Why do you excercise, really?

lthames0810

I've been bicyling for years. I used to ride with cycling clubs but got frustrated with the whole group dynamic. (There's so much rant material there that I could write a novel.) More recently I have found another female of about my speed to ride with and we have very pleasant although not especially vigorous rides. We ride in a rural area west of Orlando on a shady, postcard beautiful recreation trail. We might see gopher tortoises, snakes, alligators, bald eagles, sand hill cranes, herons, ospreys. There's even a small ranch that has a herd of watusi cattle. You have to google them, they're amazing.

A few years ago, my cycling partner and I decided to enter a local MS ride that was to be a two day event totalling about 150 miles. It meant we had start ramping up our distance and endurance (as well and speed if we didn't want to miss the time cut off.) Instead of just dawdling along with chit chat, we started to ride with intent. We added miles each time out and made sure our speed didn't drop off. We also found that the fun was over after about 50 miles. It was't that we were exhausted, but that we were just over it after three or four hours. We persevered and eventually completed the MS ride with no difficulty and it was a memorable experience, but for a couple of weeks after that we didn't even want to look at our bicyles.

We have now made peace with the bikes once again and are back to our leisurely ways and cycling has become fun again. Lately we have come under some benign criticism (call it chiding) about our lack of focus and purpose when we ride. We both need and want to loose weight and get more fit but maybe we are wasting our excercise time by not buckling down to burn as many calories as we can and to get better, faster, stonger. To those who are making this argument to us, it's as if cycling is a metaphor for life, and not striving to achieve and improve is some sort of character flaw.

Based on how I felt after that big training effort before the MS ride, I fear that all that so called purpose will kill all the joy of riding. I know I'm pretty lazy. I suspect that my concern about spoiling the fun of cycling is just a cover for not wanting to work hard at anything. But this is pretty much the only excercise I get consistently.

Do I need to start cracking the whip on myself?

TX_RattleSnake

Do I need to start cracking the whip on myself?

Confuzzled4ever

i have fun when I exercise. i feel better. It lets off stress. But only when I work out to the point of exhaustion. Id' say enjoy your leisurely rides if that s what motivates you to do it. My motivation is the tired aching muscles, the stress relive provided by that and the way my body is starting to change. Plus I do not like cycling. I much prefer kickboxing.

james6998

Honestly its always been part of me, I dont think i could stop if i wanted to.

cwolfman13

I exercise for fun and fitness...I haven't looked at a calorie burn in months. I do run/ride/swim to improve my fitness..which means improving my times, etc..but I also run/ride/swim for recreation and enjoyment...I have both leisurly runs/rides/swims and focused training runs/rides/swims...I don't think it all has to be mutually exclusive.

One thing that I do NOT exercise for is calorie burn...I could give a rats *kitten* what the burn is. The burn is just a bi-product of my fitness, not the intent of my fitness.

kr1stadee

Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don't kill their husbands. They just don't.

LoraF83

I exercise to look good naked. Honestly. I like that exercise is shaping my body and making me more confident about myself.

I'm to the point now that it's also part of my lifestyle - it makes me feel good and I enjoy the regular kick of endorphins. I know it's helping me stay healthy. And, I have more energy to devote to my child.

But above all, my body looks better. Anytime I feel like quitting, I just think about the way I used to look and it's motivation to continue. That may be shallow, but it's my ultimate reason.

stevepax

I kind of just do it because I feel like I'm supposed to, honestly. I have a very sedentary desk job, so I have to exercise because it's good for me. Not because I love it, but because it's healthy to do it, I guess.

mantium999

I exercise to look good naked. Honestly. I like that exercise is shaping my body and making me more confident about myself.

This. I have always maintained a healthy weight, mostly from accidentally eating in the right calorie range. But while thin, I am squishy. I no longer wish to be squishy.

MinnieInMaine

I exercise to relieve stress/anxiety, to look/feel better and so I can eat more!

My workout buddy and I go through cycles. This time of year when it's nice out, we mostly walk (she can't run due to plantar fascitis) but try to mix it up a little with other cardio and some strength training. During the cooler months when we're forced to stay indoors, we tend to really kick it up a notch and do more stregth and more high intensity cardio. In fact today we decided to really crank it up and did Level 1 of 30 Day Shred then 7 minutes each of elliptical and stair machines at the highest levels we could stand. Talk about drenched in sweat - my hair is just now starting to dry out 1.5 hours later. Phew!

I get being hesitant about losing your passion. How about picking one day a week to crank it up so you get that higher intensity. If you feel like it's something you're starting to want to avoid then just keep it even keel and enjoy your bike rides.

As far as your weight loss problems go, that's mostly diet. Have you been consistently tracking your food and are you weighing/measuring everything?

micheleb15

Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don't kill their husbands. They just don't.

Truth from Elle Woods.

garber6th

Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don't kill their husbands. They just don't.

Well of course this.

Absonthebrain

Honestly its always been part of me, I dont think i could stop if i wanted to.

So true^^^

MzManiak

I exercise to look good naked. Honestly. I like that exercise is shaping my body and making me more confident about myself.

I'm to the point now that it's also part of my lifestyle - it makes me feel good and I enjoy the regular kick of endorphins. I know it's helping me stay healthy. And, I have more energy to devote to my child.

But above all, my body looks better. Anytime I feel like quitting, I just think about the way I used to look and it's motivation to continue. That may be shallow, but it's my ultimate reason.

QFT

SmartAlec03211988

I exercise because I like to look sexy, AKA look good naked.

lilRicki

because i'm fat

micheleb15

I workout because I don't think there is anything cooler than transforming your body. There's no better feeling for me than accomplishing something in the gym that I didn't think I could do. It's the easiest way to build confidence.

CorvusCorax77

Well, OP, I think my answer depends on where you are at physically and what your goals are. I'm guessing that since you cycle regularly, you probably aren't obese. I'll assume you are no more than 20 lbs from your ideal weight.

In which case, my answer is don't take the fun out of your cycling. You enjoy it. You could maybe make it more intense, go a little faster or a little further, but if you do this for pleasure, do it for pleasure.

I would say that if you are looking to lose weight or be more fit, you should not consider this bike ride your "work out," rather consider it your fun time or cross training for your real work out. And then start doing something else more intense for your work out. It helps to mix things up. Also, yes, I like resistance training and I think it should become part of the routine.

When I was obese and started losing, I didn't add any new "exercise" into my life. I just became more active. I already ran a few miles a couple times a week (yes, I did this regularly when I was obese. I ate a lot!).... but I started to go on more hikes, more bike rides, more adventures. That helped burn calories. I logged it as "exercise" but I didn't consider it a work out. I still do those things. I still log them. But that's not my work out. My work outs are two things: my runs and my lifting sessions. Everything else I do for fun. And my work outs are not always unfun. Sometimes I really enjoy running. Sometimes I kinda dread it. Lifting is the same. But I make myself do it because it's what I need to do. I never dread a hike or a bike ride. Or a surf session. So for me, some is active living and having fun, and some is exercise that I do whether I want to or not.

I just think bicycling gives you joy and should be part of your active living. You should do something else for a work out on top of that.

My two cents!

ETA: I live an active lifestyle because it's fun. I work out because it gets me high, it makes me feel strong, and I want to have endurance and strength.

sillygoosie

I overtrained for a century ride last year and after completion, my bike sat dusty and lonely in the basement for quite some time. This summer I got my bikes back out and have been doing the kind of riding that can be challenging, but it is mainly for the love of riding. I learned that just because I love cycling, that doesn't mean I have to be die hard. For the most part, I save the *kitten* kicking for my daily workouts. I love them too but in a my-body-hurts-and-is-improving kind of way.

Velum_cado

I exercise because I like the way it makes me feel. It also means I can eat more... WOO!

Also, pole dancing is my preferred method of exercise these days and it's GD FUN!

shirtswiththumbholes

Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don't kill their husbands. They just don't.

A++++