Yet Another Reason to Work Out

As stated earlier I live in a part of the country that is having a "real" winter this year. Yesterday it was -17 degrees when I went out in the morning and the day's high was zero. Today it was -9 when I left the house and 6 degrees and snowing as hard as it could when I returned.The point here is it would be real easy and completely understandable if someone had not left the house in the last 48 hours.

Given our current weather, you gotta need to get out of the house or else why bother? So if there isn't a need a lot of people don't. If this is done for a long enough period, and it doesn't take very long, depression and the serious "blahs" take hold. The phenomenon of the "winter blues" is real.

So do I need to go to the gym? Is it worth the risk of what can go wrong, getting out in sub-zero weather? No, not really. Not in the overall scheme of things. Taking days off, even a week, is fine. But see, here's the thing, once I get to the gym, it's just another day. I mean inside, you do your thing, sweat, shower and leave. Don't have any idea what the weather is like outside when I am in the gym.

The REAL kicker is when I leave. The snow, cold and wind don't seem as bad. I know they are, but something about working out just makes taking the whole winter thing easier. I feel stronger, warmer, my blood is rushing and I'm significantly more energized than I would be if I sat home and wished the weather was better. It's mentally cleansing and therapeutic for me.

When I stop to think about all the millions of people who live in cold weather climates that allow the weather to "beat" them it saddens me. I don't like winter sports. Skiing, skating and snowmobiling have never appealed to me. But my regular indoor gym workouts help me not only survive the long cold winter, but thrive.

Yet another reason to work out.