Rafa Marquez of the Mexican National Soccer Team and superstar Barcelona player

Tonight as I sit in my living room drinking a Michelob beer watching Mexico get their butts kicked by Honduras in soccer, I was saying to myself, “man, I had a great workout tonight!”  (I did an intense lower body workout of supersets and then took a group fitness class at Lifetime Fitness)

I asked myself the question, “why?”  The answer is obvious. 

It’s how I feel.

When I finish a great workout, I feel awsome.  I feel in control.  I feel better today than the previous day.  I feel a sense of relaxation.   I feel confident.  I feel powerful.  I feel an intrinsic high.  I feel a connection with my body, mind and spirit.  I feel like my problems diminish.  I feel like my mind is clearer.  I feel better about my myself.  I feel on top of world.

I don’t workout to burn calories or fat.  I don’t work out because Lifetime Fitness is a cool place to be.  I don’t workout because it’s the healthy thing to do.  I don’t workout because the American College of Sports Medicine advices you to do so on a regular basis every week.   I don’t workout to maintain my Total Cholesterol Count at 143.   I don’t workout to enhance my appearance.  I don’t workout because it enables me to be more productive at work.

I do it because I want to feel the intrinsic effects of a workout on a regular basis.  And the best is:

I can control having these feelings whenever I want.

This is what makes fitness effortless.