8 Secret Perks of Not Working Out
Working out has its perks, there’s no doubt about it. But I don’t need to talk about the benefits of getting your fitness on, because every damn corner of the internet is bursting with people talking about how working out has changed their life, how it’ll help you find a boyfriend, or even worse — how it’ll help you get revenge on an ex-boyfriend.
Instead, I’m here to talk about the secret perks of not working out. It’s an unpopular opinion, and maybe not the healthiest choice. But, after going from the type of person who worked out for two hours every day to the type of person who went a whole month without hitting the gym once, I’ve found that there are perks on both ends of the spectrum.
If you’re like the old-me and you feel guilty for skipping the gym one day of the week, take a chill pill, love yourself, and read these awesome perks of not working out. If you already don’t work out, share this with your friends and tell them to stop inviting you to SoulCycle.
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1. More Time To Sleep and/or Socialize
If you’re still in the glory days known as college, maybe this doesn’t apply to you. But, if you’ve got a full-time job and plan on working out during the week, you have two options: work out in the morning at the ass-crack of dawn, or work out after a long day of work.
Different people have different preferences, and neither time of day is “better” for your body, no matter what rando studies on Elite Daily are trying to tell you. The main issue you have to decide is if you want to wake up two hours before you’d normally wake up for work, which blows, or go after work when you’re sure to miss whatever fun happy hour or after work event that everyone else is going to. Even if you choose to work out in the morning, you probably still end up leaving said social event early because you know you have to wake up at 6 am.
But if you don’t work out altogether, you get to sleep for a healthy amount of time (hopefully) and you get to actually do fun things after 7 p.m. to make up for the eight hours you spend hating your life every day.
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2. Less Laundry
If you’re a big gym buff, you probably laugh every time you do your laundry and realize it’s 90% workout clothes, if not more. This might be a source of pride to some, but to those of us who have to trek two blocks to a laundromat or pay ridiculous prices just to get our clothes washed in NYC, having to do laundry all the time is not ideal. If you ditch your intense gym routine, you cut out all those sweaty workout clothes from your laundry, meaning you can go two, hell maybe even three weeks without doing laundry. Glorious.
3. You Save Money on Food
One good thing about working out is you can eat a ton of food and not worry about it, because you’re re-fueling. This is a good thing if you have access to an all-you-can-eat buffet at all times (college), but it’s not a good thing if you’re a broke college graduate who can barely afford rent, let alone an endless supply of healthy food for your #gainz.
When you stop working out, your appetite decreases dramatically. It’s kind of sad when you realize you can no longer house four slices of pizza with no sweat, but it’s also amazing when you realize how much less you spend on groceries for the month.
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4. Bigger Butt and/or Boobs
Not everyone is blessed, but for many of us, the first place we notice weight gain is either our butts or our boobs. I’m not saying having big boobs or a big ass is everyone’s goal in life, but for some of us it’s pretty great. After all, just look how things went for Kim Kardashian.
By the way, for anyone reading this thinking, “well, doing a bunch of squats can give you a big ass too,” get real. Squats can make your booty way perkier for sure, but it’s never going to make you look like Amber Rose or Jen Selter if you’re starting with nada. If any Instagram star claims squats are what gave her the ass she has now, spoiler alert: either she was born with it or she bought it.
5. No Money Wasted On Stupid Workout Classes
Unless you live somewhere where it’s warm yearround and your workout routine consists of mostly running and bodyweight stuff, exercising generally means you need to pay for a gym or some type of membership. If you live near a cheap gym, it’s NBD. But if your only options are $200 Equinox-type gyms, or you prefer doing something bougie like SoulCycle, your paycheck quickly diminishes.
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6. You’ll Never Have to Worry About Running Into Exes At The Gym
There’s never a good place to run into an ex, unless it’s like, when you’re being crowned Miss USA, but one of the worst places is the gym. Trust me, once I had to sit through an entire core strengthening class with an ex I hadn’t spoke to in years. While quitting your gym membership won’t suddenly make all your exes disappear, it will ensure that you hopefully don’t run into your exes when you’re sweaty, makeup-less, and wearing ratty gym shorts.
7. You Can Take Fewer Showers
This sounds gross, but hear us out. Washing your hair all the time isn’t good for you, and showering takes time. It’s impossible to skip the shower after you sweat a pound of liquid out at hot yoga, but it’s super easy to skip it if you haven’t sweated all day. All you need is some dry shampoo and perfume.
8. You Can Save The Environment
Besides saving water by not showering as often or washing your clothes as often, there’s another way that working out less might save the environment: less exercise clothing. It was recently discovered that yoga pants along with other sweat-proof clothing are seriously polluting our oceans. The solution? Stop wearing workout clothes, and therefore stop working out. Goals.
