Whats the point exercising? I know most of you will be like.. what do you mean!! but - let me explain;

For me personally - I have a thin body type.. I have a fast metabolism. Ive never had any surplus fat on my body my whole life. I weight like 120-125.. and have done for most of my life. Im like 5 9", 24, male.

For many years I worked out almost obsessively.. doing martial arts and various other work outs.. Sweating like crazy, etc. But I stopped doing martial arts like a year ago, then did a bunch of yoga.. and now for the past few months I haven't worked out at all - but I do go hiking every week, once or twice for an hour or two each time. Thats the only exercise I'm getting at the moment. So its been a big change for me, going from working out everyday for years, to only a hike on the weekends.

Ive been feeling like I should start working out again.. but at this point I'm starting to question the motivation.. I don't actually need to be any stronger then I am, my job is behind a computer, I don't have to carry really heavy weights around or anything... and I look pretty good/cut without working out at all anyway - so why should I work out?

Personally I'm pretty against intense/long cardio work outs, I think people in our society way overdue that stuff.. I've read studies that endurance athletes actually have scarring in there hearts etc.. its a misconception that intense cardio work is good for you, its actually bad for your body/heart many times. I do see value in strength training to a certain extent.. I suppose if you are overweight then it would be good to burn off calories.. but for me, I certainly don't need to burn anything off..

So - is there any benefit to my health from strength training, if I don't need to be stronger and I look pretty good without working out? Ofcourse I could fall into the typical male desire to be big gorilla man to impress the ladies - but I don't even buy into that anymore - most girls aren't even into that, do you know how many skinny rocker type guys get all the girls? Also - sure you could spend tons of effort and energy and time getting stronger but as soon as you stop working out you will lose it all anyway..

Thoughts? Am I missing something here?

Also I will add that - I'm healthy, no noticeable health issues, I sleep well, have energy, feel good.. look pretty good, no extra fat on me.. if anything I would like to gain 10 pounds of muscle, but really thats just to boost my self image more then anything which is kind of silly?

Kind2creatures has a lot of good points. If your job is sedentary then exercise will benefit you. Disease doesn't just show up one day. It takes years for it to slowly develop symptoms. Exercise is one of the best ways to ward off diseases.

You're very blessed to feel energetic, and be healthy and not overweight. But I have to say that exercise is beneficial for mental health and mood also, hiking on the weekends is great for that.

Also, some type of weight lifting or resistance training is important for bone health. You may be too young to think about it now, but bone porosity, osteoporosis, etc. can be a real problem in old age, I see many older men with that condition. I encourage all aging folks to do these types of exercises, but why not do a little bit while younger, as a preventative?

Aside from our physical images, and looking good, I feel that exercise is needed for the heart, which really is a muscle, and our lungs, important to keep them clear and healthy. Sweating from exercise also helps to clear toxins from our body, through our pores.

Intense workouts might not be the way to go, but just stretching exercises are great for the body.

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"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~Immanual Kant~

Hit the weights, but go light weights, higher reps. You will get strength training and cardio and Moxsum, like I told you before, you need a good meal of some buffalo wings and pizza. 125 5'9 man, that is light.

personally I'm wondering if your body would maintain as it has the last year if you carry on?
It may be that your metabolism slows down and you end up gaining etc.

personally I exercise (I go to belly dancing once a week, ride my horse, have an exercise bike I use, light weights and DVDs such as 30 Day Shred and P90X2 when I'm too busy to get 'out') for mental and physical well being. I am still overweight but that is an eating 'issue' in respect that I am a comfort eater but it helps me maintain losses over the last decade. I am still working on decreasing my weight further after losing baby weight last year.

How I wish I could afford everything to have my own horse. I use friends and I love them. I hope you know how lucky you are.

I have the thought that if you don't use it you lose it. Take a look at some 60 year olds who walk slowly and need a cain to go everywhere and most of the people I see who walk with a cain are thin. I then see the opposite from somebody like Lou Ferrigno that I'm amazed at what he looks like in his 60's.

Of course I'm not saying to go to the gym and be addicted like Lou Ferrigno, but you can instantly see how two people took a different look at the gym and how they turned out.

I have a friend who never worksout and he's pretty thin. He's starting to get back pain and I can bet my life that he's going to be the guy you see leaning over, walking so slow with a cain when he gets in his 60's.

I do agree most people don't need to spend hours in the gym and some people over do it, but I think you should lift weights 30 minutes a day at least 3 days a week.

I never heard of tears in the heart from over doing cardio, do you have any links or information?

Here are some links:
https://www.nhs.uk/news/2011/12Decemb...rt-damage.aspx

https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/0...-a-good-thing/
"None of the younger athletes or the older nonathletes had fibrosis in their hearts. But half of the older lifelong athletes showed some heart muscle scarring. The affected men were, in each case, those who’d trained the longest and hardest."

Anyway - my point is that - people take exercising too far.. especially cardio.

According to Ayurveda - while exercising, once your forehead or spine/back start to sweat you should stop.

Everyone is different. Some people gain weight easily and are bigger by nature, they can work out more - intact they probably need to. If you have a lot of extra fat you have more to burn off.

Some people like me are naturally skinny/my body doesn't store lots of fat. So I have less to burn.. if I were to exercise too much, it would not be good for me.

Also - yes you can show me pictures of people with big muscles.. that doesn't mean there healthy - thats where people get confused - you see someone who's not fat and they work out a lot and you assume they are healthy.. but internally they could be all messed up.. like those people who are addicted to the gym, they are harming themselves and burning up there vital energy, and it could take a few years but it will effect them eventually.

I believe the answer is to live an active lifestyle.. go on walks regularly, hikes from time to time, play volleyball, surf.. etc. thats the key.. but spending hours in the gym straining your body/overworking your cardio system and burning tons of calories without replacing them properly = damaging your health. So many people get addicted to exercise.. it causes endorphins to be released os you feel good.. you know those people who workout 7 days a week for hours at a time.. =addiction..

Anyway I'm being extreme. Of course exercise is good for you.. in moderation. Someone like me who works on a computer most days, I need to walk around/hike be active a bit.. but I have a body type where I don't need to exercise as much as others do, for me, the best exercises are calm/soothing exercises.. like walking.. hiking..

And yes.. also true that I'm young so.. I don't need to be concerned with bone density that much yet.. but at the same time, if you eat a really healthy diet with protein/fat/etc. and live an active lifestyle I don't think you need to be lifting a lot to have healthy bones.

I agree that just because somebody has muscles doesn't mean they are healthy. They could have a horrible diet, be on steriods, smoke and drink every day. My point was by no means to say that a person who is extremely musclar is healthier, but it's comparing two extremes.

If you gave me a choice though I'd rather be a person who can bend over and lift something up or not have to walk with a cane in my older age.

You can argue that going for hikes, playing volleyball and surfing is better. By all means I would say these are good things, but are you doing it often? How often can you do these things and if it's really that often then I wish I had your life. These are things I can only do on the weekends and I live 30 minutes from the beach.

I mean there's study after study that exercising improves blood pressure, cholestoral, life span, diabetes drastically...etc so I don't think there's much arguement there.

If you are hiking everyday then it's exercise. I never hear about a person living to be 100 years old because they go to the gym everyday. One thing is to argue that exercise is useless, which is one arguement. If you are saying you rather not lift weights, then there's nothing wrong with selecting one exercise over another.

I agree exercise in moderation is needed for health. I'm nearing 60 myself, and although I'm far from and active or hyper person, I zoom around when walking through malls, etc. Many times I'm passing people up who are much younger, out of shape, or just in a weakened condition. I have to admit though, I hate shopping and like to get in and out with little waste of time.

I finally read the two articles and agree 100%, but these are extreme endurance training. I mean if you read the article these are people who compete in ultramarathon that last 11 hours.

Sorry I can't do anything for 11 hours, not sex, not sleep, not work.......... NOTHING.

So we're talking about extreme here. Both links discuss people who are in the 100 marathon club and ultramarathon.

A marathon alone isn't healthy and we're talking about people who want to run 100 of them or an ultra-marathon for 11 hours is something else.

I remember always hearing Marathon came from a person dying:

The legend states that he was sent from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon (in which he had just fought), which took place in August or September, 490 BC. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming "Νενικήκαμεν" (Nenik�kamen, 'We have won.') before collapsing and dying

For some reason I thought this was about normal exercise, not excessive endurance exercise. I completely agree exercising for 12 hours can't be healthy.

The average person runs a marathon in 4 hours. That to me is still crazy

I guess I was expecting some info on running or doing cardio for an hour is bad for your heart and not about extreme exercise. I personally do cardio once or twice a week for 30-45 minutes. If there's anything even slightly negative with that I'd love to read it.

The article even ended with
"if you exercise regularly and currently have no symptoms, “I think it’s safe to say that you should keep it up,” Dr. Thompson said."

I can appreciate the 'don't use it, lose it' kind of sentiment. I have had back problems in the past (injured while riding) and the temptation was not to move as it's sore to move.. but my GP convinced me otherwise. I couldn't ride for a year in trot but managed walking and also took up karate - no mat work but the exercises really did give me good core strength and toned the muscles around my back to support it. I'm convinced it helped me recover and I am concious to keep my back strong through exercise still now.

agreed.

i am 5'9", was 125 from playing soccer my whole life, then started training in muay thai (martial arts on and off since 5 yrs old). i've been doing this for 2 years now and am now at 140-145. i do cardio multiple times a week and feel like crap if i dont. though i should mention that since i've created a longterm habit of doing cardio, my metabolism has adjusted accordingly, so i pretty much have to do cardio or else i would gain (fat) weight fast.

moral: dont rush into gaining weight quickly. it took me 2 years to get that healthy 20lb gain. everything will fall into place naturally. 20lbs of bulk is 20lbs of bulk, even if it is muscle. without cardio and stretching to tone it, it is useless, impeding even.

Ooo! Interesting stuff!! Do you have any information on where to find those studies?