Let's be honest it's easier to participate in fitness culture if your funds aren't tight.

Like with any aspect of life money often means access. In fitness culture, money makes it easier to acquire gym memberships, gadgets, healthy food options, fitness attire, fitness equipment and so on. Healthy food is expensive and a good diet is the foundation of a fit lifestyle. For example, leaner cuts of meat are more expensive than fattier cuts. Yes, the price of a pound of ground beef often increases upwards of a dollar per pound the leaner the meat.

For those of you like myself, the main opponent to our fit lifestyles is an internal struggle for motivation. While for others a fit lifestyle is an intricate chess board. Each chess piece represents an obligation and devoting funds to fitness often means taking from another obligation. Finding low cost access rules their fitness aspirations. It's true that where there's a road or a hill there's a way to stay in shape, but for many of us that's one of many options, and for others, it's a necessity. So while we all sweat and grind it out in pursuit of our fitness goals, I'm reminded it's a privilege to participate in the culture of fitness carefree.

This also means I have easier access to the perks of a fit lifestyle. The benefits of fitness are abundant. There are the obvious perks of better physical and mental health and overall quality of life. However, there are other benefits rarely discussed. Like for example how fit women tend to have less pregnancy and labor complications. Also, fit people tend to do better in their careers. A 2007 University of Georgia study found that better ability to focus, and improved confidence in the workplace were directly attribute to improved fitness levels. A recruiting organization performed a survey of 1300 people in executive leadership roles in different companies and found that 75% of them felt that good physical fitness was critical to success. So if the idea that the benefits of fitness directly attribute to better work performance isn't palatable, it's hard to argue that the perception of fitness at least does.

This isn't any plea of sorts; it's no outcry for a solution. I simply found myself lacking gratitude because fitness is hard. But, it's hard for everyone. So I'll leave you all with this friendly reminder. While we're all busting our butts and share an overall common goal, as individuals, fitness culture has some economical barriers that make participation more difficult for some.

So what do you think? How have your finances shaped your fit lifestyle?