Last Updated on October 2, 2017 by Michael Brockbank
Developing an athletic body isn’t just for those who love to play sports. In fact, it has a wide range of possibilities even for those who work from home. It’s all about making life easier on yourself and living longer. You don’t have to strive to be on a cover of a magazine to see the benefits of fitness.
Why You Want an Athletic Body
Athletes train for a specific purpose: to give them a physical advantage. Personally, I’ve added greater distance to my golf swing by working out. However, that’s only a small part of what exercise and fitness can do for you.
Here are some realistic reasons why you would want an athletic body.
1. Confidence Builder
You probably see all kinds of feel-good memes on social media about being proud of your body no matter what. I believe this to an extent. Although being happy with yourself for who you are is important, so is keeping yourself alive.
Putting in the effort to create an athletic body not only boosts your view of yourself physically, but it’s also beneficial for your mindset. Every goal you meet, every accomplishment you achieve all plays into building self-confidence.
Being happy with your body type is one thing, but being embarrassed because you’re too large or out of shape for certain physical activity is another. I’m not trying to sound like I am fat-shaming people, but working on a healthier you will boost self-esteem and confidence.
2. More Energy
Physical activity and a good diet are ways to boost your energy level. This, in turn, directly affects your productivity throughout the day. For instance, a nice 15 to 30 minute workout in the morning helps me maintain focus on work.
Through proper fitness and good eating habits, you’ll find the energy to do the things you might not have in the past. This includes everything from going out and being social to finding the energy to do some house work. I know I am more productive today than I was more than a year ago.
In reality, you’re more likely to be more physically active the more energy you have. It’s a cycle that will impact most of your life. It gives you an opportunity to enjoy more of what life can offer while getting more done in work and home.
3. Saving Money at the Grocery Store
One of my biggest realizations is the amount of money I save at the grocery store when I am working on an athletic body. I tend to eat far less food while buying far fewer snacks. As a result, my grocery bill was almost cut in half.
If you stick with proper portion sizes, you get enough food while stretching the budget further. Instead of about $60 per week, I now spend just over $30. Some weeks, I can go as low as $20 depending on what I plan to eat that week.
In general, I try to keep a budget of around $2 per meal. And yes, you can have some pretty good food on such a budget outside of the drive-through window of McDonald’s. In fact, my breakfasts cost even less than that.
4. Producing Less Waste
Less shopping means less trash. And because I focus on proper portion sizes, I never throw away food. Essentially, I only make enough that I know I’ll eat. There’s something to be said about tupper ware and a freezer.
In the past, I could easily fill a trash can with all the crap I used to eat. I would go through bags of candy and cupcakes inside of seven days. Now that I am trying for a more athletic body, I don’t produce the same amount of trash. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still indulge on a bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was.
Producing less waste is good for the environment in almost every way. Can you imagine what society would be like today if everyone ate proper portion sizes and didn’t overeat? Prices would go down, less agricultural needs would be apparent and there would be plenty of food for everyone.
I reality, you don’t need a 16 ounce steak for dinner. That’s more than four meals worth of meat!
5. Easier Chores Around the House
I am pretty much the only person I know who doesn’t mind house chores. That’s because I make a game of it and look forward to spending time cleaning. For example, I have a goal of burning 3501 calories per day according to my Fitbit. The more I move, the more I burn.
When you’re focusing on an athletic body, you have the energy and the physical capability to do more around the house without getting winded. If you can find a way to gamify chores, you can benefit from a cardio activity while living in a much cleaner home.
Besides, a clean house can do wonders for your stress levels. Clutter in the home often clutters the mind. Not to mention you will develop the strength to make some chores even easier, such as scrubbing the tub or that stubborn pot sitting in the sink.
I know I feel much better mentally when my floors are vacuumed and my bed is made.
6. Keeping Up with the Kids
One of my biggest worries is knowing my children will eventually surpass me in abilities. But, that doesn’t mean I should reserve to rolling over and letting them win. Oh no. I’m going to make them work for it. I am still undefeated in Kinect Sports and plan to stay that way for decades.
If you want to be in your child’s life, and I highly suggest you do, then you’ll need the endurance and strength to keep up. It’s quite a workout to run down a six-year old repeatedly in the middle of Walmart.
Plus, you can start doing some family activities such as create a bowling team or something else that’s fun without being the weakest link.
My point is that you should be a person your children look up to in every way. Your attitude, mannerisms and even physical appearance and ability will influence their development. If you want your children to be healthy, it all starts with you.
7. Self-reliance
I’ve seen too many people incapable of doing some of the most simplest activities because they lack the strength or endurance to do them. As a result, these people get assistance from others. I’m not saying that lending a helping hand is a bad thing. However, wouldn’t it be nice to do things for yourself?
Picking up a 50-pound bag of dog food at the store? No problem. Moving the dryer so I can rescue a kitten’s favorite sparkly ball? Piece of cake. Helping someone push a dead car out of a busy road before they are injured? Slice of pie.
The personal benefits for self-reliance through an athletic body are astounding. I often geek out over some of the things I can do now that I couldn’t before. While I’m nowhere near being athletic, the progress I’ve made so far has made a big difference in self-reliance.
8. Resistance to Illness and Injury
Another aspect to keep in mind is a healthy body is less susceptible to various ailments and injuries. Everything from eating well to keeping yourself strong contributes to improving your ability to heal and being resistant to damage.
I’m not saying you’ll knit as fast as Wolverine if you’re cut. But having an athletic body does reduce healing time and promotes strength against things like bone breaks.
Since I’ve been on a health kick for the last several years, I’ve found I am less likely to have a cold or the flu. I also healed a slice on my finger recently, which probably should have needed stitches, relatively quick.
9. Improving Your Career
Having an athletic body is bound to help your career. And no, I’m not talking about flirting with the boss to get a raise. I’m talking having the physical and mental prowess to improve your workload.
When you’re eating well and regularly exercising, your brain is getting a boost to processing power. This means your ability to think, reason, make decisions and memory are all being enhanced through fitness. In fact, studies show how regular physical activity boosts brain power.
What about those who have manual labor jobs? Obviously the strengthening of your body is going to improve your ability to work. It also improves balance and prevents taking damage, which could knock you out of working for extended periods of time. Keep in mind not all jobs benefit from Worker’s Compensation.
10. Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse – and other disasters
I know the odds of a real zombie apocalypse are about as good as winning the Power Ball 10 times in a row, but having an athletic body is still beneficial for surviving disasters. If there is one thing humanity has learned over the past few years is that nature can play pretty rough.
Stamina to run, strength to move through obstacles and brain power to process a situation will all play in saving your life. While even those who are out of shape may still survive a horrible situation, an athletic body only improves those chances.
I am often scared of not being able to have the strength or endurance to keep my family safe in the event of an emergency. I don’t want to be a burden who puts everyone around me at risk. There is a strong need to be able to protect my daughters from anything that arises…even if that means picking up my katana and holding the undead at bay.
Train for Life
There’s no doubt that exercise and eating well will affect your life. You could sit at your computer day after day until your heart stops one night. Or, you could put in the effort to enhance your life and cut the health risks. However, nothing is going to change unless you put in the effort to build an athletic body.
Whether you want to feel good about yourself or simply want to outrun a zombie, everyone should aspire to be healthy.
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