Started: I had moderate chronic hip pain, to the point where it affected my activities. After an X-ray, MRI, etc., the orthopedic surgeon I visited convinced me that being enormous may not be the best choice for someone in their mid 30's. That was Jan 30th of 2012. I decided to start dieting and losing weight, and that's exactly what I did. I started exercising in typical gym noob fashion at first, lots of time droning away on an elliptical, and the occasional strength workout on Nautilus machines with absolutely no idea what I am doing. But it was the deficit that mattered and I lost more than 80 lbs. I'm very happy to say that the pain went away, totally.

Now: I'm in better physical shape than I've ever been, and I want to see what I can accomplish strength wise. It's a part of my life now.

Joke answer: I like it when pretty girls grab my biceps and giggle.

Loved the challenge, and the race.

That was high school.

Over 20 yrs later, still love the challenge of improving, ie the personal race.

Included now though is the fact that when cardio is done often enough, no migraines.
When lifting is done often enough, feel better.
Both are really hobbies at this point, and allow the camping/backpacking hobby to be possible.

I started exercising [many years ago] to lose weight. Cardio only. I lost 75 pounds and have kept it off for 30 years.

Now I exercise to be strong and fit and to be the best me I can be as go through my 50's and beyond!

I am in the best shape ever now--no more arthritis in my hip and getting stronger by weight lifting and cardio.

I started because of my daughter... i wanted to be able to keep up with her as she gets older. I also didn't want to look like the world's first pregnant male... all my extra weight was in my gut. Lost 35lbs just running and eating on a deficit. After that I started lifting to lose the last few inches, but over time I gained so much more in strength and confidence. I wish more people would see that the benefits of exercise go beyond the physical.

And now i wanna be brutal like Dope.

timg760 wrote: »

I started because of my daughter... i wanted to be able to keep up with her as she gets older. I also didn't want to look like the world's first pregnant male... all my extra weight was in my gut. Lost 35lbs just running and eating on a deficit. After that I started lifting to lose the last few inches, but over time I gained so much more in strength and confidence. I wish more people would see that the benefits of exercise go beyond the physical.

And now i wanna be brutal like Dope.

I work in Chelmsford, btw.

I started mostly for more food, and like DopeItUp said I too like beer. Also some vanity reasons. Mostly walking.

Now I think It has more to do with self confidence and being stronger, but my vanity still plays a role in it.

Started because I gained 25 pounds and my blood pressure soared. I felt terrible inside and out.
I continue 2 years later because not only did I bring my BP down to amazing levels and lost the 25 lbs, I feel better at 45 (almost 46) than I've ever felt. I found kickboxing (who knew punching things would be so damn fun?!) and resistance bands have done amazing things to my body and I want to see where I can take it....

This is an interesting question for me. For my first 52 years, I would describe me + exercise as "casual." I'm by nature a sedentary person (gimme a book as a kid), but I've always had some sort of activity going on: swim team when young; volleyball team in high school; walking/hiking/biking, etc. Mostly ended up in my 40's being more of a walker/hiker.

Plantar fasciatis in my late 40's stopped even that, and I piled on the pounds. So when that situation finally got better, I started MFP and other actions to lose weight--and it was surprisingly easy. Dropped about 30 pounds more than I ever thought I could, a total of about 75 lbs, and picked up--besides my long walks/hikes every day--mountain biking, and maybe the occasional jog. It was pretty easy to put in a 18-20 mile mountain bike ride in the morning and head to the office after. Happy, casual-exercising me.

So I was actually pretty pleased, but given my new-found love of mountain biking, I wanted to use this past winter when biking is not happening to become stronger by lifting weights.

Now, I foolishly thought that after losing the 75 lbs, I sorta knew what worked--

Wow. Was I wrong. Lifting weights has put into sharp focus where I've been, and where I now hope to be. Just the act of lifting a heavy weight, and learning how to do that better has moved me from "casual" to "focused." Now I WANT a program; I want goals for every single day of lifting, I want to know where I'm heading and be able to express my lifting goals in quantitative terms. I now integrate more fully my diet and exercise; I know more about what fuels muscles and muscle growth, and I'm enjoying the heck out of the entire process.

Sorry for being so long, but to answer the question--started out casual because moving your body is a good thing. Now my motivation is the pleasure I get from being focused on something that is SO obviously good for my health, my strength, and my longevity. And I feel so damn much better.

It's the confidence from what's going on inside me that makes me not really give a crap what I look like on the outside, even though I know it ain't bad

Started: I don't know a time when I wasn't active. I was a first born child of a baseball coach, so he began throwing balls at me as soon as I could stand. And I loved it. I played sports throughout my life and still do (I play competitive field hockey in London & fun softball). I started weight lifting because I tore my ACL playing rugby in my 30s in DC and needed to build up the muscles after surgery. I loved it.

Now: I want to stay strong so I can keep playing sport as long as possible so I still lift. I want to stay fit, so I try to run when the weather is decent. I walk a lot because it's fun to tour around London. Honestly, I'm also doing stuff so that I can stay as active as possible as long as possible - my grandmother was still getting around in her 90s because she did yoga and walked a lot. I want that to be me.

I was a jock in HS so I was always active. I gained a lot of weight after college, then lost 50+ in 1992 and stayed fit for the next 4 years. Got a new job and moved in 1996, found a new career and future wife in 1998, and gained an average of 4 pounds / year for the next 15 years.

Beginning in March 2011, weighing approximately 270-275 pounds, I began working out regularly, just walking 3-4 miles 5X weekly. The main reason...I was bored just sitting in my hotel room when staying overnight for work. I also stopped eating pizza, hoagies, and cheese during the Lenten season, because my mother was insisting that I give something up for Lent - I chose 3 items just to show her!!!

I discovered that I had dropped between 10-12 pounds during those 6 1/2 weeks, so I decided to see how much I could lose now that I was on a roll. I started tracking my calories on MFP in May 2011 and exercised more, picking up the cardio. I dipped under 200 pounds on June 30, 2012 - the first time I had been sub 200 in nearly 15 years...but I looked emaciated, old, and skinny fat.

Since March 2014, I have joined a gym and now incorporate weight training with my cardio. I weigh between 230-235 pounds (I am 6'0" and have a large frame) and I feel great and carry it well. About 90% of those that guess my weight now say "205-210 lbs", so I believe that I added a lot of lean muscle at the expense of flab / fat.

I now exercise because I love the feeling of accomplishment when I am soaked in sweat, making myself healthier, and finding the time in my schedule to fit in a workout is a challenge I love to complete!!!