Friday, 8 March 2013

Exercise is Bad for the Environment!

I've just been hanging out the laundry and realised that the ENTIRE load was dedicated towards The Cyclists and my exercise gear.  My conclusion, exercise is bad for the environment and contributes towards global warming.

This is not the weekly load, it is the daily load and based only on our exercise gear for the last 18 hours or so (Thursday night and Friday morning).  All this working out to keep fit means we have to wash about twice as many clothes (or more!) than if we lounged around all day without sweating.

So on the line today were (based on one run and a cycle for me this morning and a night ride with the boys for The Cyclist last night):

- 3 pairs of cycling shorts (one for me, 2 for the Cyclist - he wears baggies over the tights)
- One set of running shorts
- 3 cycling tops (The Cyclist wore 2, me one)
- 1 running vest and underwear.

Washing generated from exercise


This does not include the extra showers we need to have which uses a ton of water (and the towels that also require washing, although The Cyclist considers a swim a wash!).  Or all the extra hair washing, conditioning and blow drying which uses a whole lot of products and electricity and is ultimately bad for the environment too.

Maybe we should just stop exercising to save the planet!

On a more positive note, I had a fantastic first cycle today with my dear friend, M. She has only had her bike less than a month and cycles like a machine, absolutely no problem on the hills and did 28km with ease this morning.  We are so fortunate to live in such a lovely part of the world where we can go off and enjoy such  a beautiful outdoor cycle in a relatively safe environment.  One of the reasons I love Australia!

M and I and our bikes


Please let me know what you think!

 Do you think working out is contributing to greenhouse gases and global warming because of all the extra laundry generated, showers, etc?

 Do you find you have a whole lot of extra laundry caused by exercise?  What % of your washing is from exercise gear?  (In my house about 40%!)
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16 comments:

  1. I always chuck my running gear in the shower with me when i get home. Hate putting the machine on for just a couple of things

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    1. Hi Becky, that is an awesome idea and something I did when i stayed with my sister in the States and she didn't have a washing machine:) Why didn't I think of that!

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  2. I have a good solid load of running gear every week. Between me and hubby, it's usually pretty substantial. I try to run in the morning as soon as I wake up, I only need one shower that way:)

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  3. I also tend to run first thing, but definitely wash my hair more as a result of exercise, if I didn't sweat I could eave it 3-4 days:)

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  4. This is the story of my life!
    98% of my washing every week is workout gear, and now that I'm swimming, I take extra long in the shower in an attempt to get all the chlorine off.
    Oh dear, seriously reconsidering this whole exercise thing..
    Wouldn't be surprised if one day down the track, it's revealed as the biggest contributor to global warming..
    we'll all feel a tad guilty :P

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    1. Ha, ha, ha!!! Its us healthy people that are to blame for all the extra washing created - definitely a First World Problem.

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  5. I'm with Kloe!! Mostly all my laundry is workout clothes! That can't be toooo bad a thing for our health though ;)

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    1. No and apparently more people die from obesity than malnutrition...

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  7. About 20 percent of our laundry is from working out, but it still feels like a lot. At least I hang it to dry instead of using the dryer, which I use for everything else!

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    1. Hanging it out to dry is definitely the best option , also because I don't want the Lycra to shrink:)

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  8. Lol! Most of my washing these days is gym gear. Honestly though, I wash on a cold cycle, and I'm pretty confident that the environmental footprint of washing is quite low. Perhaps on an industrial level...

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  9. The cold cycle sounds good , but you know that stench that eventually permeates all gym/ running gear ... I think I maybe need special washing powder!

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  10. Stumbled on your blog for the first time and I am impressed. Loved reading your post.

    Thanks,
    Borntoworkout.com

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  11. i have an INSANE amount of laundry. Fortunately for me, my husband does all the laundry in the house--but when he gets my dirty gym clothes he simply can't believe the VOLUME of stuff ha. I can identify so much with this post!

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