Oh, lordy, lordy, is there an echo in here. Every excuse to not exercise sounds like my mantra. When I do walk it's a 3-miler - usually. but I don't do it more than a couple of times a week. My dumb excuse: IT'S BORING!

My dumbest excuse is, "I'll get all sweaty and then I'll have to take a shower and wash my hair." A quick shower and shampoo takes what, ten minutes? BTW for those of you who walk but find all kinds of weather excuses not to walk, there's a great solution. Leslie Sansone has a line of DVDs for walking in your home. Besides walking in place, you do side steps, knee lifts, kicks and other moves, as well as moving your arms with or without weights. I was skeptical, but at the end of 45 minutes, my heart rate was up and I had worked up a good sweat.

Once upon a time. No. Two times. I spent $$$ to join a gym. I should have known myself better. I am way too shy in some areas, like putting on a leotard and sweating in front of a crowd of perfect strangers, me waiting for the only machine I enjoyed: the treadmill.

So I quit and bought my own treadmill. Well, that lasted about a month. It was boring to work out in my cold basement room....alone.

Then I started walking 4 nights a week with my sister. THAT was and is the best exercise of all.

It costs nothing, and we get to vent on all subjects as we do the 6 k's. Now that I garden for people, I get to wrangle my 65 year old body into all kinds of embarrassing positions, while slinging obnoxious weeds, throwing down mulch and soil and getting dirty.

I'm covered from head to toe, so nobody knows it's me.

I tell people I exercise for pay. Gardening jobs are steady, and I am damn sore at the end of the day, but I don't mind.

Maybe I'll die like the Godfather, in someone's garden. Well. I'll die happy.

Walking is the best workout, but you should find a partner. That way, you motivate each other to get off your butt and go.

We also belong to a cycling group that does 40-50 k a week. That's also fun, and good for meeting new friends.

Three areas to keep healthy:

Spiritual

Educational

Physical

If you find yourself walking on the beach, and something keeps tapping you on the back of your legs, chances are, it's your ass.

Some nights I don't wanna walk, like last night. But when my sister calls me a chicken, I get going. Rain or shine.

Me? I'm with Linda & Nancy. However in my humble defense, I do get to yoga class each week. Love it. Nice people all around my age & some younger, too. Lots of chatter before & after & a great instructor who understands us elders.....she is 50. At the very least the yoga gives a good stretch & some socializing. Otherwise except for walking with someone, it's all boring after awhile. Dee

Substitute the name and locale and your story could be written by me, Ronni. When I lived in my house with a swimming pool, rose bushes and a lawn to mow I got plenty of exercise. I also walked an hour each morning with a friend.

Then I bought this town house with no yard duties. I walked 45 minutes every morning for a year, then it was three times a week, then once in awhile. (boring) I joined a gym and had a personal trainer tell me which machines to use. I didn't lose weight,but my muscle mass increased.

Alas, the woman who drove to the gym became unable to go anymore so I quit too. I know I should arrange transportation and go but I also know I won't. How dumb is that?

My most strenuous exercise now is using my fingers to type this.

Hi Ronni and all,
What works for me is to be in a clsss doing someting I really like. And that works even better if I've got a buddy who is going with me. Last month I wrote a post about a 7 minute wellness and longevity practice I do at home. Time will tell if I can stick with it at home on my own.

Cheers,
Sharry

I am also hearing an echo. I have tried off and on to establish some kind of routine exercise. The most frequent problem has been keeping the exercise routine when the rest of my schedule went to pot. Mom and I tried to walk a couple of years ago but had trouble finding an unobstructed route in a neighborhood with narrow, broken, or non-existent sidewalks. Walking on the side of a road or shoulder made both of us nervous. We just didn't trust the drivers. We tried tai chi only to find the date and time of the class moved after I persuaded my boss to reschedule my work days to accommodate the original. We tried the exercise machines at our local senior center but were derailed when I had a nasty case of bronchitis followed by Mom's strained shoulder. We never got back to it and realized that neither of us really like the machines much.

We made another attempt starting about a month ago and have kept it up to date. One of the local parks has a nice three-quarter mile track that is paved, level (pretty much), and broad. It is bordered by trees and shrubs with lots of squirrels and birds. So far we have only missed two days due to weather and are making our plans to continue during the winter. We hope that only thunderstorms (too dangerous to be outside anyway) and heavy snowfall (which we would have to shovel thereby getting our exercise) will interrupt the schedule. Now that we are used to the single lap we are gradually going to add a lap.

I exercise in spurts, but never with great enthusiasm. I have never in my life exercised with enthusiasm, although there have been several periods when I was exercising regularly and strenuously. Maybe it was me in some other incarnation? Anyway, now I try, try, try to walk a couple of miles three times a week. That's it. Sometimes I only get to it once a week. I like walking with my walking stick, though (from a recent "Time Goes By" article, I've learned that my stick is called a quarterstaff!) and use it to hoist myself up hills, over rocks, and even in shallow streams when the occasion arises. It feels like something more dashing than walking, somehow, when one has his/her quarterstaff in hand. No danger of muggings, either - a quick whop, and any would-be mugger finds out in a hurry that he or she has bitten off more than they can chew with THIS old lady! Hah! Now if I could just be consistent, it might do some good!
Cheers!
Z

I also go in spurts where I feel I am exercising enough and then where my fingers on this keyboard get the most exercise. I suspect that doesn't count. I do have small weights here on the desk to do arm exercises but don't use them often enough. My favorite thing to do is walk but I don't do it often enough either. The bad part is the older I get the harder it is to get back to a good place. I also know I should do it but don't nearly enough

No excuses at our house. At least an hour a day, rotating days between bikes, treadmill and our new rowing machine. So, an hour of cardio daily; sometimes some weight lifting on alternate days.

We do this right after breakfast, before excuses can rear their ugly head.

How about this one? I have tooooo many blog posts to read!

I started regular exercise when I was in boarding school and I haven't stopped since. (give or take, wars, pestilence and THE HEAT!)
We've had almost fifty 100 deg. days since mid May and 'though snow and sleet etc. can't keep off my feet (nor bike or pool) I just can't do it when the thermometer rises above 90.
Although man is presumably descended from the monkey, my animal forbears were more likely polar bears.
I do get in some evening tennis three nights a week and I swim when the pool isn't closed for repairs (the pump breaks often in the heat)but real training will start again around mid September.
GUNG HO!

Get this, I do not want to exercise, because it will make my arthritic hip hurt. Of course, exercise helps the pain of arthritis...go figure..

I walked every day when I had dogs. They make it so interesting and fun, because every walk is just as exciting as the first walk to a dog. It doesn't matter how many times we've taken the walk, the dogs are excited.

Then I got ill, and a lot of stuff happened, and I placed my beloveds in good homes -- and was dumb enough to buy an apartment where I can never ever have dogs.

Sometimes I walk, very occasionally I do stretching and yoga, but I sure wish I could end my life in the midst of doggie friends.

I think the goal needs to be to exercise today not to exercise every day for the rest of my life. That is something I can succeed at and I know I'll fail at the other goal.

I've been making contributions to my gym for over a year. My doctor said the only thing that will reduce is my wallet. LOL (I know) Occasionally I go walk on the treadmill, the elliptical, and ride the stationary bike. That lasts a while and then I slack off again. Now I'm working up to joining a strength training class which I'll do because of the group support. (I hope)

It's so hard to make myself do this and every time I turn around I read and hear more reasons that exercise is vital. I used to be active and enjoyed it. I hope to get there again.

I've finally worked out a suitable program for ME (not hubby or that cute, perky, ponytailed trainer) and I think that was the key I used to quit making excuses for not going to the gym. I go three times a week and do about an hour of cycling, walking and strength training with weight machines. And this is going to sound awfully materialistic I know, I'll admit I bought Nintendo wii fit, and try to do it for at least 30 minutes every day that I don't go to the gym. It makes exercising actually fun! plus there's enough diversity you can vary the program so as not to get bored. I'm able to set my own goals and preview my success (or lack of) each time I work out, so that I am in competition only with myself. I do my "wii training" with my husband, but if you can afford one and can find one to buy (they're difficult to find in stock), I highly recommend them even if you're alone. It's one of the best gifts I've ever given myself!

Ronni, ElderExercise was Naomi's idea in the first place. We discussed it by email and gave it a try. I love it!