The "Exercise" Cynic

Exercise is a fashionable word these days.

What used to be just physical labour or an active lifestyle back in the day, now consists of paying exhorbitant prices for gym memberships to run in one place or cycle in one place. Or it could come in other expensive activity forms like acting out martial arts positions, dancing away to pumping music like your are high on nitrous oxide, playing with giant inflatable balls, exploiting traditional yoga techniques and the like.

On one side, there are the young men who idolise fictional creatures like the Hulk and slave way to attain abnormal muscle to body ratios, thinking they must look irresistable wearing under-sized t-shirts that accentuate bulging muscles and the man boobs. Talk about the pure determination one can garner from peer pressure or social standards for acceptance! They are equally matched by young women who like to live in borderline poverty standards, scrimping on salads and soups and eating scraps of dry bread for lunch, shunning away painfully from good things in life like chocolates and ice cream while popping diet/ slimming pills. There is nothing wrong with looking/ feeling good and taking moderate measures, but therein lies a problem when it is overdone.

They do this for various reasons; to look attractive and stand out, to attract good-looking mates, to fit into desirable clothes sizes, to be socially accepted, to be healthy, etc.

Forget them.

I have a gym in my building, one floor up. It is almost as if I had a gym in my own home, going by the convenient distance and the free service. It's been 2 months since they opened it up, but I've only been there once. One needs considerable determination to undertake an exercise regime. It helps to "see" the prize atop the hill. And this prize needs to be quick to achieve with visible progress. Otherwise, most do not find it motivating enough to work out towards intangible results with post-dated returns things like "good health", "longer lifespan", "better quality of life" or "happiness". For some, negative psychology can work as a powerful motivator; "I am fat and undesirable", "I am paying alot for this exercise session", "I can't fit in that pretty dress for the party next week", "I have to look better than my girl friends" or "I want to go out with a hunk".

My problem lies in that I do not have a powerful motivator to exercise. I am certainly of normal body proportions, in my standards. Any more loss in body mass, and I will look malnourished (again, in my standards). I am young and without chronic ailments. My self esteem with regards to my body image is in the healthy range. I do not obssess over impressing anyone of the opposite sex with super model-sized body parts. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I did not inherit the eye for overly feminine clothes that are generally body size MINUS 40% body fat. Worst of all, I am lazy.

So why would I want to spend my precious time on getting tired, sweating out and handling the aches afterwards when I can, say, comfortably lie in a couch and watch a movie? Yeah, sure, if I did that, I'll have an early and horrible death. So what? We all die anyway, and there is no knowing how and when we would die. The process remains the same, you will leave loved ones behind who have to make the funeral arrangements for you. No, an untimely demise is not enough a motivator for me. I thought long and hard to come up with 2 vaguely motivating factors: getting some kick-ass feminine biceps (perhaps, if I said "toned arms", it would have been more acceptable) and increasing chemicals in the brain that uplifts mood and help manage mood swings (like they claim to do!).

Wish me luck...