I figured there would be multiple reasons most people would have but was curious what was the main reason. As far as people who don't keep in shape I am curious about the people who do. We have a lot of fitness threads on here so I just wanted to see if there was one main motivation behind being fit.
It used to be for work. Though different type of fit(endurance) was required to perform the duties of a grunt in the Marine Corps. Now its just for appearance and confidence. I hated the training at the time but now I am grateful knowing that I would never have been in the shape that I was in unless it was demanded of me.
It looks like "Maintain your appearance" is the main reason closely followed by "Overall physical health" is the main reason. I was thinking on a sports related board there would be more votes for "Better performance in sports." I voted for that option because I mostly keep in shape doing through Judo.
I think a better question is: "Why wouldn't you keep in shape?" And this is coming from someone who is currently out of shape, but currently working to fix that.
For better performance in sport. I need higher goals or else I really struggle to motivate myself frankly. If i wasn't playing rugby I'd just cut down to a very lean physique.
I'm 60, and one thing I am learning is that you are old a lot longer than you were ever young. 70-90 is the same as 0-20 or 20-40, a long time, and if you are bent over, can't walk, obese, or ravaged with arthritis, you're gonna have a bad time. Just like providing financially for these "golden years" you need to start as early as you can to maintain your physical vitality also. You guys in your 20's now can realistically expect to live to be 100.
I hadn't answered this after reading it initially because I had a hard time choosing one. But at this point, I'd say it's performance oriented..sports oriented. When I feel like quitting, it's the goal of running a half marathon before the end of the year and the thought of finishing that keeps me going. It motivates me. But I have to say, when I first got back to exercising earlier this year, it was general health and appearance that were the primary motivators. At this point I view the general health as a given as I move forward...and appearance as a bonus. There are definitely times I think about my wife wearing a certain dress or something that keeps me going when I get tired while running.
I swim to improve my cardio and do static exercises so that my muscle won't sore easily. It's about maintaining good health when age is catching up. Looking fit is just kind of a bonus.
"Eat more" is actually a pretty strong factor. One of the big advantages of advancing science and living in the modern world is that we have such easy access to calories and that they are so tasty. The downside is even inactive and obese people can continue to consume, where in the past they would have been prey, or unable to afford a lot of food. All of us find it easy to consume more calories than we expend so if you like to eat, you probably need to work out some.
Overall physical health - so you can have sex when you get older Maintain your appearance - so you can have sex Better performance in sports - so you can gain confidence which ultimately helps you to get sex Better mental health - so you wont scare off chicks and then not get sex
Health and appearance. I'm 25, if I'm not in shape now I don't want to think of myself at 40. I'm lucky enough to have a decent metabolism. In my last 2 years of college I did nothing but eat and drink and topped out at like 180. I would eat hearty food and a lot but I never have been much of a fast good guy, which probably helped. So now staying around 165 is good for me. 155-160 I could be pretty toned but it's too much work haha. Appearance is obviously a little shallow but being heavy definitely gets discriminated. Ps, women.
In my teens it was about sports and for appearance.....as i learned more and more about fitness/health it became primarily driven by health. Once you start caring about what foods do for you beyond muscle and low body fat, it's about health. Once you start caring about what certain exercises and training does for you besides muscle size and strength, it's about health.
It's pretty much all of the above, but I voted for sports performance since that's the area where I feel most vindicated in keeping discipline.
