> I don't know if I'm way off base here, but there seems to be a stigma attached to exercise. If you're not already fit people treat you like a freak for trying to get there, and if you are fit people dislike you for seemingly being superior. It makes it emotionally hard to enjoy it. And again, the more fun exercise, like team sports, are pretty much off limits if you are socially unaccepted.

I don't deny that, especially in some high schools, there are apparent barriers between turfs and/or circles of friends. Maybe in some environments these barriers are created mostly by people seeking to exclude others. But just as powerful tyrants are unable to rule without being given the power to do so by those they opress, in most cases social barriers can't be maintained without the excluded believing that they don't belong.

Moreover, these perceived barriers can persist in situations where no one is trying to exclude anyone. Example: From previous experience, X is the kind of situation where I've programmed myself to feel unwelcome. I believe I don't belong. I act uncomfortable and broadcast with my verbal and nonverbal communication that I shouldn't be here. Those around me pick up on this and treat me as such. I feel rejected, and my initial feeling of exclusion is reinforced. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

If you believe you don't belong in a gym or on a sports team, then you'll act that way, and others won't respond as well. Sometimes social stigma can be mostly in your head.

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> I guess it's just been warped a lot by social pressure. I remember when I was younger and they let you join teams without actually needing to be good that it was fun.

Check around your area for recreational leagues. I know that DC, for example, has an Ultimate Frisbee league that is open to people who've never played before in their lives, and the goals are to have fun and learn to play; there's a separate league for skilled players who want to be really competitive.

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> Mel"Running is kind of fun, once you get over the painful bit..."anie

Bal"'Run for fun?! What the hell kind of fun is that?' - Back to the Future III"anthalus