
1974 (age 60): For the second time, Jack swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf. Again, he was handcuffed, but this time he was also shackled and towed a 1,000-pound boat.
1975 (age 61): Repeating his performance 21 years earlier, Jack again swam the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge, underwater and handcuffed, but this time he was shackled and towed a 1,000-pound boat.
1976 (age 62): To commemorate the "Spirit of '76", United States Bicentennial, Jack swam one mile in Long Beach Harbor. He was handcuffed and shackled, and he towed 13 boats (representing the 13 original colonies) containing 76 people.
1979 (age 65): Jack towed 65 boats in Lake Ashinoko, near Tokyo, Japan. He was handcuffed and shackled, and the boats were filled with 6,500 pounds of Louisiana Pacific wood pulp.
1980 (age 66): Jack towed 10 boats in North Miami, Florida. The boats carried 77 people, and he towed them for over one mile in less than one hour.
1984 (age 70): Once again handcuffed and shackled, Jack fought strong winds and currents as he swam 1.5 miles while towing 70 boats with 70 people from the Queen's Way Bridge in the Long Beach Harbor to the Queen Mary.
I'll never duplicate his feats but something he said really struck a cord with me. He said that most people's physical fitness over their lives, if charted out as a graph, would resemble a hill with a rise to a peak and then a long slow decline into old age and decrepitude before death. He felt that ideally a person's graph should more resemble a plateau with a sudden drop before death, in other words, one's physical quality of life need not decline with advancing age. When one dies, others shouldn't be saying, "well, we all knew it was coming." They should be saying, "it was a total surprise, the guy looked so good."
I exercise as an invest towards the future. No viagra, no kidney dialysis, no faltering step or fading memory.

[LaiSteve66]

It actually makes you feel good.

[MiNiBoiE]

I've never been fit in my life before. I was always skinny with a slight belly but that doesn't mean I'm healthy :T.

I'm running a whole lot more these days, I can go 4.5 miles in about 38 minutes w/o stopping (My best so far but I have to do another run to be sure it's consistent). I'm mainly running for heart health (Heart problems may be hereditary), endurance training and wanting to run benefit marathons and the like sometime in the future.

Been pumping iron a little bit at a time and working on my diet. My own main reasons for doing this IS for health but a very close second is looking good.

[Le Sheng Liu]

Lose weight, toning my body, and cuz I actually enjoy it as a recreation. I don't do much weights or running. I mainly just stick to yoga, hiking, and swimming. I used to ride a bicycle but since moving to LA I sold that shit.

[little mixed girl]

i don't really work-out. i want to get into better shape, but after i get done with work i'm tired. and so i usually study or watch tv, then if i prepare dinner that takes time and before i know it it's 12am.

when i do work-out it's partly vanity (now) and mostly because i am tired of being out of breathe from doing simple things...i also did many exercises when i was in elementary school, so i want to be as good now as i was then.

[Justin]

It actually makes you feel good.

Yeah, definately. Plus its healthy for your brain.

[DONKEY]

because i like the pain. also the feeling of sweat dripping from my scrotum in the breeze at dusk. is that the wrong reason?
all of my exercise is done outdoors in my private yard area because i dont want to pay the lousy gym any money. i dont have weights but i have canvas sacks full of rocks. i used to use buckets of rocks and then filled with rainwater to fill in the gaps but the water breeds mozzies in the summer
im constructing a pull-up bar

[Scowl]

i don't really work-out. i want to get into better shape, but after i get done with work i'm tired.

I hear that. I try to exercise in the mornings, but I'm not a morning person, and unless it's like 5am, it's fucking hot outside. And when I get home I'm beat, I just want to sit down with a beer and a smoke before bed.

i used to use buckets of rocks and then filled with rainwater to fill in the gaps but the water breeds mozzies in the summer
im constructing a pull-up bar

I had one of those pull up bars that you screw into the door frame. One day that shit fell out and hit me in the head.

[Vahz]

I had one of those pull up bars that you screw into the door frame. One day that shit fell out and hit me in the head.

And here I was all excited that i bought one.

[DijabutiA]

The most motivation I ever had was because I wanted to join the military. Now, it's just to cut fat and I do want to look better. But even then, it's pretty important for my health epically considering the family history. That and now my health care is supposed to jump so it would be nice to keep that cost down too.

[kwak76]

I work out because I actually feel strong after my work out. I think also because I hate the Asian "skinny" guy stereotype so I lift to put some muscles on my frame. If that's vanity than I'm guilty.

[DONKEY]

I had one of those pull up bars that you screw into the door frame. One day that shit fell out and hit me in the head.
that sucks dude. my friend had one of those when we were kids. i never trusted them.
the one im building is in the yard. im digging two long fence posts into the ground and putting a metal pipe across the top of them.

[kimtae]

Don't forget to use a level, I'd hate to see you wind up with one arm longer than the other ;)

[Synthetic]

I work out because I actually feel strong after my work out. I think also because I hate the Asian "skinny" guy stereotype so I lift to put some muscles on my frame. If that's vanity than I'm guilty.

I actually use that for my motivation as well. I just hate being a stagnant person who eats and just lets the nutrition and calories go to waste. There's something about the feeling after a 3 mile run, or after a tough set...it just feels good.

Also, knowing you're working on breaking stereotypes is always a good feeling too. Really boosts the confidence and self esteem in those "harder" situations. Plus, people see you working out, working hard, sweating, and since "every minority represents everyone in his/her race" this carries over into how they think about other people who resemble you. That feels good as well.

[ankita]

I practice yoga for many reasons-

To get a good health :D
To make my body flexible
To get a good state of mind
To create a balance between body and mind.
Our Glandular system works properly :D

[nottyboy]

For me, it's use it or lose it. I don't want to be all frail when I'm old.

If you work out, what are your reasons for doing so?

Do you just want to live a longer and healthier lifestyle? Are you doing it to impress the opposite sex? Or sports? Or for any other reason?

[Le Sheng Liu]

Um cum on now, we're all Americans here, aren't we? That automatically means we work out cuz we're insecure about our age and body and wanna look good. I'm surprised you even have to ask this question.

[krnbboyprd]

So I don't have man boobs which is very sexy by the way..

[nottyboy]

Speaking of working out, someone sent me this vid. Kinda cool with the Kanye soundtrack:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ENbUij8KHY

Kinda funny too how the chest hair just dissappears midway through, lol.

[Pat the Great]

makes me think the pictures might have been accidentally ordered from most recent to least recent.

[nottyboy]

makes me think the pictures might have been accidentally ordered from most recent to least recent.

It's possible. Though it takes way less than a year to go from Diesel to sloppy. :)

[mobbdeep]

I work out because it gives me something to do when i have free time and to get out of the house. I don't really like to work out much though. I rather play basketball than hit the weights but I do both.

I used to be skinny in high school but now I have muscle since I work out. I hate all the idiots in my gym though. They dirty up the gym and gives us all germs lol

[Weeping_Lady]

To be healthy inside out. And because I love too. Of course how and what you eat goes along with it.

[Liang]

To be like this guy:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=UjBJzLuf_Co&feature=related








jk. I don't want to look like a GI Joe action figure. Right now I think my body looks great. I'm well-muscled with broad shoulders. My arms are not huge size-wise, but they look great with my body. I just want to gain about 15 more pounds of muscle maybe.


And yeah, I exercise for health reasons, the girls, and a bit of narcissism.

[Weeping_Lady]

:eek: Han Seul Ki is RIPPED!!! He def has a nice bod. I'm gonna fav him! Hopefully you will get the results you desire! ;)

lol @ your quote Liang!