Exercise Works -- If You Can Get Motivated

In this column: Knowing you should exercise is one thing. Finding the will power is another. Here are some simple hints to help you stay motivated while you exercise.

"If you want to stay healthy and live to a ripe old age, you should reduce stress and exercise five times a week.''

Sounds simple enough.

But in reality, it's very tough. Most of us are bombarded daily with anxiety-provoking stress creators both at work and at home. We're so worn out by the end of the day, fighting battles and putting out fires, that we don't have the energy or the motivation to exercise.

And even when we find the mental strength to lace up our Nikes and pop out the door, 20 minutes into our jog around the block, we're bored out of our gourds.

That's why exercise diversion is vital, especially for beginners. It's the key to keeping you committed to a long-term fitness program.

Talk While You Walk

When I was a young RN working in a busy coronary care unit, I cared for hundreds of men who were in the middle of having massive heart attacks. It was not uncommon for my patients to die during my shift. The CCU is like a battlefield, and I, like all nurses, had difficulty coping with the stress. On busy nights, nurses would snipe at each other. Workplace conflicts developed, exacerbating the already tension-filled nursing unit.

It was then I began walking long distances. I'd come home from work, take a hot bath, eat a bunch of junk food and fall into bed like a beached whale. The next morning, I'd get up and walk 4 to 6 miles. But it was always a struggle to force myself to walk off the donuts and chips from the night before.

Until I discovered the value of talking to myself.

Every morning, as soon as I was out of sight of my neighbors' houses, I pretended that the co-worker that had upset me the night before was walking beside me and that she said, "Jacqueline, I want you to be frank. Tell me exactly what I did that made you angry. Get it all off your chest."

Logging mile after mile, I would babble out loud to myself, purging the poison fulminating inside my brain. Isn't that the reason "normal" people go to psychiatrists? To unload their problems, discard free-floating mental baggage? Because, we are told, psychiatrists never give advice; they only listen.

So I spent my walks complaining to the air about fellow nurses, my parents, my boss and my fiance; nobody was immune. By the end of my 5 miles, I felt mellow towards everyone. My walk was both aerobic exercise and stress-reducer. It kept me sane and thin.

Your Favorite Tunes -- In Abundance

As I got older, my thighs grew plump and wobbly, so I bought a treadmill and started running. I was too busy gasping for breath to talk to myself. Soon I was bored and had trouble motivating myself to run.

I tried watching TV, but there's never anything good on. For a while I tried movies. But if the movie was really good, I hated stopping in the middle of it because my run was done. And besides, I like to watch good movies with my husband and a bowl of popcorn. So I created my own exercise video.

I found that I could run the longest and fastest when bouncy music was playing and the people on the TV were moving. I spent several months trying out different combinations of music and dance until I had favorites picked out. Then my husband recorded all my favorites onto one VCR tape.

Over the years, I had to modify my tape, adding and deleting for just the right treadmill-running combination. But finally, I've put together the perfect mix for me; segments from Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames, two numbers from the movie "Cabaret," Billy Joel singing "We Didn't Start the Fire" on Sautrday Night Live and Dylan performing "Like a Rollin' Stone" on a David Letterman anniversary show.

I've been a long-distance walker and mid-distance runner for over 20 years. I never have to force myself to do either. When I walk, I talk and work out my stress. When I run, I feel the beat, move my feet and wind up cleansed and centered.

Further reading

• From thriveonline.com: Strategies to Stay Motivated at Home
• From About.com: E-mail cards give motivation for walkers
• From About.com: Staying motivated in bicycling and youth sports