For me it is happiness, health, and horniness. I have always challenged myself. The aesthetic is only a bonus.

Anonymous wrote:Pakistani American here.

White American women generally are expected to look "sexy" well into their older years. There is no other alternative for them in society as they age. Obviously their bodies age and the only thing they can think of to stop the hands of time is to work out so much so that they retain their 00 figures from their twenties. This doesn' make them look young but its better in their POV than the alternative.

In other cultures women also have the pressure to look young but it usually stops after marriage and kids. Once middle age sets in, women happily embrace the role of the matriarch of the family and don't go out of their way to compete with their 22 year old daughters.

In America a woman must perpetually look nubile and 22.

Or else theyre invisible.

I don’t buy the, “I work out to feel good” argument. I work out and yes, I have a sense of accomplishment but that is tertiary to the main objective of being thinner and having more clothing options. I can do this because I have daily household help. There was no way in hell I had time for this when I didn’t have household help. I have to get the kids ready for school school, drop them and look decent at work and then be back home for them and to spend at least 45 minutes cooking a decent meal. Sandwiches aren’t a thing in my foodie culture.

Times are changing in Pakistan as well. My friend that just moved back said the mom’s pick up their kids at Karachi Grammar School dressed in Lululemon and that the gyms and personal trainers are much better than Equinox. More and more women are wearing western clothes that are not as forgiving as eastern clothes. You can only hide your fat arms and love handles in a loose tunic....not lululemon.

Perhaps it’s health or perhaps it’s the “images” pervasive in society that our husbands are exposed to that our fathers didn’t see as much in their generation? The ideal beauty is becoming thinner and thinner. I.e. Angelina Jolie and Amal Clooney. Even the Bollywood actresses are
much are now then a generation ago.

When will you stop generalizing?

When will you stop generalizing?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is such a dumb thread. We exercise because it makes us happy. Why is that so hard to understand?

Exactly.

This deserves an

Oh, and I forgot to add, a lot hornier. Do your research.

Gotta keep that man.

Try masturbation. It works wonders on someone’s disposition and looks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is such a dumb thread. We exercise because it makes us happy. Why is that so hard to understand?

Exactly.

This deserves an

Oh, and I forgot to add, a lot hornier. Do your research.

Gotta keep that man.

We generally associate beauty with youth. If you can't be youthful any more, you can still look healthy, elegant, and well-dressed, and being fit and thin helps with that. But 30 is still young. I'm talking more about 40s-60s.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is such a dumb thread. We exercise because it makes us happy. Why is that so hard to understand?

Exactly.

This deserves an

Oh, and I forgot to add, a lot hornier. Do your research.

+1

And I’m not white, not that it matters.

Anonymous wrote:Because exercise is healthy and there is a strong health culture in America, especially in the upper classes.

Also self discipline is seen as personally virtuous.

Our husbands work out also. Our families take sporty, hearty, active vacations. We socialize with our friends in running groups, hiking, and soul cycle classes, etc.

We put sporty outdoorsy stickers on our cars.

It is a whole culture.

+1.

But OP seems to belong to a different culture

Because exercise is healthy and there is a strong health culture in America, especially in the upper classes.

Also self discipline is seen as personally virtuous.

Our husbands work out also. Our families take sporty, hearty, active vacations. We socialize with our friends in running groups, hiking, and soul cycle classes, etc.

We put sporty outdoorsy stickers on our cars.

It is a whole culture.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me (32 year old white woman), it is, in no particular order:

-I always enjoyed working out but now have the discipline to do it consistently (rather than skipping the gym to go to happy hour, like I did in my 20s)

-I care more about my health now that I'm getting older and can feel that I'm getting weaker and less flexible, plus things like high blood pressure and cholesterol are an issue. Eating healthy because I don't want heart disease lends itself to a better body

-Working out is the only "me" time I can get. I can't take the morning off from watching the kids to lounge around watching Netflix, but I can if I go work out

-I enjoy working out more now that I'm focused on performance rather than trying to achieve a specific body type.

-Yes, part of it is wanting to look good, but it's only a small part. I definitely don't look 23 anymore, but I still want to look somewhat good for both myself and my DH.

45 year old white woman here, and I second everything that this PP said. It's not always about getting sexy and trying to hold on to a man (INSERT EYEROLL HERE). For many of us, getting into good shape is a way to stay healthy for ourselves and for our children (and hopefully grandchildren). When I realized that I was having more days feeling knee and hip pain than not, I freaked out and started exercising pretty hardcore. I haven't lost a pound (sadly) but I am so much stronger than I was a year ago. If someone had told me last year that I could do 40 burpees in a row, I would've laughed. Now it's my warmup. Plus, regular excercise keeps me sane. So, take your judgement and kindly take it somewhere else. And also, since when is it ok for people to speak for other ethnicities? If I posted something here along the lines of "All Afghani women do x, y, and z when they turn 40" I'd be crucified. This whole thread is obnoxious.

Can't you read? She didn't say all white women, she said generally white woman. If a group does tend to exhibit some characteristic, what is wrong with pointing that out?

Oh please. Like “All white women” is so different from “generally white women?” I can read just fine. There’s not exactly a great deal of nuance in this thread. But thanks for trying.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is such a dumb thread. We exercise because it makes us happy. Why is that so hard to understand?

Exactly.

This deserves an

Oh, and I forgot to add, a lot hornier. Do your research.

Anonymous wrote:This is such a dumb thread. We exercise because it makes us happy. Why is that so hard to understand?

Exactly.

This deserves an

Anonymous wrote:This is such a dumb thread. We exercise because it makes us happy. Why is that so hard to understand?

Imagine this. Some people enjoy it but the majority exercise it for looks.

This is such a dumb thread. We exercise because it makes us happy. Why is that so hard to understand?