What Forty Years of Exercise Taught Me
If there was an exercise trend over the last forty years, chances are I tried it.
Let’s see, there were Richard Simmons and Jane Fonda with multiple VHS tapes to go along with their routines. There were classes at the local YMCA with instructors in leg warmers and tights. Let’s not forget the Tae Bo class. I even hit a few karate classes as well as step aerobics. I once took an adult ballet class. Yes, ballet. It was short-lived as the instructor quit and left town. It brought back memories of the dance classes I took as a child. I remember learning tap and modern jazz. We were planning for a dance recital, just before the teacher quit and skipped town. I’m afraid I see a pattern and the common denominator seems to be me. I finally relinquished my step just a few years ago when we moved to the beach. It served as a nice foot stool. I still have an exercise ball that’s more like furniture. These exercises were all very popular and I was absolutely there for it. But I learned eventually that just because an exercise is popular, it doesn’t mean it is right for me or that I’ll continue to do it for years to come.
I had golf and tennis in college as required fitness classes. I survived golf mainly because it was easier for me to hit a sitting ball than a moving one, but I didn’t understand all the rules or why everyone must be so quiet. Tennis was fun despite the ‘moving ball’ problem. But I learned quickly that no one wants to play with you if you can’t hit the ball back at them. I had the same experience with pickleball. Lanny and I played a couple rounds of pickleball with other people but that was frustrating. He assumes that if the ball comes my way that I won’t be able to hit it, so he plays full court instead of in pairs. I end up standing there because he’s right. If it comes my way I probably can’t hit it. So that didn’t last either. I was reminded once again that I didn’t have the athletic ability to succeed at these sports, which meant I would never really enjoy them so they would not stay with me. But I also knew that I didn’t have to be an athlete to stay physically fit and healthy, I only needed to find the right movement for me. And the journey continued.
As years passed, I tried other programs. I thought Yoga was going to be a good fit and it was when my mom was going with me as an effort to stave off the effects of Alzheimer’s. But I learned pretty quickly that an hour and a half of yoga was more than my patience could bear. And when the instructor failed to understand that my mom was battling Alzheimer’s and didn’t know her left from right or a downward dog from a cat-cow, the instructor and I had to have a ‘conversation’. Eventually we stopped going when mom could no longer pretend to understand what was happening and the instructor was fed up with both of us. I have done some yoga classes on the beach since then, but it has never been the same since mom passed. It was never about the exercise class. It was always about her, and her effort to squeeze every second of normalcy that she could for what time was left.
Then there was Pilates. I got an introductory package of 3 classes at the local Pilates studio. I made it to two of them. It seems the ladies attended in various tribes, and I didn’t belong to any of them. Looking back, Pilates wasn’t the problem. The environment wasn’t a fit for me. Exercise must fit your personality as much as your body.
So where did that leave me. I had to find what I can physically do, something that doesn’t require a group session and that I enjoy. And that was walking. Yes, after 40 years, that’s my favorite athletic activity. I walk on the beach and through the neighborhoods around me. I feel the sunshine on my shoulders and breathe the fresh air. I often see a lot of the same people doing the same thing as me – enjoying our walk, moving and burning calories and breaking a sweat. Some wear headsets but for me personally, I want to be able to hear all the sounds of nature when I’m outside. It relaxes me while I’m increasing my heart rate, an odd combination. I can walk at a fast clip as well.
I have good quality walking shoes. That is one area where I will splurge. I also have a Garmin, but I rarely wear it. I realized that Garmin was taking over the pleasure of walking because I was constantly monitoring speed, distance, heart rate and time. Once I realized the pace I needed and knew my distances along various walking paths, I really didn’t need the constant reminder from the Garmin. Sometimes too much information can have diminishing returns and for me that was the Garmin. At some point I realized I was paying more attention to the Garmin than the walk itself.
So, after all this ‘exercise adventure’, what survived is simple – walking. I do enjoy riding my bike and swimming on occasion, but walking is my go-to. Lanny and I do strength training twice per week at the gym, but my daily routine includes walking. It comes naturally and doesn’t require matching outfits or choreography, and I don’t have to pretend I like it. After forty years of trying everything, this is what I can and still do. Walking never tried to become my identity. It simply became part of my life.
After forty years of trying exercise programs, classes, gadgets, trends and routines, I’ve learned a few things.
You don’t have to be athletic to be healthy.
The most popular exercise is rarely the one you’ll still be doing years later.
Exercise must fit your personality as much as your body.
More data isn’t always better.
And perhaps most importantly, exercise should support your life rather than become your life.
For me, that turned out to be walking.
Yours may be entirely different.
But finding the movement that fits your life is far more important than finding the perfect workout.
— Jamie Harrington
Freedom to Thrive
Curious explorer of living well in the second half of life.
Further Reading:
The Best Exercise Is the One You’ll Still Be Doing in Ten Years
Why Strength Becomes the Deciding Factor of Aging
Second Half of Life — Sooner Than We Think
