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On Fitness By Richard Seven
Beating Our ExcusesReaders help battle inertia with radios, pedometers and pals, even cash
PHYLLIS PEARSON may have started late, but she is still going. She was in her late 50s before she set her sights on trying to run a marathon. She never quite made it, but she did run several half-marathons, and in her early 60s, became a national race-walking record-holder in her age group. Today, at 85, she exercises five days a week. She takes advantage of Group Health Cooperative's offer to pay for her health-club use. She swims at her condo. She walks hills in the neighborhood. She bikes the Burke-Gilman Trail. What helps her keep going and beat the excuses that plague so many of us is embracing flexibility and accepting "down time" once in a while. "I can take 'time off' any two days I wish and exercise at the time of day that is convenient," says Pearson, whose activity belies her arthritis. Another important piece of her plan is a Thursday hiking group, which has been going strong for 35 years. The women (regulars now ranging from their mid-60s to Pearson's 85), hike every Thursday, rain or shine. The "rain or shine" part is crucial because if they begin quibbling about weather, other excuses fall right into place. The group was co-founded by Jean Worthen and Joyce Sparks. Worthen says one of her motivators is knowing how she felt and how hard it was to come back after letting herself lose conditioning in the past. "It's just easier to keep up with it than trying to get it back," she says. More help in the fight • "I'm too tired." Well, exercise anyway. You will probably feel much less tired then. • "I don't have time." You most likely do. You just don't want to spend it exercising. • "I'm on a business trip." See if your associates will conduct a walking meeting. • "My heart-rate monitor broke." Then take your heart rate the old-fashioned way. You get the picture. I heard from the hikers and several others after writing a recent column on beating excuses. Here are a few of the things that have helped others: "I keep a radio in the kitchen. I turn it on and dance around while I am in there. You can get a lot of exercising done just while waiting for things to cook in the microwave. Loading the dishwasher provides opportunities for squats. Be creative!" — Gayle Mitterer of Lummi Island "My biggest excuse was that I had to work out at my target heart rate for at least 40 minutes or it was wasted effort, and I don't have 40 minutes right now, so I'll sit. Once I let go of perfectionism I could see that even a 10-minute walk (then two 10-minute walks) really can make a difference — and they're way better than not moving at all. If you only do this item, you will have turned a miraculous corner. Wear a pedometer. Ten thousand steps a day? I finally figured out that I can easily get 1,000 steps in about 9 minutes. How many sets of 9 extra minutes do we all have in our days? It's amazing how quickly it can go when you make a game of beating the pedometer and getting the steps. — Gail Stone, Bellevue "Leave your sneakers and workout clothes by your toilet in your bathroom. Why? It's obviously the first place most of us go to after we awaken . . . and it's the perfect visual prompt to get your butt moving and 'just do it' every morning. I have given this advice to many grateful women who will swear by it." — Laurie Redelf, Auburn "Not being one who loves exercise, I've found it much easier to haul myself out of bed and to the gym if I reward myself a 'Gym Buck' for each time I go. I get to trade the bucks in for spa services available at the club where I exercise. Rationalizing, but works for me — good health from exercising is nice, but a massage or pedicure from working out is really terrific!" — Kelly Straight, Renton I enlisted my good friend who had recently moved into the neighborhood. We started our 20-to-40-minute walks at 6:45 a.m., twice a week for two weeks in a row. This gave us enough time to do a large loop, get home and shower before heading into work. Since I committed to meeting with someone, I had to get up. Even though we are different body types, we are a perfect match in terms of endurance — ready to make the same stops partway up the hills. It has turned into a 6-to-6:40 a.m. walk, three times a week. The added plus is that we now carpool downtown together. Who says that exercise isn't also good for the environment? — May Leong, Seattle Richard Seven is a Pacific Northwest magazine staff writer. He can be reached at rseven@seattletimes.com. Mike Siegel is a Seattle Times staff photographer.
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