Upon their arrival at college, students think about the aspirations they have for themselves that they vow they will accomplish. One goal many upcoming college students set is to maintain a healthy body, despite the change from home-cooked meals to dining hall food. With this goal in mind, they plan on utilizing the gym and staying active, as well as trying to eat the healthiest food possible. It is common for a person to have a specific goal in mind when they go to work out, such as to drop a dress size, lose weight, avoid the freshman fifteen, or simply to feel healthier. They know what they want to tone or strengthen in a particular workout session, and they focus on doing exercises that will target these areas of their bodies.
However, influence by factors such as the media has not made it uncommon for the average person to be more aware of and focused on their appearance. Therefore, we posed the question, “Are people, specifically college students, more concerned with staying fit for their health or for their appearance to others?” To try to obtain an answer to this, we presented a survey to both guys and girls, asking questions such as “How often do you work out?” and “For how long?” We then proceeded to ask a rather controversial question, “Does impressing members
of the opposite sex have anything to do with your workout habits?” We found a direct correlation between the amount of time you work out for and the motivation behind the reason why. Those who spent over one hour working out for more than three times a week claimed that their motivation to work out was definitely influenced by the idea of impressing the opposite sex. Those who spent less time at the gym – approximately an hour or less, and only two times a week – stated that they were working out to stay healthy and fit, and that impressing members of the opposite sex was not a motivational factor of their work out.
These results seem almost ironic – one would assume that people who work out more often would be more motivated by the desire to stay in shape and maintain a healthy body, whereas those who work out less would be motivated by a short-term goal, such as to be able to look good for Halloween or to be able to rock a fitted outfit to a party. We may never have a concrete answer as to why results that contradict this common assumption were gathered. However, it is safe to say that a good number of guys, “do it for the ladies,” and a good number of girls want to,
“keep their sexy body.” Regardless of the prime motivation you have for working out, you are ultimately gaining a healthier self by getting out there and taking on the gym one step, crunch, or rep at a time!
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Ithaca chapter.