Telling me I should exercise — as though activity or fitness were a virtue —\u00a0 additionally leaves me cold. Adulthood is full of shoulds, and when a woman or man has diabetes or any chronic illness or disability, those shoulds are multiplied.<\/p>\n
Still, I do what counts as exercise several times a week. The secret is that I’ve found motivators that are personally meaningful to me. These are threads that run through my life, and they apply just as well to exercise as they do to other habits.<\/p>\n
Why do I exercise? Why do anything?<\/p>\n
1. Do it to learn something.<\/strong><\/h3>\nLike a lot of kids who grew up in Massachusetts in a time before Nintendo and hundreds of tv channels, a lot of free childhood time in winter was spent on frozen ponds or at the local rink.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\")
<\/a>Advanced beginner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAs an adult, I settled in Massachusetts, so when my children were young I got them on skates, and I got them skating lessons. Watching them learn, I realized I too wanted skating lessons. Watching adults older than me skate beautifully made me want to become a skilled<\/em> skater, a graceful one, to do more than go around and around the rink like a hamster on a wheel, by my 50th birthday. (Yikes!)<\/p>\nAt age 40, the group lessons began. At some point, I bought good skates. A year ago, I got up the gumption to find a private coach and commit myself to studying, practicing, and learning even more. In the fall, I joined a skating club.<\/p>\n
I’m a better skater than I was six years ago. Learning has created a desire for more learning. Skating regularly at the same couple of rinks has also introduced me to older role models: people in their 60s and beyond who play hockey, speed skate, and figure skate with seriousness. I now imagine for myself a retirement filled with ice, skates, and skating peers. I’ll still be learning.<\/p>\n
2. Do it for the social connection.<\/strong><\/h3>\nAlthough I can run, I’ve never really been attracted to running as a sport, especially a solitary one. Over the years, I’ve heard friends talk about how much they love running, I stood near the finish line when my brother Michael finished his first Boston Marathon, and I put on my sneakers and ran around the block myself a few times on a nice day. It hasn’t really taken, though.<\/p>\n
In college, my best friend Jeannie, who was tenacious, would prod me to do things. The route for the Boston Marathon went right by our school, and one year after watching it she said, “Let’s run half of it next year.” We started running the next day, and when we returned to school in the fall, we kept going, working up to five miles several times a week. Although Jeannie and I didn’t do the Marathon — five miles was enough of an accomplishment for us — we stuck with our program.<\/p>\n
Flash forward. I’ve started running again, this time prodded by my 15 year-old daughter Lydia, who a few weeks ago said, “Mom, let’s start running. I want to do a 5K in the spring.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/a>At Jamaica Pond, with daughter in front as the pace setter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nOh, no,<\/em> I thought. Not running.<\/em> What I said was, “Okay, honey.” Lydia found an iPhone app called Couch to 5K<\/a> (in 9 weeks), and we’ve been going to a local reservoir or pond, ones surrounded by walking paths, and doing the program. I don’t know if I like running, but I do like being with Lydia, and we spur each other on. On the path, when I feel winded with my legs burning and I want to stop, I see Lydia a few paces ahead of me and push on.<\/p>\nSome days, it’s cold, and the gusts off the water slow us down. Other days, we sprint easily and feel our progress, and I say to my daughter, “That was good.”<\/p>\n
3. Do it for pleasure.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Skating-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>As an adult, I settled in Massachusetts, so when my children were young I got them on skates, and I got them skating lessons. Watching them learn, I realized I too wanted skating lessons. Watching adults older than me skate beautifully made me want to become a skilled<\/em> skater, a graceful one, to do more than go around and around the rink like a hamster on a wheel, by my 50th birthday. (Yikes!)<\/p>\n At age 40, the group lessons began. At some point, I bought good skates. A year ago, I got up the gumption to find a private coach and commit myself to studying, practicing, and learning even more. In the fall, I joined a skating club.<\/p>\n I’m a better skater than I was six years ago. Learning has created a desire for more learning. Skating regularly at the same couple of rinks has also introduced me to older role models: people in their 60s and beyond who play hockey, speed skate, and figure skate with seriousness. I now imagine for myself a retirement filled with ice, skates, and skating peers. I’ll still be learning.<\/p>\n Although I can run, I’ve never really been attracted to running as a sport, especially a solitary one. Over the years, I’ve heard friends talk about how much they love running, I stood near the finish line when my brother Michael finished his first Boston Marathon, and I put on my sneakers and ran around the block myself a few times on a nice day. It hasn’t really taken, though.<\/p>\n In college, my best friend Jeannie, who was tenacious, would prod me to do things. The route for the Boston Marathon went right by our school, and one year after watching it she said, “Let’s run half of it next year.” We started running the next day, and when we returned to school in the fall, we kept going, working up to five miles several times a week. Although Jeannie and I didn’t do the Marathon — five miles was enough of an accomplishment for us — we stuck with our program.<\/p>\n Flash forward. I’ve started running again, this time prodded by my 15 year-old daughter Lydia, who a few weeks ago said, “Mom, let’s start running. I want to do a 5K in the spring.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Oh, no,<\/em> I thought. Not running.<\/em> What I said was, “Okay, honey.” Lydia found an iPhone app called Couch to 5K<\/a> (in 9 weeks), and we’ve been going to a local reservoir or pond, ones surrounded by walking paths, and doing the program. I don’t know if I like running, but I do like being with Lydia, and we spur each other on. On the path, when I feel winded with my legs burning and I want to stop, I see Lydia a few paces ahead of me and push on.<\/p>\n Some days, it’s cold, and the gusts off the water slow us down. Other days, we sprint easily and feel our progress, and I say to my daughter, “That was good.”<\/p>\n2. Do it for the social connection.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Running3.jpg\")
<\/a>3. Do it for pleasure.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Gardening-150x150.jpg\")
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