Why I Don't Train for Health

I think the constant push to promote physical activity is laudable. I love to move and hope more people will decide to do the same. I think the approach, however, is insufficient and even misguided. All types of leaders, officials, authorities, etc. almost exclusively promote exercise as a way to improve health. Articles are written discussing ways to improve heart function, boost immunity, combat diseases and so forth are all we see in the media when attempting to convert the sedentary. It’s as if we’ve decided that if we can get them to see how they’re damaging themselves, they will elect to begin and persist in an exercise program. The problem is that’s been the message for a long time and little is changing.

I believe that presenting the “health benefits of exercise” as the central purpose for engaging in movement is inadequate. There are probably some people who exercise just for the health benefits and need no other motivation. But, as an avid exerciser, if the only thing I could get from training were health benefits, I’d probably quit or train only off and on. I think the reward of “health benefits” is unsatisfactory for at least two reasons:

1.     Adherence is based only on some vague, indefinable marker.

2.     Exercise may not even prevent the onset of disease or other health problems.

To be honest, I think I’ll probably develop cardiovascular disease and diabetes and then die of a stroke at a young age in spite of all my effort in exercise. Avoiding those ailments is hardly on my mind when I’m training. In fact, it’s not even a top 5 reason for exercising. Here’s my list:

1.     Skill Acquisition & Development

2.     Athleticism

3.     Challenges

4.     Preparedness

5.     Aesthetics

Then, maybe:

6.     Health

Skill Acquisition & Development

For me, top priority when it comes to movement is honing of skills. I participate in bouldering, gymnastic-style bodyweight training and martial arts not because I hope that my heart or joints are healthier because of these activities but because they are skills I hope to develop. I climb regularly to become a smooth, technical climber. I work through various bodyweight exercise progressions in order to achieve handstands, planches and other gymnastic skills. I attend jiu jitsu and thai boxing classes to learn and refine submissions, escapes, attacks, combinations, and other drills. Again, I do not look for the health benefits of these activities first; I enjoy learning the skills and love the freedom of movement they offer.

Athleticism

When I’m weightlifting, I do so with one primary goal: Strength! When I jump rope, I do so with one primary goal: Endurance! When I sprint or jump, I so do with one primary goal: Power! I want to stay as athletic and competitive as I can. I know that I’ll begin to lose power, flexibility, strength, endurance and agility as I get older. I know I can’t stop that process. However, I love to compete and know that only through specific training can I hope to maximize my potential in those categories. I plan to play sports and enter other competitions for years to come and I don’t want to lose any more of my athleticism than necessary.

Challenges

One thing for which I hope to be known and remembered is my toughness. Some of my training is focused specifically on things that intimidate me. I try to expose my weaknesses and come out a stronger person because of that. Combat training always scares me (though not as much as it used to). I’ve never been a fighter and was fearful upon realizing how ill prepared I was for a fight. As I’ve attended classes and learned what styles suit me and what I still need to improve, a sense of cool confidence has surrounded me. Conditioning also makes me nervous. As I do the workouts, I’ve learned to push myself beyond my perceived limits and not let myself quit when I feel too tired or weak to go on. Not only does my endurance improve but my mental toughness as well.

Preparedness

I don’t know what the future will bring. There could be some post-apocalyptic scenario in which there will be limited electricity and technology and mankind will rely on physical labor for food, shelter and the like. I may need to help someone move heavy furniture. My family or I might be attacked. There could be a disaster. I train to be prepared for these scenarios. My training isn’t exactly specific to any of these possible scenarios but I do plan some of my training with those types of events in mind. I don’t want to be caught unawares.

Aesthetics

I want broad, muscular shoulders that show their width in any shirt. I want to see veins on my abdominals through a compression shirt. I want thick legs that struggle to get into my pants. I want forearms bigger than most people’s arms. I want people to think my head looks small because my neck is so thick and my traps almost touch my ears. I care more about how my training makes me look than whether it prevents me from needing bypass surgery. It’s vain. It’s narcissistic. It may even be an unhealthy fixation. But it’s true.

Health

Exercising for health isn’t necessarily a bad idea. My training will hopefully prevent disease, injury and premature death. I may have some sort of event or change in my life that alters my perception of exercise. Our modern lifestyle, however, does not require strength, mobility, conditioning, skill or many of the other things that exercise might bring us. With our technology we hardly ever need leave the comforts afforded us in our homes. We need to identify other reasons to exercise. In all honesty, that’s just my list of reasons for training.

I don’t want you to choose my reasons for training. You may want to be an all-around movement generalist or maybe you’d rather be a specialist (powerlifter, fighter, traceur, bodybuilder, triathlete).  The point is to understand what makes you tick. We all have potential to improve in any area we choose. Once you find out what your passion is, training gets much easier and more enjoyable. You’ll still need to be patient, consistent, determined and hard working to progress. You may not enjoy all the obstacles that come along when striving to improve but your vision won’t be as clouded nor will your incentive be as uninspiring.

I really want you to discover what makes you overcome the overwhelming desire to sit on the couch and watch TV all day (or whatever makes it hard for you to train). We can’t pick our passion in everything in life. We’d probably have too many veterinarians and not enough garbage men if we could. But we can pick our passion in exercise. We won’t all be at the elite level and we may jump from one thing to another but the point is to enjoy the process. I don’t think we will see a massive increase in active adults unless we move the focus from health and transfer it to the motives and desires of those adults. And then we might see improved health, longevity and well-being.