Saturday, August 21, 2010

#Annoying Question: Why do you work out?


Last week, one trending topic on Twitter was #annoyingquestions. One question that really annoys me: Why do you work out? If you're a skinny black chick who exercises, you probably get asked this, too. It's like I don't need to work out because I'm already skinny.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not an exercise goddess who works out seven days a week, twice a day. In fact, it's something I just kind of started enjoying recently. I think people have this idea that the only reason anybody would {and should} work out is to lose weight, at least in my experience. People can't imagine any other reason someone would want to. Well, I work out {or attempt to} for a few reasons: 1) I want to be healthy and have a long life with few health issues; 2) I like how I feel after working out {now, being motivated to do so is a whole other story}; 3) I don't want to have to work too hard to maintain my physique when I get older. And besides, just because you're thin doesn't mean you're healthy.

Whether you're skinny or not, there are several benefits to working out {aside from losing weight}. According to Mayo Clinic, exercise:

  • Improves your mood.
  • Combats chronic diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis.
  • Increases your energy level.
  • Promotes better sleep.
  • Can be fun (hard to believe, right?)
What ya'll think?