Wellness Information

Aerobic Grandma
Just Do It is Easier Said Than Done

Nike's world-renowned advertising slogan, Just Do It, resonates very strongly with me. 
One reason is that it is the conjunction of my first career, which was 40 years in the
 advertising business, and my present one. I just completed my tenth year as an American 
Council on Exercise certified personal trainer.

More compellingly, Just Do It tackles head on the major barrier for folks trying to stay 
fit. That issue is not knowing what to do or finding a place to do it or even making the 
time to do it. The big obstacle for most folks is staying motivated, doing what they 
know they should do, sticking with their program. Fitness professionals are by no means 
immune; there are plenty of days when yours truly faces exactly the same struggle. 
Sometimes successfully and sometimes not, if you must know.

With the promise of anonymity, I asked some friends about their number one issue with 
exercise. Their answers were clear and consistent: Getting myself to get there, Making 
myself do it because I know it's good for me, Getting it out of the way before my day 
starts, Pushing myself because I know it's good for me. One way or another, they were 
all saying the same thing: just doing it. There is, alas, no magic bullet for this. 
Here's what I've learned works best.

Exercise Early. The conventional advice here is make exercise a part of your daily 
routine. My version is more specific: do it before your day starts. My experience is 
that the more trouble you have sticking to a program, the more important this is.

When I was in an office 60+ hours a week in New York City, I still managed to work out. 
I was in the gym on the treadmill at 5:45 AM warming up for a personal trainer session at 
6 AM. A contemporary has a similar story: When I was working, I was downstairs on the 
treadmill at 6:30 or 7 AM every morning and in the office by 9. There is no way either one 
of us could have made ourselves do that a lunch time or late in the day. It would not have 
happened then, and it certainly isn't going to happen now. As my friend says, The older 
you are, the less likely you are to change.

Exercise early is good policy even if you do not have this kind of history to fall back on. 
You'll reap the physiological rewards of a good workout and the psychological ones of 
starting your day by fulfilling a responsibility to yourself.

Make An Appointment With Yourself. I learned this from my own personal trainer and mentor, 
Bernadette Kathryn. I thought it very odd that she put herself on her day planner just like 
any other client but it really makes all the sense in the world. For me, this means 
alternating yoga and treadmill/weights, plus a weekly Pilates session, covering five or six 
days a week. (These are my own workouts, not the classes that I teach.) Try it. There's a 
lot to be said for putting yourself at the top of your own list. Looking at your schedule 
for the next day and seeing your work-out there can be very motivating.

Don't Go It Alone. Some folks can work out solo, some can't. But the data say over and over 
again that people who exercise with a friend or in a group are many times more likely to 
stick with their program. Having an exercise buddy makes you accountable to someone besides 
yourself. You're more likely to show up if you know someone else is counting on you. Having 
someone to talk to is especially helpful for time spent on a treadmill, elliptical walker or 
other cardiovascular conditioning equipment. (I do that at home by myself but I still have 
company The Today Show.)

Classes, of course, are another form of social exercise. A lot of people are timid about 
going to a class and worry about whether they'll be able to do what everybody else in the 
class is doing. All fears are real and I'm not going to dismiss this one as silly. I'd invite 
you, instead, to think of a new class as you might think of a trip to a new city ' as a new 
adventure and a new experience.

Professionals are not immune here, either. I just returned from a trip where I sought out 
and took yoga and Pilates classes in a couple of different cities. I'm hardly timid but I 
did what any new student in a class can do ' positioned myself at the back of the room until 
I could get comfortable with the new environment and the new teacher. What Helps You Just Do 
It? Motivation is a big issue in the fitness profession. No less an authority than The Mayo 
clinic's has a list of strategies that includes set goals, start slowly, think variety, have 
fun, make exercise part of your daily routine, track your progress and more 
(see www.mayoclinic.com/health/ fitness/HQ01543 for the whole thing).

I'm interested in learning what works for my readers. If you have found a strategy that works 
for you ' even if it's just a variation of the conventional wisdom ' please share it with me 
via an email. Until they invent a vitamin pill that produces an instant and intense desire to 
hop on a treadmill, we'll all have to help each other Just Do it.

Molly Schechter is an ACE-certified personal trainer, with a specialty in older adult fitness 
plus YogaFit Instructor Training and a Power Pilates"! Mat Certification. She teaches classes 
at the Bayfront Park Recreation Center.