Time to talk about "the E word"

Kathleen Anderson

Exercise. Not my favorite word…and certainly not my favorite activity. With the exception of dancing, which I rarely get to do anymore, my favorite activity is reading, followed by daydreaming.

However, according to most of what I have read, exercise must be part of your daily life or you will die. Of course, you will eventually die anyway but they never add that little fact.

So once again, I recently began a search for something I enjoy doing that counts as exercise. I enjoy walking, slowly, because my head is always on a swivel while I take in the neighborhoods, nature and local color. I am not a power walker and do not understand this concept.

Since I am in possession of a Silver Sneakers membership, I decided to look at what they offer. (If you have a Medicare Advantage Plan or one of the select Medigap policies, the Silver Sneakers benefit is free! Online exercises are available to you at home, via your computer, phone or tablet, or at our local YMCA at no additional cost.)

According to the Silver Sneakers website, “the program enables senior citizens to enjoy benefits such as weights, bicycles, and swimming, at a level that they are capable of enjoying.” (Enables senior citizens to enjoy benefits such as weights, bicycles, and swimming…enables? Who writes this stuff?) 

The website continues: “The senior wellness program isn’t just about fitness; it offers a chance to meet people and create friendships.” If you choose to do it in person, this could be the best benefit yet.

One of the first things I spotted on their online class lineup was meditation classes. Surely this counts as exercise, because you have to quiet your mind, and as I have mentioned before, my mind is a very busy place. This practice could take me hours.

Moving on, I found chair yoga classes. This sounded more like my speed since getting up from the floor alone, after attempting and failing miserably at real yoga body folding hijinks, would constitute a full week of exercise for me.

For me, in the past, I’ve always thought I got plenty of exercise. I thought this because after I make my bed and vacuum or mop floors or work in the garden, my back hurts for the rest of the day. For me, if it causes pain, it’s exercise.

But what do I know? Apparently, these things don’t count as exercise. I must walk, swim, run, jog, lift weights, bicycle or do other bone-crushing activities if I want to tell people I exercise regularly with a straight face.

However, there is an Asian physician who pops up on my Facebook page from time to time and hands out the best advice I’ve found so far.

He states the following “The heart only has so many beats. If you use them up with exercise you will die sooner. Take more naps.”

Kathleen Anderson writes this column each week from her home in Olympia.  Contact her at  kathleen@theJOLTnews.com or post your comment below.