I was always "the fat kid." I reached 230 pounds at the age of 11. My step mother started taking me to the local university's track to run a mile each morning. For a few years those cardio sessions were enough to keep me active in conjunction with playing with friends. But it wasn't until my father introduced me to weight training when I was 15 years old that things started to change. In the beginning I was uneducated and wasted so much time - time I wish I could have back. I remember afternoons cooped up in my bedroom curling ten pound dumbbells upwards of thirty times. I recall doing sit-ups until my neck hurt, and a hand full of push-ups with little attention to form.

And then I found LL Cool J's Platinum Workout...

The book intends to accomplish its goal of getting you into better shape by doing it in phases, with each one having different goals (too lengthy to go into here). Phase one is the Bronze phase (5 weeks), then the Silver phase (5 weeks), followed by a Gold phase (9 weeks) and finally ends with the Platinum phase (3 weeks). I studied every word and every technique. I completed one platinum workout and experienced intense muscle soreness the following couple days. I loved the body's response to effort. It was an immediate source of gratitude. I was hooked and I still love weight training until this day.

There is far from a concise answer here; however, several reasons why I love to work out come to mind. Workouts provide a sense of accomplishment I do not experience with my other daily rituals. The brief period between the last rep and the next part of my day is a sanctified time. I save a few sips of my pre-workout and sip on it during the drive home from the gym. The ten-minute commute home is the only part of the day I experience true tranquility.

The most important reason why I love to work out is the health benefits. My father was always an active person until the recession hit the economy in 2008. He coped with stress by eating unhealthy foods and losing the desire to be active. He has put on over 60 pounds and his health his waning. His knees are giving him so much pain he finds walking a struggle. He talks about regaining his strength and turning back the clock, but change still evades him. As for me, I am recently engaged and want to be around a long time for my wife and future kids. I have made a promise to myself that stress will not be the reason I DO NOT train. It was always be the reason I DO train.

Another reason why I love to work out is that it enables me to be a true critic. I know I am harder on myself then anyone else and I know where I want to be. Weight training is a way to focus my harsh opinions on myself and improve on things I can control. There are so many life dynamics out of my control. However, the downward or upward trend of a scale is something I CAN control.