
34 Hidden Benefits of Working Out
Welcome to another edition of the Tiger Fitness community article. We asked forum members to share hidden benefits of working out; benefits they didn't expect to receive when they first started.
Uncut. Lightly edited for your reading pleasure. And we're off...
1) Improved health.
2) Not fearing pain since we embrace it on a daily basis and push past it.
3) Improved sense of well being.
4) Improved sex life. That goes for personal performance and selection of partners!
5) Stress release.
6) Improved serotonin levels.
7) Meeting new people with similar interests at the gym.
8) Being able to be more in tune with what your body is telling you.
9) Learning how to be patient and feeling a whole year of hard work when looking in the mirror.
10) Confidence and extreme awesomeness with the girls.
11) Mental strength, the ability to know that I can grow strong to protect not only myself but my wife, family, future kids, etc.
12) A positive way to spend time. How many hours do we waste away doing meaningless and boring tasks? It gives me a way to positively spend.
13) Teaches discipline. The iron will always be the greatest teller of truth.
14) Helps me feel inspired and creative when writing or playing on the guitar.
15) A hidden benefit of lifting is the confidence you get when you realize you can do things you thought were impossible if you believe you can do them and apply yourself. Once you know you can do that with your bench press/deadlift/squat/whatever it seems to carry over to other areas of your life. You try to do more things to improve your life once you believe you have the power to improve your life. It's very easy to adopt the belief that you can't do anything about a situation if you lack the discipline and/or confidence to at least try.
16) Having to buy new clothes is one of the best things I've gone through. From having clothes fall off me to almost having to cut my underwear off is a very rewarding feeling.
Resistance training teaches discipline. The iron will always be the greatest teller of truth.
17) Some smaller hidden benefits no one really thinks twice about would be being able to fall asleep easier at night, clothes fitting better, and also simple things such as being able to open a jar lid when no else in your home can is a rewarding feeling. You'll also find it easier to count and use numbers when you become experienced with the variety of rep schemes you perform.
18) The social aspect, meeting like-minded friends abroad.
19) That quiet feeling of joy inside when you ride a bus or fly for the first time in a while and your shoulders take up most of the walkway.
20) Something people never think of, or just seem to not realize, is improved mental focus and clarity. I've always noticed that if there's a time period where I'm being lazy and getting no exercise, my mind is foggy, but when I'm on a steady workout schedule mental clarity improves dramatically. I know there's a scientific reason behind it, but I'm not well enough versed in it to explain it.
21) You don't have to raise your voice to get a point across.
22) Stress relief. Being a ginger, we got all kindz of anger issues.The gym is where I can get all that out.
23) Confidence. I'm a lot more confident in my day to day activities. I'm not huge, but I'm not that skinny kid from high school anymore. I just generally "feel" better.
24) Learning about my body and mind. A few sessions ago I had loads of energy but my lifts felt weak, today I had no energy and not mentally in the mood but my lifts were strong? Diet was the same, now enjoying trying to figure out why I felt so strong today.
25) Lifting and exercise release pheromones, so you are happy and less likely to be depressed.
26) Lifting and getting in shape will not only shed fat but all weed out the leeches in your life, because people show their true colors when you are improving physically and professionally. Non-ambitious people are jealous and show their insecurities around you.
27) You learn how strong you really are mentally to push through sets and workout sessions. After pushing through a hard workout, you feel like you can endure anything!
28) You look good naked, anyone can look good with clothes on; let's be real: having sex with your clothes on or wearing shirts in the summer, that's just weak sauce!
29) Confidence. Lifting has taught me that if I stick with anything long enough I can change it.
30) Concentration and the ability to focus extremely hard.
31) Random encounters with people who want to know if a certain product is good for them or if a certain exercise is good for them. More likely to have a random encounter with people and possible good conversation. I think everybody loves a big guy or fit woman.
32) Knowing there is always something to look forward to........gym time!
33) Learning how to control anger and having a productive way to get rid of it.
34) Good way to learn that hard (smart!) work produces results.
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