He looked up from the ever-present electronic notebook to make eye contact with me. The words he carefully spoke stopped me in my tracks. I wasn’t sure I had heard correctly. This was a doctor I respected for his reputation and experience. I trusted him with my health in its most vulnerable state. My reaction that day? Sorry to say, I laughed….
When I think back, I wonder why I was shocked by his advice. He stated it clearly, succinctly, and with deliberate eye contact (kind of like verbal italics). No doubt this was important. He wanted to make sure I got it. Today his words shine like jewels of truth and wisdom. But at that time, I was surprised and even amused.
“As we get older, we need to exercise MORE, not less.
You need to go to a gym and start weight training.”
This sounded odd to my middle-aged ears; I just could not see myself hanging out with the young, buffed and beautiful crowd, way out of my comfort zone, doing who knows what, with scary looking pieces of shiny equipment which looked more like voluntarily applied devices of torture. And furthermore, the doc and I had been discussing surgery for my rapidly worsening back pain. I surely did not expect I would be heading to a gym when it already hurt just to sit, stand and walk!
My head is there, but my body is in a chair.
Fast forward 13 years to today – and boy, can I appreciate the wisdom of his words! I did opt for the exercise, and the surgery which I am thankful to report was wildly successful. And with each and every follow-up the doc continued to encourage me to adopt a lifestyle of regular exercise and fitness. “You MUST, you MUST, you MUST exercise! Never stop!”
Well, here’s my spoiler alert. I do feel so much better when I exercise, and I truly believe it is important, but still to this day I struggle with being consistent. I just do not feel motivated to exercise! Can you relate? My head is there, but my body is in a chair. It reminds me of a riddle I read recently – “Five frogs are sitting on a log. Four decide to jump off. How many are left?” Not 1, not none. The correct answer is 5 – why? Because there’s a difference between deciding and doing!”
There’s a difference between deciding and doing!
I’ve been doing some reading lately on the topics of fitness, goal-setting, consistency and motivation….and after some consideration I would now like to share with you my conclusions. This is just about the most profound and simplest advice I have discovered. Ready? Drum roll please. Wait for it….Here it is:
Just do it.
Whether you feel like it or not. Whatever the weather or the traffic, the news of the day, or your daily agenda. Do it and reap the benefits. Do it and feel better, live longer, be happier. Do it and keep doing it and it will become as routine as brushing your teeth. JUST DO IT. And the endorphins will flow, and motivation will follow! So simple. This has become my new inspiration for consistent exercise, health and vitality. I can do this!
Do you struggle with this as I do? Let me know if you are interested in joining my personal Get Up and Move Every Day Challenge – let’s DO IT!
PS Yesterday I read a really great article about a type of exercise that trains your muscles to respond as they did when they were younger; and it works no matter what your age! That intrigues me – I want my muscles to “think and act young”! I think I’ll try it out and see how it goes. More about that later.
Putting on my sneakers now.
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