Exercise Anyone?

Exercise is good and I love to exercise. Anything that gets my heart pumping is great by me. I like riding my bike, swimming, skating, skipping, snorkelling, and all staying active in general. Dancing is also a good source of exercise for me. The reason I enjoy exercising so much isn't for the health benefits alone, but for the high it gives me, the endorphin rush. When jogging ten miles with a backpack on my back, at first I feel low and achy. Usually it is the first thing in the morning, and I have just gotten up. I am sore and grouchy. If it is rainy, my old “war wound” starts bothering me. Really, if I didn't keep in mind how good it would make me feel, I'd never get out of bed at five in the morning!

The first mile or two are tough, but by the time I get into the stride of it, I begin to feel better. The exercise has its own rhythm. I stride, I step, I breath. Listen to the early morning sounds. I turn at the same places each day, and say hello to the same fellow joggers passing me. The routine of it is comforting. And the “runners high” is amazing. Soon, my whole body feels like It's floating, and any discomfort or pain I was feeling before disappears. I feel like I'm in the prime of my life, like I'm twenty-two and in love all over again. Not bad for a fifty-five year old!

Besides jogging, my other favorite exercise is dancing. I like them all – from tango to the funky chicken, but I suppose that square dancing is the best. Oh, I know it sounds silly, but there's a community there, a real sense of belonging. You change partners several times in each song, and get to say hello to old faces and meet new ones. The steps are complicated, and build coordination, and you have to work as a team to get things done. Really a great time.

The most challenging exercise I've ever done was mountain climbing.

Not only is it difficult work – the human body wasn't really designed for scaling a vertical rock face – but the thin air makes it even harder. For the first few days up in the mountains, you feel like you can't get enough oxygen. You are dizzy and light headed.

But even rock-climbing on climbing walls can be difficult. Each move has to be timed perfectly, or else you'll fall. And it's not just a matter of pulling yourself up – the arms aren't strong enough to carry that much weight over and over again. Mostly, you have to lunge out from your legs in a strange, vertical ballet, grasping at the narrow handhold before you. By the time you reach the top of the climbing wall, you'll be gasping for breath. Another great workout! I wouldn't recommend it for beginners and coach potatoes, though. If you are out of shape when you start, your muscles will be screaming in pain by the time you reach the top. Better to start with a mile or two of jogging.