It's OK To Be Fit And Geeky

(I'm to the left of the dude with the beard)

I run into a lot of stuff on the internet stating how Geeks don’t exercise and they’re out of shape, and they aren’t interested in getting in shape. This is an unfortunate stereotype, made all the more unfortunate by the Geeks who prove it right. I’m not entirely sure why this stereotype exists. I suppose sometime in the 70s or 80s, it just became a thing that people that were interested in technology, sci-fi and fantasy had to be separated from those who were interested in sports and fitness. As I said, I’m not exactly sure how this happened, but it seemed to get worse in the 90s, especially when video games became more popular, and boys and young men had this incentive to sit on their backsides for long periods of time.

I will admit, there was a time, when I despised going to the gym. I was one of the least athletic people you would ever meet; I was asthmatic, terrible at sports, and I hated going to the gym. My father asked me to go with him, and I went, because I didn’t want to disappoint him. Eventually, though, I learned to be OK with it, and then I almost enjoyed it. Then life happened. Events occurred that I will cover in another blog post, but needless to say, I cancelled my gym membership. It was during this time that I discovered karate. There was a karate school right next door to the gym where I used to work out, and I joined. It was, and continues to be the most challenging thing I have ever done. My body was pushed almost to its limit. I almost quit a couple of times, but I just loved the challenge.

What I’ve found is that physical exercise had the unexpected effect of improving my character. It made me more resilient, less cowardly, more bold and willing to accept challenges. It made me a little more like the heroes, both fictional and real, that I admired; Batman, Captain America, Theodore Roosevelt, Aragorn, etc.

I get annoyed when my fellow geeks and nerds are derided by the surrounding culture for not being in shape, and the geeks and nerds that are OK with it. I just see it as a lack of character, and a lack of desire to better themselves. Frankly, unless you have some disease like brittle-bone syndrome or something like that, there’s no excuse for it. And even then, I have asthma. It used to be pretty severe. When I started karate, my asthma improved significantly. I haven’t used my inhaler hardly at all in two years. I’m not saying that will happen to you, but you could at least try. It doesn’t have to be a huge step; just try doing a few exercises a day, maybe hitting the treadmill or something. Just try it. You’ll be surprised how much it improves your disposition.