Frequent readers... and there are none of you... may have seen
the wrap-up of the Superhero Scramble in which I got "sweaty, muddy, bruised, and sometimes bloody." We concluded the article with the question, why do people do this? Let's back up and go to the highest level possible so we can land on a better answer. Why do people exercise? Well I can't speak for the world but I can speak for myself.
Why do I exercise?
It's Challenging: Why choose mud runs, or
marathons, or
six pack abs as a goal? Why climb the highest mountain? Why, 86 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? We choose to exercise in this decade and do the other things,
not because they are easy, but because they are hard. (skip to 8:20)
Although JFK is implying we went to the moon for the challenge, we know it was really just to beat the Soviets and because it's awesome. The Vikings went to Canada first, the Spanish went to the Carribean, the Portuguese went to India, and America went to the moon.* Why? Because it was awesome. I think competition and adventure are two subsets of achievement that cause people to exercise. Onward...
-To Compete: I'll define competition as attempting the same goal as other people to see who can do it best.
It's plain and simple, winning is great. It shows that you're good at something or at least better than other people. If you find yourself winning all the time, it gets old. You may even do something drastic like leave your 3 time NBA championship team to play baseball for the Birmingham Barons.
But not everyone can win. Quitting and denial of effort are back-ups in the event of a loss. The best approaches to losing are either learning from mistakes and improving or realizing that you are bad and accepting it. That's why there are handicaps in golf, right?
-To Find Adventure: I'll define adventure as stepping outside of your comfort zone to accomplish something previously thought to be impossible with a high level of risk. It's why (some) Soldiers want to go to war,
superheros scramble, skydivers skydive, and Bodhi likes to rob banks. It's the ultimate rush.
Obviously, this is one of the main products that sports like mud runs and rock climbing offer. People that want to do this want to show themselves and the world that they are bad mofos. This is probably because growing up in the suburbs and working in a cubicle are not that physically demanding or threatening.
To Socially Interact: I'll define this as building and nurturing friendships with others through a shared hobby. Take a look at all the run clubs that are popping up around the US. Boston has an enormous run club called the
November Project. To kick things off, everyone greets and hugs someone new before running hills or stadium steps. Conversations between runners even continue into the run. Where else can you make friends like this in your sneakers?
The social interaction aspect started long ago when sports were invented. There's nothing like getting together with your best friends and taking on another group of friends. Think rugby, the closest sport to a fight with a ball. They destroy each other on the field then have beers and sing
dirty songs in English that I can't understand.
Health: The human body is an adaptable machine that builds competence in what it does. If sitting in a seat on the way to work, at work, on the way back from work, and at a computer at home is what it does, that's all it will do. If you want to be ready to do anything more than sit without hurting yourself, you have to exercise. It also helps you...
-To Look Good: Whether it's the guy/gal looking at you in the mirror or guy/gal looking at you walking by, it's nice to be sexy and know it. It's why God invented plastic surgery and Queen Elizabeth I invented girdles.
-To Feel Good: Here's
WebMD's take on the mental health aspect. This stuff is pretty common knowledge by now, right? Endorphins, sleep, diet and whatnot.
-To Clear the Mind: I vividly remember yoga classes where I was told to forget all my worries and feel peaceful... which made me remember my worries and feel uneasy. I sometimes prefer the isolation that comes with a run and headphones. There are times when you need to get away from the stresses of real life like deadlines, bills and the
Gilgo Beach Killer. Focusing on low-consequence efforts like miles and reps can help you relax and refocus.
-To Live Longer: Sustained physical activity over the years has the ability to prevent all kinds of illnesses that come later in life (later, on average, because many of them make you die). Young athletes generally have this benefit in mind but it's not their high on the list of important benefits. Your 80 year old self will be glad you played outside when you were younger.
To Enable Activities in Real Life: You usually hear people say, "to live a fuller life." You'll hear exercise goals such as, "To keep up with my grandkids," or, "be ready for that trip to... place where people hike." These exercisers are having some physical challenge and have to build up to be able to meet it.
This list is not totally comprehensive but it is a good starting point to figuring out if there are better alternatives and characterize types of exercise, motives and trends. We will dig deeper and hopefully get some perspectives other than my own.
*
May be historically inaccurate but probably not, according to American history books in 1962, when Kennedy made the speech
