About Modern Excercise...

I have finally figured out why exercise, most forms of it any way, are just plain unnatural and WRONG.

And it isn't the sweat, it isn't the hard work, it isn't the fact that I wish I could get into shape by snuggling warm babies and taking a nap. (Wouldn't that be AWESOME!?!?)

It's that all the technological advances make things too plain easy.

Let me explain.

A hundred years ago, and for all the years in history before that point, people didn't have bright, shiny SUVs to cart them to the market. Nope. They had to (gasp!!!) WALK. They had to CARRY their groceries home (or even better, pluck them out of their gardens with their BARE HANDS. And since they didn't have a super capacity truck, they usually had to do this several times a week.

In fact, they pretty much walked every where.

I guess some people had horses, but the main mode of transportation was LEGS.

I'm guessing that did wonders for preventing cellulite and saddle bags.

Then there's laundry. We all have to do it. I wash so much laundry in a week, it's insane. And I have one of those awesome front loading washers that can fit in like twenty towels at a time.

But all the women in times past? They had to hike that monstrous basket of laundry onto their hips and tote it down to the river. Or I suppose they could fill a large tub with clean water. Either way, they then had to scrub. And scrub. And wring. These mamas had some serious arm muscles.

Now?

Get thee to the gym. This machine here works your core. That one works your fanny. And that one there works your traps. Traps? I think women in past generations went their whole lives without knowing what traps even were.

Then there is the most mocking machines of all. The treadmill and the stationary bike. If this doesn't mock you, I don't know what does. We aren't walking or biking through nature, taking in the glory of God's creation. No. We are walking on a conveyor belt that takes us... no where. At least there are various inclines and the all important TV to keep you distracted while you burn calories.

Blech.

Did you know I recently read an article that was showing that many people today are getting sick because of a lack of vitamin D??? Translation: People don't go outside and get in the sun anymore.

All that to say this: I am not going to feel any longer like I am missing out because I don't have a gym membership. I know a lot of people that do, and they love it, and that's great. But me? I think I'm going to stick to plain old sunshine, playing with my kids at the park, and taking good old fashioned walks.

But I must say, I don't know how big families survived without super capacity washing machines. I think a lot of them had to wear their underwear inside out a few days a week. :)