Reasons

Why do you work out? What are your reasons for staying in shape?

Recently, I've been trying to re-figure this out for myself. I've always said that I work out because I want to live to be 120 years old. But not just a wheelchair-bound, senile-since-70, pudding-eating, Oprah-watching 120 year old. I want to be a club hoppin', ain't no stoppin' 120 year old. I want to be able to go to the grocery store at that age, pick out my own groceries, and then carry them up the stairs to my 6th floor NYC loft, where I can then prepare them for the rooftop BBQ I have planned for later that evening.

But why else do I work out? Why else does anyone, or should anyone, strive for elite fitness? Here are just a few reasons why increasing your fitness IQ is a good life choice. Fit people...

• enjoy more restful, better quality sleep than their unfit counterparts.
• are calmer and easier-going, because exercise naturally puts you in a better mood.
• have bones like granite. Don't be 1 out of every 2 women to get diagnosed with Osteoporosis in their lifetimes...
• have hearts like lions. The stronger the heart, the more blood it can pump, and the fewer times it has to beat every minute.
• have a place where there are no phones, no emails, no classes, no lectures, no readings or homework assignments; a place where they can completely disconnect from the stresses of the world.
• have better posture.
• have more confidence in themselves than their unfit friends.
• don't have nearly as many cravings for junk food as most of the nation's hyperglycemic population (even though, every once in a while, you just have to lose yourself in a carton of mint chocolate cookie ice cream).
• can, from time to time, indulge in that carton of mint chocolate cookie ice cream and not feel like an out of control, insulin-resistant fool.
• enjoy lower levels of stress in their lives because they have an outlet for some of life's frustrations.
• are completely immune to sickness and disease! Okay, maybe not completely... but fit people have stronger immune systems, meaning that they typically don't get sick nearly as often as other people.
• cost less for the health care system in our country.
• have more satisfying sex much more frequently.
• have higher levels of brain functioning and mental alertness.
• are attractive. They tend to look damn fine in whatever they wear, whether it be designer threads or workout scrubs.
• live longer.

Along with a lot of these reasons, here's the short list of the answers I came up with for myself. I work out because...

1. I want to live to a functional 120 years old, with unparalleled badassosity.
2. I want to enjoy everything life has to offer; if I want to go and enter Madison's Ironman race, or run off to Nepal to summit Everest, I can and I will, with no hesitation.
3. I have no idea what tomorrow has in store for me, and I'd like to know that regardless of what the future holds, I can handle it better because of my fitness.
4. tomorrow is not guaranteed, and this uncertainty necessitates me doing everything I can possibly do to enjoy today.

Those are my reasons... What are yours?

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After watching yesterday's video from MobilityWod, I noticed an awesome track worth adding to the WiscFit Music Library. Check it out and tell me it's not hott with two T's.

Rihanna - Rude Boy (DJ Scooter Reggae Remix)

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WOD 100914 Tuesday

Location: The Shell, 9pm.

Warm-up

S/S: Weighted Pull-ups, 5-5-5-5-5

WOD: Row the following for time, resting as needed between efforts.
-2000m
-1000m
-500m
-500m
-100m
-100m
-100m

Finish: Thank whatever higher power you subscribe to that you're no longer sitting on the Concept 2.

WOD Results
Matt- 6:55, 3:28, 1:34, 1:35, 17.4, 17.9, 17.8