Women have always been put in second place by the society in almost all facets of life, except in areas where they have to perform domestic chores such as homemaking.
However, the reverse is rapidly becoming the case as we now have women making names and flexing muscles in all aspects of everyday living. One of such areas is physical fitness activities.
Growing up, I had this notion that vigorous physical exercises were for men only as I was used to seeing only men lifting weights, or doing some push-ups.
All I used to do for physical activity along with my female friends were skipping, running, walking, and the likes.
Nowadays, more women are becoming renowned personal trainers and gym instructors.
What is the rationale behind having almost the same number of women as men hitting the gym or sidewalks on a daily basis for some vigorous physical exercises?
Below are the three major reasons behind this trend.
1. To keep up with their new lifestyle
As more women enter into the corporate industry and work in offices, their routine become disorganized and stress becomes the order of the day.
Normal routine such as meal time, sleep time, nap time, all became scanty activities that are carried out without order.
This has led to lack of adequate sleep, unhealthy eating, reduction in creativity, and weight gain among several other health issues.
The normal routine exercises such as walking and jogging may not be enough to combat situations such as weight gain.
A busy woman would like to shed her fat fast in order to remain active. As such she looks up to more rigorous exercises such as weightlifting, or playing football.
She hits the gym or uses the services of a personal trainer in order to maintain her fitness activity schedule.
2. To maintain good health
Another reason that women indulge in vigorous physical activity is to improve the state of their health.
Based on this table by CDC, vigorous paced exercises burn more than 7 calories per minute, while moderate paced exercise burns between 3.5 to 7 calories per minute.
When they need to keep fit or prevent health conditions such as osteoporosis or heart related diseases, women tilt towards vigorous exercises.
They incorporate it into their moderate activities by intensifying the speed at which they run, jog, or walk without increasing the amount of time they spend on it.
3. To boost self confidence
Women also indulge in vigorous fitness activities to boost their confidence.
There is an increased need to exert self confidence in order to face the daily challenges that come with their new status as career women or business owners.
Being in a high position requires that we make serious decisions and take actions that affect a lot of people.
If the situation arises to be a lead decision maker, some women tend to engage in physical activities while they think through and weight the pros and cons of their own contributions.
What about you? What is the rationale behind your choice of physical fitness activity?