I’m an evangelist for exercise, and I practice what I preach. I’ve been a convert ever since I read the book “Aerobics” by Dr. Kenneth Cooper  decades ago.

I began exercising for life, walking or running along the Charles River in Boston, Lake Washington in Seattle, and Chesapeake Bay in southern Maryland.

I walked or run in good weather or bad, with a partner or alone, early in the morning or after dark, and even while pregnant and after childbirth (but not immediately).

I love being outdoors, but I’m adaptable. For years at my last job, I used the on-site fitness center during the week, running on a treadmill and working with weights. It was efficient, convenient and free, but also Beyond Boring. When I retired from that job I swore I would never run on a treadmill again. Never!

Taking on a challenge

I began walking and running outdoors again. Then I stumbled upon the President’s Challenge fitness program at http://presidentschallenge.org . It has a long list of physical activities and gives points for each day’s activities, based on the time spent and and the intensity. Earn enough points and you qualify for medals—a Bronze, Silver, and Gold—just like in the Olympics! 

I don’t know about you. Maybe you love to take on a challenge and get awards when you rack up enough points or miles or whatever. Or maybe you really don’t need that motivation. Maybe all you need to stay motivated is to make a commitment to yourself—and perhaps to others—and stick to it.

I’m in the first group—a real glory-hound, a sucker for awards and medals, and after discovering the President’s Challenge I went right to work racking up those points:

*** 20,000 for a Bronze medal,

*** 45,000 (including the 20,000) for a Silver medal, and

*** 80,000 (including the 45,000) for a Gold medal. 

One challenge after another

When I earned the Gold medal, I was elated. But only for a little while. Because I soon learned that the awards didn’t stop there. After the Gold medal came the Platinum medal, and to get one of those I needed a whopping 420,000 more points.

I felt deflated, but decided to go for it anyhow. Things went very slowly due in part to life challenges, such as moving 3,000 miles across the U.S. in the dead of winter. When we got settled in in Maryland, I got with the program again. I walked and ran, sometimes indoors, sometimes out. I was starting to build up momentum, when the President’s Challenge suddenly became way more challenging.

Each of the medals—Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum—now required twice as many points as it had before.

I felt as if my hard-earned Gold medal had been snatched away, and I’d have to earn it all over again. Well, they don’t call it a challenge for nothing, so I kept going:

*** I exercised nearly every day,

*** I tracked the number of minutes of fast walking or running and the number of steps of stop-and-start slow walking (around the apartment or grocery store or where ever) and
*** I logged in and entered my data in the website.

Taking a time-out

About three months ago, for some unknown reason I lost motivation and stopped. I didn’t stop exercising or tracking the data with my pedometer, but I stopped entering it. Many days I told myself that I really should log-in to the Challenge website and put in my data, but I couldn’t seem to make myself do it. Until a few weeks ago.

So far I’ve earned 135,000-plus points, enough for a new Silver Medal. I need 27,000-plus more points to go Gold again, and after that another 840,000 points for a Platinum Medal. 

So here’s my plan

*** Stick with the President’s Challenge and earn a new Gold Medal
*** Join a nearby fitness center
*** Resume working with weights to stave off osteoporosis
*** Resume using a treadmill at least in bad weather—approximately every day for the next 4 months
*** Review my progress in 3 or 4 months

What about you? Are you exercising for life? Do you have a plan? Do you exercise regularly? If so, what keeps you motivated month after month, year after year? Do you follow a particular program? Or is your Number 1 New Year’s resolution to start exercising regularly? I’d love to hear from you.

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