Talk is Cheap

No, this is not about budget phone plans. It's about reading in the newspaper again today about all the physical activities seniors can and should do. I'm tired of it. Finding a list of these is the easy part. Accepting that this is good advice is annoying but not all that hard. What's tough is actually doing something.

The question for me has always been what can make me exercise on a regular basis?

I've come up with two effective motivators:  fear and routine.

Fear of getting stiff and stiffer, achy and achier; losing my balance and coordination; putting on weight in all the wrong places; being injured more easily and recovering more slowly; diminishing in strength and endurance. 

Not such a pleasant list, eh? But reviewing it - - especially when I get up in the morning - - does provide motivation for me.

What takes me from fear to actually exercising is routine. I have established a routine for myself, and I hardly ever let myself break it. I go to my exercise class 3-4 days a week and hardly ever accept another appointment that conflicts with it.

"Go" is the operative word for me. If I rely on staying home and exercising, somehow I never get around to it. Of course that's not true for everyone. I have a friend who makes herself get on her home stationary bicycle 4 times a week before she gives herself the privilege of breakfast.

I love my exercise classes - - for about 15  minutes. If I were at home, that would be the end of it. But being in a group in an organized class, I am too proud to give up. So I complete the hour and then give myself a lot of pats on the back and usually a cup of good coffee, no sugar.

Of course there are fun aspects to exercise and adding things you naturally enjoy helps. Walking on a glorious spring day is an easy choice for some or a tennis round robin or tap dancing as the lady (88 years old!) in the newspaper was doing. If that works for you and gets you exercising on a regular basis, terrific. If not, consider fear and routine.