Why Do I Work Out?

Most people don't like working out hard. Hard as in sweating, grunting, eyes squeezed shut, feeling sore the next day. That is okay. It is not for everybody. But it is agreed that working out is necessary, right? Even if you don't like it, it is good for you.

Other than helping you maintain or lose weight, how is it good for you? Well, I guess it depends on what you believe is good for you. For me, working out is good for me because: 1) it makes me stronger; and 2) it makes me faster. Those reasons alone have made training more enjoyable, with results I have been able to see and be happy with.

I have to carry groceries and a 3 1/2-year-old up and down two steep and treacherous flights of stairs daily. Before I worked out for functionality, I did it for aesthetics. I looked pretty good; I was thin. I was curling 15# dumbbells. I was doing isolation exercises that made me look a lot stronger than I was. There is no way I could have carried my kiddo and all her things around the way I do now. I would have been out of breath walking up the stairs. It isn't easy going up and down the stairs with 50 pounds of stuff on you, but at least it is doable and I don't have to be hospitalized afterward. I love that I can go buy stuff and not have to leave it in the car when I get home.

When I lift heavier and heavier, I feel like a badass at that moment. I swear to God. Even though I know I am not lifting as much as many others in the world, I feel like I am Awesome when I put more weight on!! Lifting or pulling something you have never been able to before is Empowering. I help friends move furniture into their homes. I can carry heavy boxes of things to and fro. It doesn't matter where they go; it matters that I can carry them.

Speed is paramount in my life, too. I need to be faster to catch my crazy kid who is forever running off. She is fast. I mean, really fast. And when she bolts, it is up to me to catch her. If I didn't have any speed, she would be in even more peril than she is normally. Being fast and agile is important for reflexes. You can catch stuff before it falls and shatters on the ground. You can stop your friend from tumbling in a drunken stupor off the bar stool at the honky tonk club. Agility may keep me from falling down randomly, but since I am so clumsy, I will need the speed to help me tuck and roll or catch my fall.

Besides, strength and speed will help with the aliens. You can fight them, pick them up and throw them in to each other, or tackle them and do a ground-and-pound. When and if your ammo runs out and they overwhelm you with their numbers, you will need that speed to outrun them and dodge their hissing balls of acid flame. Remember that, if nothing else. Plus, you will look good doing it.

My friend doing a 70# Turkish Get-Up. She is the one I will be behind when the aliens attack. In order to help her with them, I aspire to do what she does.

So...why do you work out?

Why work out?

It used to be that I worked out in order to maintain my weight and look better. Certainly, those are legitimate reasons. Most people work out for aesthetics. If you ask all the women at the gym, about 98% of them would say they go to the gym to look good.

Nothing has changed for me. I work out to maintain my weight and keep some semblance of form to my body. But in recent years, I have found liberation in getting stronger, faster, and more physically fit. I don't just work out in order to lose or maintain weight. I work out to get stronger and more fit. Although my weight has a lot to do with what I do at the gym, the motivation comes from the achievements I make with speed or strength. It makes my workouts a lot more fun.

About seven or eight months ago my husband stopped doing CrossFit because he wanted to make his fitness and workouts a little more functional. While CrossFit is made up of functional movements, he wanted to do things that transferred into what he enjoyed and what would help him. He went back to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and has been thrilled. Now he works with what works with his BJJ. Although he often comes home injured, bruised and torn, he is always beaming. It caused me to think about what my workouts meant to me.

To preface this even more, years ago, I used to "runch" with an old friend of mine once a week. We called it runch because we would 7-10 miles, then go do lunch. One day, when we were jogging, we were talking about going faster, going slower, doing interval work. My friend and I looked at each other and simultaneously, said, "We need to run better and faster in case we are chased by animals or aliens." Great minds think alike. I almost forgot that when I worked out at the gym. With my husband's BJJ, I remembered why working out and getting stronger and faster is important to me. It is for when the aliens come; I want to be prepared.

I don't know if the aliens will care if I am fat or skinny. All I know is, I want to be able to outrun them and, when I am out of breath, have the strength and endurance left to fight them. So that is why I work out now. To be prepared. I am working on strength, endurance and speed. I've been working out with a friend who is a freaking powerhouse, and I signed up for judo. Just in case.