This is a question most people find themselves asking. Those in the fitness community have all found their own reason to workout. Have you? At first making the decision to workout appears to be a forced action. Usually the hardest part is the beginning. However, in the same way Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov conditioned his test subject to salivate with the variable of food, you can condition yourself to enjoy working out. [1] All you need is the resolve to do so.

What would your reason to workout be? Some people want to be able to fit into their high school clothing again, while others want to make sure their body can deal with any physical situation that might unexpectedly present itself. There is also a percentage of people who know they should workout but lack the drive to do so. Now what is “drive” if not the strong desire to accomplish something. If you find yourself within this percentage of people, I hope something you read here will jump out at you and hold your heart hostage until it succumbs to Stockholm syndrome. I hope it awakens the fire within you and drives you to achieve what you know is possible!

Longevity

Life extension. Whether or not the story of the Fountain of Youth was a historical account or a metaphor doesn’t matter. Because there is a fountain inside of you that becomes more accessible the more you workout and physically interact with your environment. According to a 2015 study titled Leisure Time Physical Activity and Mortality, when compared to participants with no leisure time physical activity, those people with minimal leisure time physical activity observed more than a 20% lower mortality risk. [2] The morality risk decreases as the participants engage in more leisure time physical activity.

Mood Regulation

Sometimes we find ourselves in a position where its hard to think of life as something worth extending. Undesirable outcomes and unhealthy habits have a way of snowballing in our life, resulting in disbalance. Therefore, before settling for pharmaceutical chemicals, did you know that exercise has a net positive effect on our body’s Endocrine system? The Endocrine System is responsible for regulating a range of bodily functions through the release of hormones. As highlighted in the scientific journal Biochimica et Biophysica Acta “Exercise benefits hormonal balance and neuroplasticity throughout the lifespan.” [3] This means your negative feelings can be regulated by exercise and as a result causes homeostasis within your body. Homeostasis is a state of balance or equilibrium. This fitness enabled balance greatly improves your mood and can be the catalyst to developing positive habits that can shape your future.

Sexual Attraction

Shaping your future has a lot to do with finding a partner. In other words, when you workout you look and feel great! In a survey performed by FitRated, women found average to muscular built men about 75% more attractive than curvy or thin built men. [4] But looks aren’t everything, your sex drive plays a large role too. According to a study in Archives of Sexual Behavior “the degree of sexuality enhancement among exercisers was correlated with the degree of their individual improvement in fitness.” [5] Meaning the more a person developed their fitness, the more sexually inclined they became thus increasing their desire to find a partner. Correspondingly, in a study published in Behaviour Research and Therapy, Women showed a greater physiological sexual arousal after just 20 minutes of intense cycling. [6]

Exercise plays a vital role in how your body will look and as a result, potential partners will notice you more. Not only will you look better, you’ll also be more inclined to seek sexual connection as a result of training!

Legacy

Exercise has also been proven to significantly improve your children’s quality of life.  It was previously assumed that only the mother’s health impacted the health of the child. However, a study performed on mice and published in the FASEB Journal demonstrated that obese fathers pass on predisposition of metabolic disorders to their offspring. [7] When you workout, you are setting your children up for success. Continuing your workout habit during the child’s upbringing, will make them more likely to pick up the same behaviors and be fit themselves! Effectively, creating a domino effect of perpetually healthy descendants.

Money

There may be a difference in the amount of money you earn as well. The book Experience Driven Leader Development states “Research shows that not only are good-looking applicants more likely to be hired, but they are likely to be hired at a higher starting salary.” [8] In addition, this book also mentions that attractiveness makes a difference with promotions as well. Improving your body’s health, is the best return of investment you can make.

Conclusion

To conclude, the reason you should workout is because being physically fit has a wide range of benefits. You can extend your lifespan, be in a balanced mood more frequently and alleviate stress, increase your libido almost instantly, be found to be about 75% more attractive by the opposite sex, and earn more money. There is a multitude of reasons to workout, from psychological to economical. Pick any of the reasons to workout and let it drive you towards your goals.

References

1. E. (Ed.). (n.d.). Conditioning. Retrieved December 19, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/science/conditioning
2. Arem H, Moore SC, Patel A, et al. Leisure Time Physical Activity and Mortality: A Detailed Pooled Analysis of the Dose-Response Relationship. JAMA Intern Med. 2015;175(6):959–967. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.0533
3. Luis E.B. Bettio, Jonathan S. Thacker, Shaefali P. Rodgers, Patricia S. Brocardo, Brian R. Christie, Joana Gil-Mohapel,
   Interplay between hormones and exercise on hippocampal plasticity across the lifespan, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) – Molecular Basis of Disease, Volume 1866, Issue 8, 2020, 165821, ISSN 0925-4439, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbadis.2020.165821
4. “Study: Body Part Attractiveness.” FitRated RSS, www.fitrated.com/resources/body-part-attractiveness/
5. White, J.R., Case, D.A., McWhirter, D. et al. Enhanced sexual behavior in exercising men. Arch Sex Behav 19, 193–209 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541546
6. Cindy M. Meston, Boris B. Gorzalka, The effects of sympathetic activation on physiological and subjective sexual arousal in women,
   Behaviour Research and Therapy, Volume 33, Issue 6, 1995, Pages 651-664, ISSN 0005-7967, https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(95)00006-J.
7. Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. (2013, July 11). Obese dads pass on predisposition to obesity and metabolic disorders to their kids. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 18, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130711135450.htm
8. Mccauley, Cynthia & Derue, D. & Yost, Paul & Taylor, Sylvester. (2013). Experience Driven Leader Development: Models, Tools, Best Practices, and Advice for On-the-Job Development. 10.1002/9781118918838.