Willie's Wisdom

In a recent interview, country music icon Willie Nelson said, "Well, I have started running. What I was trying to do was do at least as much good in the daytime as I was destroying in the nighttime. But it got to the point where I was losing ground. I had to start trying to stay alive or I was going to die. So I've had to give up the smoking and drinking. And when I quit that and started running, I got a lot healthier."

Hmmm, from the mouth of Willie! My own experience (sans the drinking and the smoking to begin with!) was that running had the biggest impact on changing my body shape.

I'm not claiming everyone needing to lose weight and wanting to be healthier needs to run! But, you DO need to amp up your daily exercise from what your current routine is. If you're sedentary, walking will be enough of an "amping up" to make an initial difference. If you're used to daily walking, maybe start by increasing your pace - instead of a 20-minute mile, strive to walk a 15-minute mile. Or instead of walking 2 miles, increase to 4 miles. If you've already been doing that, amp it up some more. Change to 1/2 hour on an elliptical machine or try jogging. And jogging can be added slowly - walk 5 minutes, jog 2, walk five minutes, jog 3, on and on it goes. You get the idea. But AMP IT UP.

If you're overweight, you know full well the fat won't melt by a miracle. If you're truly honest with yourself, you KNOW it's going to take an investment in sweat and exercise - an investment in YOU. Don't be afraid of it - embrace it....it's what will lead to a healthier you! And hey, if Willie Nelson can amp up his exercise, so can you!

Here is an excellent Web site for someone interested in learning about jogging for the first time. One article is titled "From Couch to 5K Running Plan". It has all kinds of resources for new runners - or just a place to find answers to the unknown if you've never ventured into the world of jogging before. http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

Just move it! :-)