Weird hill to die on. Why gatekeep the purpose of exercise? Why is it not okay to want a hard body or to enjoy it or to otherwise enjoy exercise in a way the author does not? We should talk about...
Weird hill to die on. Why gatekeep the purpose of exercise? Why is it not okay to want a hard body or to enjoy it or to otherwise enjoy exercise in a way the author does not?
We should talk about excessive behavior and behavior in which one is self-sabotaging in pursuit of a perceived flaw they are trying to fix or a hole in their life they are trying to fill, but to claim that someone can't enjoy exercise for other reasons is either ignorant of human diversity or prescriptive on it's purpose.
Yes.... but if you make the investment in building those muscles when young, you'll have more "in reserve", so to speak. Plus, continuing resistance training while aging will slow the rate of...
In the end, no matter how much agony we undergo to build our biceps, those perishable muscles will still atrophy in old age and then end up on the scrap heap — at which point, what have we got to show?
Yes.... but if you make the investment in building those muscles when young, you'll have more "in reserve", so to speak. Plus, continuing resistance training while aging will slow the rate of decay. So long as you haven't gone too overboard to the point of wrecking your joints+ligaments, this should generally lead to a higher quality-of-life as you age. And... it doesn't really take that much outta one's day. Maybe 45min-1hr? It's not like exercising has to become your identity and you shed all other humanly pursuits.
I feel that arguments like these essentially boil down to: "You're gonna die, anyway... so why bother with anything?"
I mean... if you don't value something, then by all means don't have at it! But...if someone has seen the value in pursuing a particular course of action and it ain't hurting anyone, then.. why yuck on the proverbial "yum?"
Well, this (and many similar hot-take condemnations on otherwise harmless activities) seems like an exercise in pot-stirring writing.. .which is fine, I guess. Writers gotta work at their craft, after all (lest their skills atrophy).
Even following that line of thought, though... a bit of investment in the body can lead to a longer period of being able to "create." Obviously, as someone who exercises fairly regularly, I'm a...
Even following that line of thought, though... a bit of investment in the body can lead to a longer period of being able to "create."
Obviously, as someone who exercises fairly regularly, I'm a bit biased in my reading. However, I also regularly practice guitar, make music, attempt to draw, read ~literature~, etc. (yes, I'm patting myself on the back) and still feel like I waste a lot of the day on bullshit (mainly mindless Internet browsing). So, I guess it's hard for me to see regular exercise as something that can distract someone from creating important works of art, or something. Not that I think everyone has that in them, anyway... Might just be worth it for the majority of people to strive for health and live out their days in general comfort with their families.
As someone that only started exercising regularly about a year ago I really wish this wasn't the prevailing attitude among those that don't exercise. It kept me from doing what's right for myself....
I continue to take issue with the presumption that genuine "agony" is an essential component of exercise
As someone that only started exercising regularly about a year ago I really wish this wasn't the prevailing attitude among those that don't exercise. It kept me from doing what's right for myself. It's a lie you tell yourself to justify being sedentary. Once you're in a cardio routine no part of it feels bad.
Exercise can have a PR problem. In my experience the only people that talk about exercise to those that don't exercise are muscle-building fanatics. That's not something that will appeal to everyone. More people need to talk about how a run or bike ride or rock climb lifted their mood. How their knees hurt them less after they built up their legs. Everyone can hear that and imagine the benefits they'd get out of it personally. Honestly a lot of people don't want to look ripped.
I agree with the sentiment - a body is a means to an end. In the purest sense anything beyond the minimum of strength training needed to complete whatever tasks your life requires and a few hours...
I agree with the sentiment - a body is a means to an end. In the purest sense anything beyond the minimum of strength training needed to complete whatever tasks your life requires and a few hours of cardio per week is unnecessary. These are thoughts I have very frequently when forcing myself to perform my necessary bodily maintenance. Sometimes cycling is pure joy, but sometimes I just know it's what's right for my mind and body and need to do it.
But even though I think about it often - these are the kind of thoughts I try to dismiss. They're strictly negative. The only end result is that I resent people that are doing something they enjoy. Sure, the person at the gym building up their biceps is wasting their effort on pure aesthetics. But why spend even a second judging how they should spend their free time? They're not hurting anyone and if anything it may give them some small health benefits.
An article written on exercise for beauty's sake should be met with 10,000 articles opposing lethargy. Or a million on treating people with compassion.
I think the title may predispose people to read it in a certain light. That is, uh.. the title is pretty damn negative. I do agree with some of the sentiment, though (and meant to say so in my...
I think the title may predispose people to read it in a certain light. That is, uh.. the title is pretty damn negative.
I do agree with some of the sentiment, though (and meant to say so in my other comment). If you're doing things merely to keep up in some sort of rat-race, then, yea... that's no good.
But.. I do think saying things like this:
Theoretically, Michelangelo could have spent all his time on chin-ups and never have got round to the Sistine Chapel.
is kinda asinine. Kinda creating a false dichotomy between exercise and the act of creation while also advocating for a certain value system. Like... someone who valued physical achievement over artistic achievement (and, hell, maybe considers physical achievement "art") could try to make a point saying "Theoretically, Usain Bolt could have spent all his time practicing jazz piano and never got round to breaking running records" and it would've been equally as asinine.
And I say this as someone who very much values the arts.
Weird hill to die on. Why gatekeep the purpose of exercise? Why is it not okay to want a hard body or to enjoy it or to otherwise enjoy exercise in a way the author does not?
We should talk about excessive behavior and behavior in which one is self-sabotaging in pursuit of a perceived flaw they are trying to fix or a hole in their life they are trying to fill, but to claim that someone can't enjoy exercise for other reasons is either ignorant of human diversity or prescriptive on it's purpose.
Yes.... but if you make the investment in building those muscles when young, you'll have more "in reserve", so to speak. Plus, continuing resistance training while aging will slow the rate of decay. So long as you haven't gone too overboard to the point of wrecking your joints+ligaments, this should generally lead to a higher quality-of-life as you age. And... it doesn't really take that much outta one's day. Maybe 45min-1hr? It's not like exercising has to become your identity and you shed all other humanly pursuits.
I feel that arguments like these essentially boil down to: "You're gonna die, anyway... so why bother with anything?"
I mean... if you don't value something, then by all means don't have at it! But...if someone has seen the value in pursuing a particular course of action and it ain't hurting anyone, then.. why yuck on the proverbial "yum?"
Well, this (and many similar hot-take condemnations on otherwise harmless activities) seems like an exercise in pot-stirring writing.. .which is fine, I guess. Writers gotta work at their craft, after all (lest their skills atrophy).
Even following that line of thought, though... a bit of investment in the body can lead to a longer period of being able to "create."
Obviously, as someone who exercises fairly regularly, I'm a bit biased in my reading. However, I also regularly practice guitar, make music, attempt to draw, read ~literature~, etc. (yes, I'm patting myself on the back) and still feel like I waste a lot of the day on bullshit (mainly mindless Internet browsing). So, I guess it's hard for me to see regular exercise as something that can distract someone from creating important works of art, or something. Not that I think everyone has that in them, anyway... Might just be worth it for the majority of people to strive for health and live out their days in general comfort with their families.
I don't want to be remembered forever. There's beauty in impermanence
As someone that only started exercising regularly about a year ago I really wish this wasn't the prevailing attitude among those that don't exercise. It kept me from doing what's right for myself. It's a lie you tell yourself to justify being sedentary. Once you're in a cardio routine no part of it feels bad.
Exercise can have a PR problem. In my experience the only people that talk about exercise to those that don't exercise are muscle-building fanatics. That's not something that will appeal to everyone. More people need to talk about how a run or bike ride or rock climb lifted their mood. How their knees hurt them less after they built up their legs. Everyone can hear that and imagine the benefits they'd get out of it personally. Honestly a lot of people don't want to look ripped.
I agree with the sentiment - a body is a means to an end. In the purest sense anything beyond the minimum of strength training needed to complete whatever tasks your life requires and a few hours of cardio per week is unnecessary. These are thoughts I have very frequently when forcing myself to perform my necessary bodily maintenance. Sometimes cycling is pure joy, but sometimes I just know it's what's right for my mind and body and need to do it.
But even though I think about it often - these are the kind of thoughts I try to dismiss. They're strictly negative. The only end result is that I resent people that are doing something they enjoy. Sure, the person at the gym building up their biceps is wasting their effort on pure aesthetics. But why spend even a second judging how they should spend their free time? They're not hurting anyone and if anything it may give them some small health benefits.
An article written on exercise for beauty's sake should be met with 10,000 articles opposing lethargy. Or a million on treating people with compassion.
I think the title may predispose people to read it in a certain light. That is, uh.. the title is pretty damn negative.
I do agree with some of the sentiment, though (and meant to say so in my other comment). If you're doing things merely to keep up in some sort of rat-race, then, yea... that's no good.
But.. I do think saying things like this:
is kinda asinine. Kinda creating a false dichotomy between exercise and the act of creation while also advocating for a certain value system. Like... someone who valued physical achievement over artistic achievement (and, hell, maybe considers physical achievement "art") could try to make a point saying "Theoretically, Usain Bolt could have spent all his time practicing jazz piano and never got round to breaking running records" and it would've been equally as asinine.
And I say this as someone who very much values the arts.