You
know all the reasons moving is good for you: strengthens your heart, keeps your
brain sharp and helps maintain your weight. But why is it always so hard to
actually start? Are you too busy? Afraid of falling? Too embarrassed to
exercise in public? Or just too tired? Well, you are not alone. Only about half
of adults get the 150 minutes per week of exercise the CDC recommends.
But
now you won’t have any excuses because here are six suggestions on how to get
moving from the AARP Staying Sharp website.
1. Even
though your body constantly reminds you that you’re no longer seventeen, think
back to when you were younger and the physical activities you enjoyed.
Bicycling? Swimming? Dancing? You’ll keep moving if you enjoy what you’re doing.
2.
Start small. Remember the saying “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a
time”. Don’t worry about meeting the CDC
recommendation when you start, just get started. If five minutes a day gets you
moving, do it. Then add more the next week until you reach a comfortable level.
The idea is to keep it fun. You don’t want to reach the point when exercise
becomes a chore.
3. Increase
all the physical activity you already do that you don’t think of as exercise
—vacuuming or laundry - and when it gets warmer, planting a garden. And outside
the home, take the stairs instead of the elevator; or walk inside instead of
using the drive-through window. Easier doesn’t always mean better.
4. Use
a pedometer or your phone’s step-counting app to track your steps each week.
Then challenge yourself. Try to increase the number of steps by 10% each week. Record
the number on your refrigerator to remind yourself how you are improving.
5.
Find someone to workout with. You can hold each other accountable and encourage
each other to do a little more until you reach a comfortable but challenging
level. Besides it’s fun to work out with a friend.
6.
Double your pleasure by doing purposeful tasks that can also increase your
physical activity: walking your dog more often, volunteering to pick up trash at
a Blue Zone event or doing my laundry. (I can drop my laundry off anytime that works
for you!)
So. remember
what you once enjoyed, start small, extend you non-exercise activities, measure
your progress, get a buddy and exercise for a purpose. Then pull yourself up
off the couch, take that first bite or in this case your first step, because it
doesn’t matter where you start, it’s where you finish that counts.
Every
year I try to mention the Original Courthouse Regional History Forum because
they always have such fascinating programs. This year’s first program on
February 1st is “From Radical Idea to Ratification: Women’s Voting Rights”. The speaker is Janice
Dilg the state coordinator for an online resource for the 2020 centennial of
the 19th Amendment that extended voting rights to women. She will tell the story of Sylvia Thompson
(D-The Dalles) who introduced the bill ratifying the amendment in Oregon’s 1920
special session. The program begins at 1:30 p.m. in the upstairs courtroom of
the 1859 courthouse behind The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce.
For
last week’s “Remember When” question I had to check Wikipedia twice to make
sure I had the correct movie because so many were answering Guess Who’s
Coming to Dinner. But the correct answer is Lilies of the Field
whose title came from Matthew 6:27-33. I received correct answers from Rhonda
Spies, Lana Tepfer, Julie Carter, Rhonda Austin, Cheri Brent and this week’s
winner of a quilt raffle ticket Dave Lutgens.
One last
movie question before the Academy Awards. In 1957 David Lean won the Best
Director Oscar for the film The Bridge on the River Kwai and five years
later won his second Oscar for Best Director. For this week’s “Remember When”
question, what was the title of the epic historical film he directed about an
English officer who successfully united and led the diverse Arab tribes during
World War I in order to fight the Turks? Email your answer to
mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788 or drop it off with a
map of the Ottoman Empire before World War I.
Well,
it’s been another week, looking for the cherry on top. Until we meet again, start
doing what you know you can do.
“Never
miss an opportunity to make others happy, even if you have to leave them alone
in order to do it.” Author Unknown