Get out and MOVE

I NEVER thought I would say this, but I LOVE working out! Don't let me fool you, this attitude didn't come overnight. But it's really simple – notice I didn't say easy – but simple. The trick is to just start moving.

Everybody has an opinion on an ideal exercise program. Do you do it with walking? Do you hire a trainer? Lift weights? Swimming? Bike ride? Classes? What?

I am by no means an expert, but I think the trick is just to do something. When I started exercising, it was nothing more than walking around the parking lot at work during lunch. The first time around, we walked two circles. I thought I was going to die!

I learned that I don't like walking in circles over and over – because I never know where the end is. To compensate, I adjusted my walking path so that I was actually going somewhere. What started as a quick, grueling, ten-minute walk evolved to a daily walk of 2.5 miles – during lunch.

Once spring came, I needed to step it up. If you remember, I needed to push through a plateau. I joined 24-Hour Fitness. Now, I'm doing weights three times a week and cardio three times a week. I'm learning to use the elliptical – which can kill you! I have started jogging on the treadmill. And I have been riding hard on a recumbent bike.

And just like I didn't have to walk in the same circle over and over, I don't have to do the same aerobic exercise day after day for a solid 45 minutes. I can do 15 minutes on one machine, 15 minutes on another, and another 15 minutes on a third machine. I like variety, so I create it in my exercise routines.

Besides the incredibly good feeling I get after exercise, one of the things I am most excited about is – I've started SWEATING!!

Sounds yucky, but it's really not. If you look around the gym, you notice that the people who are fit and working hard are ALL sweating. And now I'm doing it too! Way cool!! Someday someone is going to look at me and wish they could be strong like me.

So my words of wisdom are simply to get moving. Any movement is movement in the right direction.