Ten on Tuesday

This week's topic is Ten Tips for Sticking with Your Fitness Routine...I will be very interested in reading everyone else's tips, since I'm not that great at it. But here's what I do, that is mostly successful, as long as I'm not in the thick of work crises!

1. I do try to mix it up, so that if I'm too tired to get on the exercise bike, or the weather is yucky, I can do a Leslie Sansone video in the house, or just practice a few minutes of yoga.

2. That variety factor helps with boredom, too.

3. I'll try something new - last summer My Sweetheart and I took ballroom dancing classes together, for example, and we'd like to do that again, too. Exercising together is fun, but learning something new is even better.

4. Sometimes I'll reward myself for a week of doing my exercises every night: perhaps a new scarf, a new yarn, something that's not excessively pricey, but is a treat (usually non-food).

5. I'm basically a slug. I loathe exercise, even tho' I know it's good for me, and I have to do it, so I'll do something I enjoy at the same time. This is why riding my exercise bike is the easiest thing for me to do: I take my Nook with me onto the bike and read magazines. The time pretty much flies.

6. My Sweetie and I will make sure we take a walk (not as normal in this wintertime, but we try to get out, even for a little bit). Our favorite places to walk are the Greenways in his town and mine. I can't think of a better way to get into nature than using this set up. If your town hasn't jumped on the Greenway bandwagon, maybe you should offer to help work on a committee to do so?

7. Music helps. If I can get a good beat going, I'll ride a long while. Swing is my favorite

8. I always park my car with one thought in mind: I want to drive straight thru so I don't have to back out - since the neck and shoulders don't work as well as they used to. That means I park farther away from wherever I'm trying to go. Every little bit of extra walking I do, makes a difference.

9. I also keep motivated by reminding myself of just why I'm doing it - my health: surviving a heart attack and by-pass surgery as a 40-something young (sedentary) woman was a tremendous wake-up call. I know I have to work the most important muscle in my body - my heart - to keep healthy and not go back down that road again. But as an older woman, now, I'm seeing that activity makes everything else work better, too. Sciatic issues? Walk or bike. You won't believe the difference! I can't do the heavy jogging on doc's orders, but the bike works just fine.

10. Finally, keeping active keeps my mood elevated, my weight DOWN (now that I've lost it all), and allows me that glass of wine or small dark chocolate serving each day.

I guess that's a decent list after all...