Everyone has a different motivation for working out and those reasons can be very personal, complicated, or extremely simple.
Everyone has their own reason, and it does not matter what that reason is.
Why I workout
I work out for several reasons, the main one being, I do not sleep well if I do no exercise regularly.
During Physical Therapy school, I did not work out for the first year! I noticed my sleep was not restful and I felt like my eyes had been closed for only 5 minutes. But as soon as I changed this habit, my SLEEP and rest was a 100% better.
In PT school, our professors also recommended us continuing to exercise every day because it would help to DESTRESS. I felt like I needed to study that hour instead of work out. And that first year was not the best year of my life. Once I took the time for myself, school and life were much better to handle.
As a PT, I also understand how important exercise is to your body. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is my plan to not need to attend Physical Therapy myself. I also work with kids and babies all day. I need the endurance to keep up with the energy they have!
I have also found that working out can be some “ME” time. This 30-60 minute workout is time for myself that I do not have to worry about anything or anyone else. Sometimes this does mean that I wake up earlier or stay up later than my husband or kids to get that time.
Other’s reasons:
Stephanie:
“I work out for a few different reasons: to clear my mind and maintain my mental health and clarity. I have a stressful job and working out is my escape. To stay healthy. I am a bigger woman and I want to make sure I stay in shape and am able to be active until I am old and gray. And it’s fun! I love hiking and dancing to my favorite music. Rocking out, climbing mountains, and being out in nature… best kinds of workouts.”
Check out Stephanie’s guest post about workout gear for plus sized athletes here.
Rikki:
“I work out because I am constantly insecure about my body. Another reason is that it helps me sleep because I have issues with sleep. Last reason is that I really do want to be healthy and have even changed my diet a lot in the past few years.”
Brenton:
“Why I work out: my dad had heart surgery in 2006, this motivated me to get healthy and take better care of myself overall. To keep up with my kids, my workout program changed over the years from hypertrophy to endurance/mobility since they were born. I want my kids to look back at old photos from 20+ years and think “Dad was a stud”. I always view working out as a continuous project that my past, present, and future self are working on. I want to work out in the present because my past self already did the work, and my future self will reap the benefits from my present work.”
I am a firm believer that your reasons should be for you and not for others. I also believe that whatever exercise you do, you should enjoy it. Find an activity you love and you are more likely to stick to it!
So, what are your reasons? No matter what they are, let them help you get active!