Biggest challenges of getting fit

My biggest challenge to continuing with a regular fitness routine over several decades was motivation. Next would be ease and convenience of doing the exercises. In ways they go together. Now, at 92, I’m more in control of my time and can more easily fit exercising into my day.

Maybe if I’m fit I won’t get all the later-life issues that cause so much grief for people. I think that was my real motivation.

My fitness routine has become a habit and my main motivation is to be healthy and fit. I always wanted my quality of life to keep up with my age through my 60s, 70s and 80s. And it did. I can’t think of anything more important for an older person.

I didn’t need motivation when I first started. The novelty of getting out and running and the excitement of getting new running shoes and the places I went to run provided enough motivation. It was later when I began running and exercising regularly that I started to think why I am doing this, there must be a good reason. That’s when I started to think about lifelong fitness.

I began thinking about how important it is to stay healthy. Maybe if I’m fit I won’t get all the later-life issues that cause so much grief for people. I think that was my real motivation.

I became quite serious about it to the point that I wanted to make it easier for me to exercise and to get the best all-round workout with the least time and inconvenience. That’s when the list of 9 exercises came together with thoughts of getting an elliptical so I could do everything at home.

Long before that it was more difficult to exercise. I had small children that became big children and on it went. There was always something. Even so, I could fit in the occasional jog or run.

The idea for regular jogging came about when I was desk bound at a job in a tall building in a big city and the most exercise would be going to my car from my home and to my office. No exercise there.

I decided one day to get out my old soft running shoes and go for a jog in a nearby park. It was fun and I liked it but I was really out of condition and was out of breath quickly. That’s when I started my telephone pole thing. And I had to get real running shoes.

Where I grew up the primary grades had physical education (PE) classes. This was before and during WWII. I had the idea that PE was important or why would they have it in my grade school. I sometimes wonder if that’s where I got this thing in my head about keeping fit.

This is me running in a 10k race in Central Park NYC in 1980.

Later my motivation was wanting to be healthy and that’s when I thought going out for a jog through the park nearby. And it did give the sense I was doing something positive.

Then my company sent me to New York City and I started jogging in Central Park. I still wanted to be healthy but now I thought more seriously about it. My motivation had slightly expanded. When I saw a celebrity or someone that I would see on TV also jogging I would follow them along for a bit. This was a different type of motivation but it worked for a while.

A bit later I met a blind runner through an advertisement in the New York Road Runner’s Club and we trained together for almost a year. A string connected our wrists and it was a great way for both of us both to reach a new fitness level. Another form of motivation.

Several decades later my fitness routine had become a habit and my main motivation was to be healthy and fit for my age. I wanted my quality of life to keep up with my age through my 60s, 70s and 80s. And it did. I can’t think of anything more important for an older person.

When I was very young I ran competitively. This was me at a track meet in 1952.

I was getting older and exercising was becoming a regular activity for me. It wasn’t a habit yet but I exercised often enough that when I didn’t do it for a couple of days or so I got a bit fidgety and would make an effort to get out there and jog and do some exercises at the first chance.

I was beginning to feel that fitness was an important activity and it had become an essential part of my daily routine.

Several decades later my fitness routine had become a habit and I believe my main motivation was to be healthy and fit for my age. I wanted my quality of life to keep up with my age through my 60s, 70s and 80s. And it did.

There are challenges to getting fit -- but they can be overcome!

I can’t think of anything more important for an older person. I still enjoy my exercises and I always feel good when I’m finished!