Your Goal : Fitness or Looks ?

I started exercising because I was unhealthy and wanted to set a better example for my young child. I am relatively fit now. I can run 15 miles. I can do several chin ups, still working on pull ups. I can carry my 4 year old for 2 miles before I get grumpy. I still can't touch my toes (not flexible). I eat a decent diet. I've been able to control my asthma without medication due to exercise. I'm pretty strong, in useful ways too, and my cardiovascular health is great too.

I keep exercising because I don't want to lose what I achieved but also because I want to look better. So what? I think at some point, retaining fitness becomes a hard goal to keep so you have to mix things up.

Sashoi said:

I wanna look sexy, is that a crime?

Heck no. I think a lot of us want to turn heads and be a cut above the rest.

Definitely both for me!

I just want to be able to kick doors in with no problem. That's really it.

For me it's about being healthy. I went on a bike ride about 18 months ago and it was about 10 miles. I thought I was going to collapse and never move again when I finally got home. But by not giving up it became easier and easier. Then it was 15 miles and occasionally 20 miles. My speed increased and the time it took me to ride those same miles decreased. All the while my waist was shrinking. I will confess that I like being thinner than I was before I started, but the fact that I have more energy, have an easier time breathing and can enjoy a long walk with a friend or by myself are the things I value most. Oh I will admit that I am vain enough to like how I look and I hope to look better, but that is a by product not a goal.

goal is not be the slowest person in the coming zombie apocalypse

Both, but vanity takes up a bigger share of my motivation. It used to be my only motivation, but my hobbies require so much strength/flexibility that fitness now takes up a bigger share of that motivation. Age also plays a part. As I get older I realize how important it is to stay fit for health reasons. But it wasn't until I turned 35 a few years ago that I even thought about future me and health. I've been blessed with good health and would like to keep it that way.

I started because I was tired of feeling like I had lost control over my body and my weight. Feeling my quality of life being swallowed up by my mass and not understanding what I was doing so wrong frustrated me to a point of doing something. As the weight came off, the improvement in my appearance was a great reward and motivator. Being thought of as younger was the biggest surprise. In the end, the loss of weight and increased activity level has brought me a level of fitness which was never my focus in the beginning but by far the most rewarding now. Being able to move through the world with strength and endurance is an amazing ability and one that keeps me going. My life is bigger than I imagined it could be and more fulfilling and it is something I now protect and nourish.

Ice cream.

Bacon.

Cake.

Cookies.

Bread.

both - more for fitness. used to be an aerobics instr. in my 30's so I knew what it took to get there. after the loss of my husband, things change, depression and just plain not giving a ****. after I decided to get back into the swing of life, started back up. I am probably more fit now than when I was in my 30's. I bike ride long distances, done a 1/2 marathon in hilly seattle, countless other runs, and people can't believe I am as old as I am and I run in vibrams which I love!