Why do you exercise?

IceBus · 18 Mar 2003 at 17:28

Just thought it'd be interesting to do a general thread about why you guys exercise and what keeps you motivated.

I've been taking exercise seriously for about two months now, doing rowing, sit-ups and push-ups three times a week, and also eliminated caffeine from my diet. Already I've noticed real improvement in my size/strength, with my arms no longer looking puny and thin

I've also put down some good leg/chect muscle for the first time in ages and it's pretty good to look in the mirror and be pretty satisfied. I'm going to keep going until I get to my ideal fitness level and then just do enough to maintain it.

I'm feeling a lot more energised throughout the day, sleeping more soundly and just generally feeling better mentally and physically. My motivation is to stay in this shape or even better, and my rationale is that 4 hours a week to be in good shape is a small price to pay

What about you guys?

L Plate · 18 Mar 2003 at 17:32

i train on average around 15 hours a week at the moment and that is mainly because of my job, admittedly a soldier is only required to do a minimum of 1 hr 40 a week in terms of physical training but who wants to scrape through stuff when you can get through it with ease?

Again being fit, and feeling fit is a good confidence booster, and when you are on the wrong side of 30 you need all the help you can get

oddjob62 · 18 Mar 2003 at 18:09

Being stronger and fitter really makes no difference to me in my standard daily life, but my sport if American football. And any bit of extra strength and speed i can get will work in my favour.

"The more i sweat in peace, the less i bleed in war"

Gilly · 18 Mar 2003 at 19:03

To look better and feel better

Can't think of any other non-professional reason tbh

sunama · 18 Mar 2003 at 19:23

Originally posted by L Plate
i train on average around 15 hours a week at the moment and that is mainly because of my job, admittedly a soldier is only required to do a minimum of 1 hr 40 a week in terms of physical training but who wants to scrape through stuff when you can get through it with ease?

Again being fit, and feeling fit is a good confidence booster, and when you are on the wrong side of 30 you need all the help you can get

L plate, i presume you are in the army. if so, are there any people in your group/squad/battalion who are really really strict on their health and fitness regime? the reason why i ask is that when ever i see tv programs/documentaries, i see soldiers eating sausages/fry ups, smoking, boozing, which initially suprised me. tbh, it doesnt look as if the army teaches soldiers anything about health and fitness. so are there any army folk out there who are really strict, who dont smoke, booze or eat the nasty food that is served up in the army base canteens?

also on a side note i was horrified to hear that our soldiers in the Gulf are quite literally starving. some of them are having to supplement their diet with Mars bars! you simply cannot perform mentally and physically at your peak if you are hungry. needless to say i was disgusted when i heard of this.

Altered Corpse · 18 Mar 2003 at 19:27

Purely for the girls m8

Nevermind that you can handle yourself if you ever get an idiot trying to start a fight on a Friday night.

Kanes · 18 Mar 2003 at 20:47

for myself, it's good to be able to do a days work and not break a sweat when all the rest of the lads are collapsed on the grass

oh and certain appreciation

PhilthyPhil · 18 Mar 2003 at 21:33

I have to do a lot of land training for rowing, although why i row is something I have dificulty answering. It has to be the most painful sport I've ever done, at least it as at the level I'm currently doing it at. Most people think us rowers are mad, they are probably correct

I think its actually addictive. If I don't do something I just don't feel right.

oddjob62 · 18 Mar 2003 at 21:47

Originally posted by PhilthyPhil
If I don't do something I just don't feel right.

I know that feeling... was staying with me folks (in the middle of nowhere) and was going out of my mind. Luckily they had some heavy labour they needed doing so i got some of the aggression out of my system.

L Plate · 18 Mar 2003 at 22:41

Originally posted by sunama
L plate, i presume you are in the army. if so, are there any people in your group/squad/battalion who are really really strict on their health and fitness regime? the reason why i ask is that when ever i see tv programs/documentaries, i see soldiers eating sausages/fry ups, smoking, boozing, which initially suprised me. tbh, it doesnt look as if the army teaches soldiers anything about health and fitness. so are there any army folk out there who are really strict, who dont smoke, booze or eat the nasty food that is served up in the army base canteens?

also on a side note i was horrified to hear that our soldiers in the Gulf are quite literally starving. some of them are having to supplement their diet with Mars bars! you simply cannot perform mentally and physically at your peak if you are hungry. needless to say i was disgusted when i heard of this.

well to start with a good friend of mine is a Masterchef out there at the moment with one of the engineer Regiments, she was absolutely gutted to hear that the soldiers out there arent being fed properly especially as she has been putting in 15 hour days to keep them fed so i am not too sure where all that actually came from.

And as far as strict eating regimes go, i myself went through that phase and i know loads of others that do, but in all fairness although i dont eat a great deal of fat anymore and certainly no fry ups, i prefer the thinking of enjoy eating what you want just do it in moderation, someone who looks after themselves regularly doesnt really have to worry too much about all them eating fads unless of course they are eating set menu's for a specific reason.

And since December 15th i have had one bottle of port and a glass of wine, compared to the almost daily drinking i was doing before

PAz · 19 Mar 2003 at 09:54

i train to be fit and strong and because its something i love doing like any other hobby! it also gives me a good edge when playing both footy n rugby, particularly footy because you get so many of the wimpy whiny strikers trying to kick chunks out of you, knocking them over is just so enjoyable

theleg · 19 Mar 2003 at 12:50

All of the above really..I dont have any single reason why i work out...Although health is probably the major one for me.

NitrogenY3K · 19 Mar 2003 at 17:10

I train because i like to train, i like the feeling of being the strongest/biggest. I train for personal satisfaction, it also feels weird not training, it feels like im shrinking if i dont train when im supposed to :eek:

The gains keep my motavated, i also have a few pictures of my fav bodybuilders.

thebrasso · 20 Mar 2003 at 19:59

it helps me relax and keeps me lean.

also, i'm in the Army UOTC (like the TA) and I'm hoping to go in the regular Army after uni, should be doing RCB (Regular Commissions Board-Officer Selection) this year so I need to train for that.

i'm starting back amateur boxing tomorrow, have been doing pads, skipping, running and gym work for a little bit but i'll need to get ring fit again.

Cemetery · 20 Mar 2003 at 20:03

While having not properly exercised for a while regularly, I am now doing so in an effort to:

Improve my health
Improve my fitness
Improve my lifestyle
& of course it cannot hurt with da wimmin

Monker · 20 Mar 2003 at 22:38

I'm a member of the gym at uni but realy can't motivate myself to go

Anyone have any tips to get me motivated and make it a regular habit? I really want to lose my pot belly and put on some upper body muscle.

oddjob62 · 20 Mar 2003 at 22:55

Originally posted by Monker
Anyone have any tips to get me motivated and make it a regular habit? I really want to lose my pot belly and put on some upper body muscle.

If you can't motivate yourself, there's not much we can say to you.

I've been a regular lifter on and off for the last 3 years or so. But it wasn't until last summer, in preparation for a football tour to the US, that i got very serious. After getting back i just stayed in the rythmn and I've been in the gym 3-4 times a week for the last 8 months.

In that process i lost 2 stone, and i'm stronger than i was when i weighed more. And the improvement continues.

thebrasso · 21 Mar 2003 at 10:30

all i can say is try to get into a routine with the gym, thats what i do. plan out when you are going to go and stick to it.

i motivate myself by setting goals, like i've built up to being able to run 15 miles. or doing a number of press-ups etc.

Monker · 21 Mar 2003 at 16:02

Originally posted by thebrasso
all i can say is try to get into a routine with the gym, thats what i do. plan out when you are going to go and stick to it.

i motivate myself by setting goals, like i've built up to being able to run 15 miles. or doing a number of press-ups etc.

Cheers - I'll give it a go. Difficult tho with the amount of uni work to do :rolleyes:

Badboy2k3 · 22 Mar 2003 at 00:28

i train cus i dont want a HUGE beer gut like my dad