In the book The Psychology of Money, the author Morgan Housel quotes a Bill Bryson book where Bryson shares a study that most Americans overestimate the number of calories they burned in a workout by four, and underestimate by two times the number of calories they consume. Morgan then shares this thought:
“Exercise is like being rich. You think, “I did the work and now I deserve to treat myself to a big meal.” Wealth is turning down that treat meal and actually burning net calories. It’s hard, and requires self-control. But it creates a gap between what you could do and what you choose to do that accrues to you over time.”
There is another way exercise is like wealth. The real value is often difficult to see in the moment.
You train today, but you don’t feel stronger tomorrow.
You spend 45 minutes lifting weights, but there may not be an obvious difference when you look in the mirror.
You walk when you could have sat. You practice a familiar movement skill. You get your heart rate up when you really don’t feel like it.
None of these things seem significant on their own, but they accumulate.
The strength you dedicate yourself to now may help you carry your grandchildren decades from now.
The aerobic capacity you develop today may help you recover faster from the demands of life later.
The movement skills you practice now may help you remain capable when your body has less margin for error.
That’s the nature of training for strength and endurance.
Like wealth, exercise rewards consistency, patience, and time.
You’re not investing in your retirement or index funds to spend tomorrow. You’re investing in the future, trusting that your decisions today will benefit your future self.
Exercise is the same. You’re building physical capacity for the life you want to continue living – and for the future version of yourself who may need that capacity more than you realize today.
You don’t need to do everything.
You just need to keep making the deposits.
Someday, you’ll be glad you did.