The Silent Killer

Today, as I begun my daily workout regimen, I looked around and noticed something. Out of the 32 people in the gym, 4 of them were people of color, and all 4 male. I understand that there are bigger issues in the world, I know, but first I have to take of the world I know. As I was saying, whenever I go to the gym African-Americans always account for less than 20% of the people working out. And there are always only a handfull of my female counterparts improving their physical health.

I always wonder why the females in our community are so underrepresented in a recreation center of an instution of higher education, where they account for at least two times the population of men. After a while I stopped thinking and started asking. My lifting partner Earl Barron and I, started asking do you ever go to the gym? And why or why not? (With this being an informal study, our results are not organized as they would be, if we had recorded the official data.) The answers that we heard were:"I don't have time, I don't want to sweat my hair out, Why should I? I look good already!, I like being thick, Im scared that I will lose my ass, and Everytime I try working out, I never lose weight."

I would like to adress those statements.

• "I don't have time"- There are 24 hours in a day."Surgeon General recommend that individuals of all ages accumulate at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week.(IFIC)" So 30 minutes a day is equal to 3 1/2 hours. If you don't want to go to the gym every day, go four days a week for an hour.



• "I don't want to sweat my hair out"- NICE TRY. Wrap your hair. It needs to be washed at least once a week anyways.



• "Why should I? I look good already!"- Congradulations! You were blessed by our Creator. But, as I'm sure you've heard the freshmen 15, what about the sophomore 16, or the junior 20? I didn't think so. Yes, you have a good body now, but as time passes, so will your youth, and your speedy metabolism....just ask Chaka Khan. Click ---->Before & After.



• "I like being thick"- Well I hope that you like being obese as well. And with obesity comes diabetes, cholesterol problems, respiratory complications, heart attacks, and colon & breast cancer. I hope that you like taking 10 pills a day as well!



• "I'm scared that I will lose my ass"- Uhm, ok. Well answer this question. Why does 99% of women who run track have exceptional derieres?? They MUST have been born that way, becuase I know they don't work out....on a daily basis.. Yeah. that's it.



• "Everytime I try to workout I never lose weight"- Losing weight is all in your diet, not in A diet. Diets are temporary. If you would like to alter the way you look forever, you must change the way you eat, FOREVER. No more fast food, pints of ice cream,fried foods, or eating dinner after 9pm. Contrary to popular belief, the earlier in the day you eat coupled with more frequent eating, the easier it is to lose weight. It is better to eat the larger meals of the day early, so you stay energized, but are constantly burning energy all day. Eating twice a day makes your body stretch out the food you ate, because it know there is not much more coming for the rest of the day. If you are eating smaller portion throughout the day, your body is constantly burning the fat and energy so that it can have room for a some more.

Ladies...and Gentlemen, by no means am I saying that exercise will bring the world peace, but I am saying that exercise may bring YOUR world peace. According to AskMen.com some benefits of working out are: Sleeping better, slows the aging process & aids against premature death, strengthens and boosts your immune systems, improves mental acuity, improves confidence, increases energy and endurance, IMPROVES SEXUAL PERFORMANCE & RESTORES LIBIDO, reduces stress, depression & anxiety, reduces the risk of MANY diseases. The proof is in the pudding people. There are just too many young African-Americans dying because of the vacancy of physical fitness in their lives. I once heard that good die young. That may be true, but the great never die. Let's go for immortality y'all! Do your best and let God do the rest!! Until next time....-Keep it swanky!