2 Views on Exercise for the Sake of It

A couple of weeks ago, I was watching Rush Limbaugh on the Haney Project. Limbaugh said that he "hates exercising for the sake of it."

And it shows - I'd say he's about 50 or 60 pounds overweight, all gathered in at his belly, where it normally goes on men.

But for all his overweight, he still has no problem making fat jokes about women. (He called one of his shots a little "Oprah" - a little fat. Why not call it a little "Rush" - same difference.) But of course, guys don't see anything hypocritical in them being a hundred pounds overweight, and yet criticizing women for the way they look. To the average guy (there are exceptions, but we're talking average) it doesn't matter what he looks like, it only matters what women look like, because they of course were put on earth to cater to men. (And too many women buy into this mindset, and however fat there husbands or boyfriends are, take to heart the man's criticisms of their bulging ankles or tubby tummy or whatever.)

My own view of exercise for the sake of it - exercise is fun. It feels good, it gives you a sense of accomplishment - and finally, it means you're fit.

When I was 13 or so, I read a book called Tarzan and the Lost Safari. This was around 1975. A small tourist plane crashes in the jungles of Africa, and these pampered American and British tourists are faced with the prospect of walking miles and miles and miles to reach civilization. And one of the female characters says, "This will be easy. I walk a mile every day." Suffice it to say after the first day of trying to walk ten miles and collapsing after the second mile - they are in a jungle with no paths, after all - she's in tears and realizes she's in a heckuva lot of trouble.

It's at this point that I vowed that if I were ever in a plane crash in the wilds of Africa, I'd be able to walk more than 10 miles in a single day, and I immediately set out to do so. Of course I very shortly learned that I found walking very boring - it takes so long to get anywhere - so I took up biking instead.

Same difference - it took me a while to work up to biking 20 miles a day, but I did so.

So at this point in my life, while I'm not likely to have to try to walk out of an African jungle, you never know what might turn up. You might be trying to park in a mall during Christmas time or during a sale and the nearest spot is a mile away. Can you walk that mile, or are you going to waste time and gas driving around until finally someone close by leaves their spot and allows you to drive in? IT's so much easier just to get out and walk that distance!

I live in Cheyenne and in this area there are snowstorms that can trap your car on a road. Of course the sensible thing is to stay with your car, but let's say you decide to get out and try to walk to town or whatever. Through drifts three feet deep! You'll soon wish you'd been biking or walking 20 miles a day.

Im today's technological world, with cell phones and such like, the average person probably won't ever have to walk more than 5 minutes if they don't feel like it. And yeah, that contributes to the USA's "obesity problem" - if you want to call it that. We simply don't need to be as physically active as we once were.

Only people who enjoy being physically active get out there and do it....and not enough people seem to enjoy it.

Because they've never tried it.

Take myself. I bike 20 miles a day (except when its raining or in the winter time obviusly.) I keep a daily journal and record my progress - have I biked up such-and-such-a-hill without having to huff and puff, or even to stop and walk all the way up it. Have I shaved 5 to 10 minutes off the time it normally takes me to bike 20 miles? If so, that's an accomplishment,and I feel good about it, and about myself. The fitness aspect is almost secondary - it's the feeling of accomplishment and achieving a goal that I like best of all.

So why not go out and rent a pair of cross country skis and give it a try? Or snowshoes. (And no, you'd never catch me on those things, but we're all different!) Downhill skiing - which I have done and like - as long as I'm on a bunny hill or as near as makes no difference - is also fun, and can help strengthen your legs.

If you hate cold weather as much as I, scope out a health club or YMCA. (Don't pay an arm and a leg for your membership, or enter into long-term contracts, though.) You can walk around a track, listening to music, or bike while watching TV, and they'll have weight machines and perhaps even free weights. There's a health club chain called Curves, designed specifically for women...check that out if you're too initimidated by the combination of your present weight/prying men's eyes at your Y - although be aware that probably no one will even notice you - they are all there to get fit themselves!

And come summer, get on that bike and go biking!