When it comes to exercising, I have a penchant for putting it off.  The alarm sounds at 7:00 a.m., and I reach for my phone to shut it off.   Right before bed, I told myself that I’d get a workout in before heading to my third-floor home office for work.  But what’s the rush?  Let me check my schedule for the day.  Afterall, I already have the phone in my hand.  Hmm, no meetings until 9:00.  Might as well check Facebook and then the News.  The News really gets me because an intended five minute peruse turns into a 25-minute kaleidoscope of viewing things that AI has determined will interest me.  Yikes, they got me again! 

It’s 7:40 a.m. now, and I begin to think of reasons to stay in bed for another 10 minutes.  I took a spin cycle class yesterday afternoon, maybe exercising twice in less than 24 hours will be too hard on my 69-year-old body.  I probably should wait until later in the day.  I put 10 more minutes on my snooze alarm, but rarely fall back asleep.

I could lose a few pounds.  Overall though, I’m not in bad shape.  All the years of lifting weights, jogging and playing racquetball in my younger years have helped to slow my physical decline.  It’s like wisely investing money and then pulling from the interest.  However, without continuous deposits, the interest can’t keep pace and you begin eating away at the principal.  A regular exercise routine helps assure that the rate at which your physical account is affected is not as great as if you did little to no exercise at all.  And, let’s face it, your quality of life is better when you’re in good shape.  Instead of exercising 5 or 6 times a week, I average 3.  Not bad, but not good enough.  Diet is an altogether different story. So, we’ll just stick to exercise for now.

Several years back, I hired a trainer who put me in marvelous shape.  You’d think that would have been enough to instill a discipline to carry me through the pandemic.  It didn’t.  On top of that, I had one surgery and two eye operations that limited my exercising for months and weeks at a time.  These events gave me the perfect excuse to be a lump, but certainly not the rationale to drag out my convalescence weeks beyond their expiry.

I have reminded myself time and again that putting off exercise is a questionable option.  Out of curiosity, I brought AI into the equation by checking with ChatGPT based on my circumstances:  Male, 69 years old, in good health, not overweight who decides to begin a balanced exercise routine (weights and cardio) .  The results:  A reduction of mortality of 25-30%; an increase in longevity of 2-5 years; improvement in heart health, cognitive function, ability to ward off disease and chronic ailments.

Of course, before you start a new exercise routine (especially if you’ve bee sedentary), it’s probably best to visit with your PCP.  

I’d like to write more, but I’m going to pack up for a visit to the gym instead.  Will I see you there?