# What is the point of exercise? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 8, 2013, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453 "2013-06-08T04:15:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/21 "2013-06-08T10:39:44Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > My question, really, is “why should I be exercising after I retire from the military?” I know people who run “just for fun” when they don’t need to, like 5 miles or so. I hate running, and can’t imagine ever doing it for fun. > > So, bottom line, why should I be exercising? To stay healthy. Your body really is a use-it-or-lose-it sort of thing. That said, you don’t need to run 5 miles a day. What you need to do is keeping moving, and moving your various parts, so you remain healthy into old age. Stretching and flexibility is just as important as overall strength. Take my dad, for instance: 84 and with minimal problems. After his stint in the National Guard (Korean War era) he never “exercised” but he kept moving. He didn’t hesitated to park his car away from an entrance and walk. He used stairs. He worked in the garden (still does, but has me and his son in law do the heavy work now). He didn’t JUST sit on the couch all day. So he’s in his mid-80’s and while he has aches and pains and some circulatory problems he _doesn’t_ have diabetes, he’s not overweight, he can manage steps if he has to, and the doctors say he has a good chance of making 100 still walking on his own two feet and with his mind sharp. You don’t need to exercise as much as the military wants you to, but you do need to do something. Fortunately, you can even incorporate a lot of this into your daily routine by, for instance, taking stairs instead of escalators and parking not so close to the door and other little “tricks” so you’re constantly engaged in low-level exercise rather than subjecting yourself to boring, concentrated workouts. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/22 "2013-06-08T10:46:18Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Well like i said above, i guess I need to change my question. I would gladly play racquetball for 2 hours every day, no big deal. but should I be running 5 miles a day and trying to increase my distance and/or time? No, you need to be playing racquet ball because THAT is the activity you enjoy and will keep doing. For some people exercise is a hobby. For others, it’s a chore like brushing our teeth. Find some sort of physical activity you like to do and then do it. What, exactly, it is is not as important as the fact you _keep moving_. I detest running. I often say the only time you’ll see me running is if someone is shooting at me. On the other hand I like walking and biking and do my gardening without power assistance and that’s how I get my exercise. I maintain my weight and my cardiovascular stats are great and I’m stronger than most my age. No running requirement. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/23 "2013-06-08T13:34:25Z")
I think part of what you are asking is “Why do people like this? Am I the crazy one or are they?”. The answer is just that there is no accounting for taste. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/24 "2013-06-08T13:37:49Z")
I think the point of exercise is to compensate for the lack of physical activity many people otherwise wouldn’t get. I love cycling and walking and I try to live in places that allow me to walk or bike to work and to run errands. I don’t consider that to be “exercise” in the stand-alone sense of the word and, if I didn’t do those things I would have to exercise insofar as I would have to set aside time to walk or bike. In my last job I had a one hour walk from my house to my workplace or, if I took an interesting detour, a 40 minute bike ride. I loved that time but I would hate to go to a gym or go out for a run. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/25 "2013-06-08T13:38:48Z")
An addition to **Blake’s** great list, and also in part to answer the OP’s revised question, improving times/weight lifted, etc., is a mental boost for that person. Yes, competitiveness can result in harm in some cases, but most of the time it’s good for you. For instance, I have this short hill on my bike ride home. I started timing how long it took me to get up it a few months ago and from the post at the bottom to the post at the top, it took me 2:35. When I did the same thing earlier this week, it took me 2:12. HUGE mental boost for me. I’m proud of myself and it’s awesome to see how my hard work is paying off. That’s why people set goals, meet them, then set new goals. It feels good to get there and pass it. In general, exercise is good for mental health. I have heard many anecdotes and seen plenty of research stating that regular exercise can eliminate mild to moderate depression. I am one of those people. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/26 "2013-06-08T14:03:33Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I would gladly play racquetball for 2 hours every day, no big deal. I would gladly play 18 holes of golf every day and never use a cart… but I don’t. Just make sure that you do whatever exercise it is that you like to do. I just have no clue what kind of person would have two plus hours every day to exercise, other than an athlete or something where being fit is actually their job. Don’t these people have work, family, friends, or yardwork to attend to? ---
**Author:** ![stoplight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@stoplight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stoplight)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/27 "2013-06-08T16:07:27Z")
Because I simply feel so much better when I do exercise consistently…everything else like living longer is just gravy ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/28 "2013-06-08T16:26:15Z")
People are different. Some are very happy and so forth because they exercise very much, for others it is boring and pretty much pointless. There are runners and non runners. I’m not a runner. But I move around and I feel good. > [@](#): > > The fact is that people respond to exercise in very different ways. In one international study 1,000 people were asked to exercise four hours a week for 20 weeks. Their aerobic fitness was measured before and after starting this regime and the results were striking. > > Although 15% of people made huge strides (so-called “super-responders”), 20% showed no real improvement at all (“non-responders”). > > There is no suggestion that the non-responders weren’t exercising properly, it was simply that the exercise they were doing was not making them any aerobically fitter. [[BBC News](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17177251)] ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/29 "2013-06-08T16:52:36Z")
Pretty much what **Blake** and the others said. **Manson** , look at it this way. It is like anything else. If you do it enough, you will get better at it and learn to enjoy it. Diet is still the most important factor in your health and it sounds like you got a good handle on that. I see no reason that you can’t excel at exercising besides your own attitude. ---
**Author:** ![babygoat666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@babygoat666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/babygoat666)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/30 "2013-06-08T17:19:04Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I don’t get it either. It’s one thing if you’re doing something you enjoy but to me running is pure torture. What is the point of enduring pain so that you can live longer. It seems like a vicious cycle of masochism. It’s like people who climb Mt Everest. Why the hell would someone pay MONEY to freeze, ache, and wheeze their way up this tourist trap? > > Now you can get me on a bike if there’s some place to go. But I’d like a beer and a cigar when I get there and a ride home. You’re doing it wrong. Running does/should not involve pain. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/31 "2013-06-08T18:08:59Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > also, on a side note, in the AF, we really didn’t have to do anything for the first 15 years of my career, and I had no issues. Now the we have mandatory PT everyday, my shins hurt, my legs hurt, my stomach hurts, and I feel bad after every PT session every day. I’m not sure how this jives with your “you will start to feel better and have less injuries” theme, but just thought I would throw it out there. I had a nice desk job for 25 years and am now working physical labor jobs. I’m in pain every day. Everything hurts. I use to ride my bike for pleasure now it just looks like something the CIA would use to extract information. While I can see some cardio benefit from exercise I experience greater problems with arthritis and general all around pain from it. Now maybe that’s because I was very active as a kid and broke various bones and mangled my spine but I could really do without physical labor of any kind for the rest of my life. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/32 "2013-06-08T19:55:28Z")
I guess the point is that there a lot of health benefits associated with being physically active. For some people, they’ll get enough activity from their job or their hobbies. For those who don’t, exercise will be what fills in the blank. Of course, there are other reasons that people exercise, too - some to increase performance in a sport that they like, others because they just plain old enjoy exercising, and others just for the social aspect. So, I guess I would say that the point of exercising would be one of the following: [ul] [li]ensure that you are active enough to promote good health [/li][li]increase performance at certain activities that you have a desire to improve upon [/li][li]for fun[/li][/ul] which would imply that if you are physically active, you don’t have a particular desire to increase some physical capability, and you don’t enjoy exercise, there is no reason to do it. It sounds like that is where you may be at, but you may find that those things change over time. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/33 "2013-06-08T20:12:22Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Is running a 6 minute mile any better for you than running a 7 minute mile? Only if you need to beat a bunch of people who can all run a 6.5 minute mile. As the old saying goes, I don’t need to be faster than the bear; I just need to be faster than you. Once you get past the “exercising several times a week so my body doesn’t devolve down into a precancerous, heart-disease-ridden husk waiting to die” stage of exercise, everything you add to your exercise regimen just serves to make you do better at the things you want to do. If you can do everything you want to do, you’re good. On the other hand, if you want to run a 10K at the Labor Day festival, you better start running. If you want to take up rock climbing, you’ll probably need to start working your upper body more. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/34 "2013-06-08T20:15:22Z")
I would add one more: so you can eat. As one ages and metabolism slows, it’s really hard to eat for pleasure at all if you aren’t physically active and don’t want to steadily gain weight. People poo-poo this all the time “You work out for an hour at the gym and then undo it with a single doughnut!” Yes! But now your life has the occasional doughnut in it! An hour of moderate exercise a day means you can indulge moderately and maintain your weight. That’s a big deal for me. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/35 "2013-06-08T21:00:19Z")
A number of benefits of exercise have already been listed. But if you don’t want to exercise, then don’t. If you’ve had a career in the Air Force where you’ve had to pass regular fitness tests than you are in better shape than most people entering retirement. If exercise is not doing anything for you at a personal level then it’s only noticeable benefit is to extend your life by some small percentage, and if that’s not motivating you then it would be pointless. I would say something different to someone like me who hasn’t done enough exercise in life. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/36 "2013-06-08T21:03:18Z")
You’re still relatively young, if you went into the AF at 18 and you’ve been in for 15 that makes you about 33. You’re height/weight proportionate, now, but, as you age, you’ll gain weight and lose muscle mass. If your knees hurt now, just think what they’ll be like when you weigh 30 lbs more. Find an exercise you like. Running, lifting and biking aren’t the only things that will keep you fit. Do you swim? Dance? Ski? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/37 "2013-06-08T21:14:21Z")
You’re retiring at 33? I missed that part, maybe you do need to exercise for a while longer. I let my physical activity drop off in my 30s, that was a mistake. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/38 "2013-06-09T00:51:47Z")
not too long ago I read the book [Younger Next Year](http://www.amazon.com/Younger-Next-Year-Strong-Beyond/dp/076114773X). it’s a good book written by an older man and his doctor. their short version of the answer to why exercise is _you do cardio to stay alive_ _you do resistance exercise to make staying alive worth while_ I strongly recommend the book/s they wrote. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/39 "2013-06-09T00:58:42Z")
> [@thicksantorum](#): > > Running sucks. Put the same amount of time/effort into practically any other exercise and you’ll see better returns in health, strength, appearance, and remaining joint cartilage. > > Some people enjoy running. Some people enjoy being kicked in the genitals. For the rest of us, there are countless other forms of exercise that don’t suck. Really? That’s not what [this](http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/The-Explainer-Can-Running-Actually-Be-Good-for-Your-Knees.html)says: > [@](#): > > RESULTS: The runners had fewer cases of osteoarthritis and needed fewer hip replacements than the walkers. Regardless of their mileage, runners were at roughly half the risk for osteoarthritis and hip replacements than walkers who expended equal amounts of energy (measured in METhr/d)… > > …Surprisingly, other forms of exercise were more damaging then either running or walking… > > …Animal models show that exercise promotes cartilage thickening and protects its stretchy properties, according to Williams. (see the last two lines in particular) One caveat is that about half of the improvement from exercise was due to weight loss, but exercise alone still leads to an improvement (mind the part about the type of exercise; sports injuries in particular increase the chances of arthritis). ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453/40 "2013-06-09T04:53:19Z")
thanks for all the replies everyone, especially the ones regarding my somewhat changed OP. Again, i don’t know how to do the quote thing, but I have a few follow up answers and questions: I’m not 33, I’m 40, and will be retiring from the AF next year at 41. As many of you might know, physical fitness is not (or was not) high on the AF list of quality traits for a long time, so it didn’t really apply to a majority of AF members. As far as eating, i only eat until I’m not hungry, not out of some great enjoyment of food. this may be due to the fact that I’m divorced and by myself, and the buying, preparing, cooking, eating, clean-up cycle is too much. I do enjoy a nice steak or seafood. But, i use how tight my uniform belt is to determine if i’m eating too much or not, and if so, i switch to 6" sandwiches at subway or something 🙂 As I stated before, i enjoy playing racquetball, or volleyball, or other fun things like that, mostly sports that don’t require brute strength or superfast speed to be good at. I never meant I didn’t do any physical exercise, and I’m not overweight or anything. As others have said, i guess my main question is, why go to the gym to increase the amount you can bench, or increase the amount you can dead lift, or decrease the time it takes to run a mile? Are there any studies that say “If you can bench-press your weight, you live longer”? or “if you can bench-press twice your weight, you can live even longer!”? Also, i’m not sure who said it, but i’ve know people (single of course) that spend 2-3-4 hours in the gym, or exercising or running every single day. And THAT is really my question i guess, is it worth it? Thanks again for all the replies! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-exercise/660453.md?page=3)