Reasons why we work out and live a healthy lifestyle....

It sounds as corny as it is for a college student but lifting is my anti drug.

I leave the gym with more energy and a higher focus than when I went in.

It's really just a natural high for me to throw up that weight and feel a burn knowing I am building myself how I want.



_J

 

I identify with Tillman on this one.

In high school I played soccer and started lifting weights. I was about 5'9" 165lbs. When I went to college I was riding bikes and playing some IM basketball. I "shrunk" to low 160s and had a 29" waist. Then I quit lifting because the gym was packed/too much homework/have to go to work/etc. Once I started shrinking, I went crazy and started drinking Mass Gainer Fuel everyday and lifting. Stayed in the 170s.

Then I found a girl (she would later become Mrs. Johnson). She started feeding me and I started getting flabbier.

Upon graduation from law school, I hit 220.

At age 29 I started getting headaches and feeling like crap on a regular basis. I went to the doc. He told me my blood pressure was dangerously high and my bad cholesterol was through the roof. I was a ticking time bomb!

After that I started taking bp pills and eating better. I wasn't getting any smaller. When my size 38 pants started to fit tight, that was the last straw. I realized that for many years I had been putting my health on the back burner, and I was going to do something about it.

It started with eating better quality foods. No fast food. Then the wife and I started walking every night after work. The when the weather did not cooperate, we went to the gym. I'm now 188 lbs and still losing a pound or two every week or so.

This summer I got the idea to train for some kind of competition. I am now training on the bike again and I plan to do my first triathlon next summer. For me, I like the idea of setting fitness goals. They keep you going. My first goal was to eat better. Then run a mile. Then bike 25 miles. Then a triathlon. Etc. Competition keeps me going.

 

But.... Uhuuuuu..... you....


Oh never mind. You know!

 

This might sound strange, but I work out for me, I was healthy before I started at the gym, not lacking in confidence when dealing with people. I was unhappy with how I looked in the mirror, now I'm happier with how I look in the mirror, and I will continue to push hard to get to my ideal look and keep it. The mental side effects are great, I feel pumped and have never felt as "well" as I feel at the moment. All this keeps me going back.

Plus, down here in NZ, summer is on its way, and I own a convertible, I can't be seen out of shape in a car like that......

Plus I agree on the girl part, if I am in shape then it is ok to expect a partner to be in shape, if I’m out of shape.......

 

I try to eat right and work out because I don't want to be a fat ass. Honestly, I hate working out, but I make myself do it.

 

my god!
If my weight was anything close to what some of you weigh i'd be looked at like a freak or "my god, that guy is sick". I'm tall but I have a large bone build. I wear a size 54 jacket because of a large bone frame. Just think of a offensive/defensive lineman build. The lowest I could ever see myself would be 180 without any muscle.

 

What he said.

Sometimes making it social by taking a class (spinning, for example) can make it more interesting. Or get a workout partner so it's a team thing.

 

I think that becomes a big part of working out. I've made a lot of friends at the gym and it makes hitting the weights that much more fun. Better than a bar

 

+1

+1

I have a gym partner, we work out together nearly every time. It makes it enjoyable, in fact I look forward to going to the gym, I am a familiar sight there and the faces become familiar, then they become friends. Just remember to keep the socialising to the end of your workout, saves time and keeps your heart rate up.

 

I work out because I have a younger chick on the side. I have to keep up with her.

I kid. I kid.


RMX
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2) to increase the odds of seeing future grandkids get married
4) being old and fat wouldn't of been any fun
5) beating 20 and 30 year old's in races is a whole lot of fun

 

I was pushing 300lbs.

I dropped it because I was right at the cusp of not fitting into clothing from regular stores and I would have been incredibly pissed to have to shop at the fat guy store.


My suit jacket went from a 50R to a 42R so far. Waist down about 12 inches.

It's a long road but it is worth it.


I think a lot of people would be happier if they were more fit. I know I am.

 

Nice work, I couldn't agree with you more.

Thats my reason.

Plus, hard work with becoming more healthy results in allways working harder at everything else in life.

 

You know you really ought to change the bathroom outlets to GFI ones. They're a lot safer.

 

I have to admit I also HATE working out. I have a hard time doing anything thats repetitive and/or doesnt keep your mind working. Raw physical activities dont keep my interest and I eventually stop doing them.

The only exercise Ive ever enjoyed requires strategic thinking/flexing my brain as well as my body. In HS I played football and afterwards played a lot of paintball. Unfortunately Ive developed some ankle problems and it doesnt take too well to running up hills and diving in the dirt anymore

Over the past few years I went from 210 (where I feel comfortable and seem to attract the porn stars - hehheh) to 255 (where Im a fatass though my GF is gorgeous thankfully)...anyway over the past few months Remix has been inspiring and I bought a treadmill a few weeks back and Im slowly getting back on the horse. I also cut out the fast food and *most* soda.

I have to admit I hate the treadmill but my large collection of 80s cartoons on DVD has made it somewhat bearable.

Oh so to answer the question of 'why'...as everyone has said.. you really do feel better and are more motivated when you are healthy and look good.

 

This is exactly why I started riding my bike into the office. I can't do a 26-mile ride to nowhere in particular, but if I have to go 13 miles to get there, and another 13 miles to get back, it makes sense to my exercise-adverse brain.

 

You get my text?

On the last leg of my 5 mile run I had the fortune/misfortune of coming across the newly opened Counter restaurant which lies directly in my path home!

In case you're wondering why that's counter-productive ()...........
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Uh yeah, and I was just leaving the MDR office after a meeting, too.

As much as I enjoy your company.. that would've been my fourth burger in a week!

 

That is a picture from the net. I had a cup of rice (cooked) and a half of a chicken kabob for lunch!

Maybe this weekend!

 

All through highschool I was overweight by about 30 lbs but that never bothered me. Then I started college and gained a lot of weight. Before I knew it I was a sophomore in college and weighed 247 I am 5'9. I was doing too much drinking and eating junk food for every meal. My parents always said I had to do something, but I always brushed off what they had to say. One day I was walking up the steps to the business school at St. Joe's I had class on the third floor, and I was sweating and out of breath. I decided then I needed to changed. I started walking outside and watching what I ate. I just did a couple miles at first, now I walk/jog up to ten miles a day about 5 times a week. I "cheat" every once and a while but I don't enjoy food the way I used to. It is important to eat to live not live to eat. Since then I am now down to 180-185 depending on the day and I feel a million times better. I also sleep a lot better then I used to. I tried going to the gym, but I don't enjoy it. Instead I like being outside. Find something you enjoy doing then it does not feel so much like exercising. I also agree that it is better if you have a destination or endpoint when you jog/walk/bike etc. It makes it that much more bearable.
Erik
PS I did end up getting the girl because I lost weight as well
PPS I have been a member of f-chat a long time hence how I am out of college but use teenferrarifan