I walk an average of 20 miles per week with my babies.

They are 2 years old and 10 months old. My goal is 4 - 5 miles per walk, 5 days per week. On my lowest week, I make it at least 4 days a week and walk 4 miles for 2 of those days and 5 miles for the other two: 18 miles. On my average weeks, I make it 5 days, switching between 4 and 5 miles: 22 - 23 miles. On my "perfect" week (I haven't yet achieved this), I would walk 5 days, 5 miles each time: 25 miles.

I don't share this to brag. Walking around a loop a few times really isn't that big of a deal, but I know how hard it can be to make it part of your life, especially when you must include the schedules and naps and food demands of a young child or two. I make it work for me and my two because it's important for me. We Moms tend to do everything it takes to build a good world for our babies, and rightly so. Sometimes we forget, though, that nothing matters if Mommy is too sick, too tired, or too depressed to be involved. Exercise is an essential part of keeping yourself healthy. I know this. You know this. It's taken me until now, though, to really commit the time and effort to live this.

The Whole Exercising Story

I've always been pretty thin, and I can't take any credit for that. Genes. Thank you, Mom and Dad. I ate what I wanted, exercised sporadically, and I was a size 2 when I got married. I moved "up" to a size 4 after the first year of marriage, and then I got pregnant.

Enter Pregnancy, Twice

I stayed pretty fit through my first pregnancy, but I still had about 15 pounds of extra weight hanging on when I got pregnant again. I gained an additional 35 or 40 pounds during that pregnancy. I still wasn't huge, but I was uncomfortable. I was totally wrapped up in being Mom of two, though, and regular exercise just wasn't happening for the first few months. When Robbie got to six months old, was sleeping through the night and on a regular nap schedule, I started doing some work-out dvds at home. I was kind of sporadic, though. I lost down to that same old 15 pounds plus a few more, and that's where I just stayed.

Enter Pregnancy Again

Then I got pregnant again. I know what you're thinking... Yes, I do know what causes this, and I like it!; Back to the exercise topic now: with this third pregnancy, I have decided that it won't do to repeat the pattern. I keep adding on another 5 pounds or so; at this rate, I'll be stuck at 30 pounds over a comfortable weight. A comfortable weight, by the way, is not a size 2, again, mind you; that size 2 was before I got Mommy boobs. We're talking more like a size 6 (maybe) or 8. That's good with me. I'd rather wear bigger pants and actually have boobs.

What I'm not okay with, however, is having a 5-months-pregnant belly when I'm notpregnant, having granny flab on my arms long before I'm a granny, or refusing to even own a pair of shorts because my thighs are way too friendly with each other for that sort of exposure. (The ghostly pale hue of my skin will have to be dealt with somehow, I guess, once I get to shorts. But that's another article.)

Walking It Off, Baby

So I started walking. A week later I saw my mother-in-law and she said, "Annie, you're the only person I know who loses weight when she gets pregnant." I love my mother-in-law and her keen powers of observation, have I mentioned that?

Before I started walking, I was having a lot of trouble getting out of bed in the morning. I blamed early pregnancy fatigue, and certainly there was some of that. But there was also a body that wasn't using enough energy:

"People who exercise regularly are more tranquil and suffer less from stress and anxiety. They are able to concentrate better and sleep more deeply at night. Researchers have demonstrated that the amount of deep sleep you get is proportional to the daytime energy expenditure. The more you exercise, the deeper you sleep. This may be why people who exercise actually have more energy during the day. I see this everyday in my practice. Patients who don't get any exercise will almost always complain of a poor energy level. Regular exercise will almost always increase their energy level.  The more energy that you use, the more energy you will have." See the source.

I didn't mean to turn this into an article about why you should exercise, so I'll stop extolling the benefits and get to the day by day of how it's done. Or at least, how it's done in my house. Tweak to match your personality and preferences and little people, just don't tweak so much that you tweak out the exercising part.

When, Where, and How

Find a time of day when your children are awake and happy and so are you. Okay, you should at least be awake. We'll make happy optional at this point. I've found that as soon as you hit close to nap time, babies don't like strollers anymore. If your kids are different, then walk during nap time and let them nap if you want. I still think it's not the best, because you probably won't get a full nap out of them and it will throw off the rest of your day. But that's me. You be you.

I go in the morning, because if I wait until afternoon, too much other stuff is trying to crowd in my day and I let it crowd out the exercise. My two wake up at 8 and we all eat breakfast. (I am awake, dressed in my exercise clothes, and drinking my coffee before 8). I finish before they do (better fine motor skills, I guess), so I do my usual morning routine/scramble around the house, then wipe them and the mess, and let them run and/or crawl around while I finish my chores. I finish up by 9, load them in the stroller, grab my phone and water bottle, and we head out.

Find a location that is convenient. I know I would not exercise regularly if I had to load (and unload) kids in car seats in order to do it. I happen to live across the street from the city park, which has a wide, paved, 1/2 mile walking loop (along with multiple pavilions and small playgrounds, a pool, and tennis courts. I know. I'm lucky). If I get bored of the park, I just cruise around town or walk to the other park, which is about half a mile away. It has a paved walking trail, too, and soccer fields.

However, most of the time I stick to the park across the street. Consistency matters. I know the number of loops I need to walk, and, hamster-like, I keep on walking until I get dizzy. I also know the people who come there, the regulars who show up at the same time every day like me. We're not all chatty - walking is serious business, people - but it's nice to recognize faces, get a nod and a smile, and know that at least one of them would call 911 if I tripped on a stick and broke my leg. Or if someone tried to grab me and the double stroller and push us into an unmarked van before anyone noticed. Cheery thoughts, eh?

Gear up.

Be smart about walking. Have the gear you need, and by gear I mean good shoes, a good sports bra, and something comfortable to cover your body. Tank top, t-shirt, shorts, spandex, jogging pants. I, for one, cannot afford to go buy an entire new wardrobe of great fitness wear, but I can go buy a decent sports bra (or two). I have a stack of tank tops. I have two pairs of jogging pants that fit me well. I have a good pair of shoes (and socks... more than one pair of socks!). I'm going to be washing clothes 5 days out of the week anyway, so I just make sure my walking clothes are in there.

The only other gear (for myself) is my 1-liter water bottle and my cell phone. I also recommend getting a little can of Mace or one of those alarms to hook onto the stroller right by your hand. Chances are good that you'll never need to use either, but you want to have them just in case. That's why I carry my phone, too. If I see anything weird going on, I call Joe and tell him about it. Usually it's nothing: a man in a truck whom I've never seen in the park before, just sitting in the parking lot. He was there two days in a row, and I called Joe both days and told him. Here's what the man looks like, here's what the truck looks like, etc. Nothing happened and he didn't come to the park anymore; but maybe nothing happened because he saw me talking on the phone and looking at him. Who knows? I am on the "better safe than sorry" side of things; if I ever saw anything really weird or obviously illegal, I would skip Joe and just call 911. Then I would call Joe...

Think about gear for your children as well. The loop I walk has a good deal of shade, but about 1/3 of it requires walking directly into the sun, no matter which direction I'm walking. So Mara has a pink floppy hat, and I keep an old crib sheet in the stroller. When we curve around into the direct sunshine, I throw the sheet over the canopy on Robbie's half of the stroller so it hangs down in front of his face. He doesn't like having his view blocked, but he likes direct sun even less. You might need sunscreen or bug spray for your babies. I don't take sippie cups or snacks for them; they've just finished breakfast, they're not exerting any energy, and they can have a drink and snack when we get home.

Push yourself.

Push yourself further than you think you can. I used to walk regularly, but only 2 miles or so each time. It didn't make enough of a difference quickly enough to keep me motivated, and I let it slide. That changed when I started walking again, because I walk with my neighbor about half the time. She is an itty bitty woman whose youngest child is almost 9 years old. When my neighbor walks, she does at least 10 laps. That's 5 miles. The first time she told me that, I said, "Hmmmmmm." And then "hmmmm" again. And then, "How many laps?"

I was walking by myself 2 or 3 miles at a time, thinking that was my limit. Then I went walking with her and we walked 5 miles. It wasn't about fatigue or distance; it was about boredom and laziness. I get bored when I walk by myself, and I get lazy when there's no one to push me further. But now that I walk with her, I know we are going to walk 5 miles. And now when I walk by myself, I know that I <em>can</em> walk 5 miles, so I make myself walk at least 4.

You're getting a free ride; what more do you want?

Think about entertainment for your kids... but not too much. You'll notice something with your kids. They will get bored around mile 2, especially in the first couple of weeks. But then they'll get used to the routine. So they'll get bored around mile 3, instead. What you shouldn't do is let your kids haul fifteen toys, a blanket, and a doll with them. You know what happens: one by one, each item is dropped (oops!) out of the stroller, Mom leans down and grabs it, loses momentum, hands it back. Repeat ad infinitum. Mara gets one small blankie or toy. If she drops it, it gets shoved in the back of the stroller until I decide to pause for a drink of water. Robbie gets nothing but a pacifier, and I hold off on that until around lap 6.

What they do get, though, is conversation (with me) and time outside. I point out the trees and grass, the airplane, the truck like Daddy's, the big rocks. I ask Mara about colors. She counts the big rocks. Sometimes I slow down enough to grab a couple of rocks or a little tree branch with leaves still attached, and she gets to entertain herself with those for a few laps. She shares with Robbie, too, but once she or he drops them, they're gone.

Be consistent.

For the most part, the kids do fine. They were more restless the first week or two. Now they're used to the walk, they get excited about loading up in the stroller, and they are happy almost all the time. Consistency makes a big difference here. Kids tend to like what is familiar to them, right? So they might resist Mommy's new exercise efforts at first because it's new and different and they're not sure they like it better than staying inside and playing with their toys. If you persist, however, they'll get used to it. They'll forget that there was another option, ever. They will come to expect it like the expect meals and bathtimes. It's part of the day. Okay. Whatever, Mom.

Use that consistency to power yourself on the days when you're tired, sore, or blah. Remind yourself that you're working too hard at this to deal with cranky kids again. You'll feel better afterward.

Plan ahead.

Have a plan for after the exercise is over. My walk lasts from around 9 to around 10. Robbie is ready for his morning nap when we get home, so he goes straight to bed. Mara doesn't take a nap in the morning anymore, so she gets a snack. I sit down and eat a piece of fruit with her, then I go take a shower while she finishes her snack. She knows that when she's through she can get down and play, but she's usually still sitting there munching away when I get out of the shower. The key here is a snack that is non-messy and in small pieces so has no trouble eating it and I don't have to worry about a mess.

Reap the benefits.

I feel better about myself when I am exercising regularly. I sleep better. I eat better foods, because I don't want to waste all my effort just for a double quarter-pounder. I fit in my clothes better, and I look better. My skin looks healthier. I stay awake during the day. I wake up better in the morning. I don't worry as much. My immune system is better. I enjoy seeing the blue skies and the green trees and the people. I don't feel closed in; I feel like part of a community.

One final thought: my two love the little baby swings, but I hardly ever stop at the swings during exercise time. It would add another 15 to 20 minutes onto the hour I've spent there, and by the time I'm through walking Robbie is ready for his nap. I could cut my walk short: that would be missing the point. I love my children, and I love taking them along, but the exercise is for me. When we go to the park any other time, it's for them. Balance is important. Guilt is bad. Remember that keeping yourself in good health automatically makes you a better Mom, so a little swing deprivation won't hurt the kids.

Here's a little summary:

• Get motivated.
• Find a good time.
• Find a convenient location.
• Gear yourself up: good clothes, water, safety items.
• Be safe.
• Gear the kids up (but not too much).
• Push yourself.
• Exercise with someone else.
• Expect some boredom.
• Be consistent.
• Create an after-exercise routine.

Now get out there and exercise!

Image Credit: Stroller sign from smudie.

What we hope ever to do with ease we may learn first to do with diligence. Samuel Johnson

Update (Saturday): 20 minutes cardio (running around, pushing Mara and my niece up and down a hill in a little car).

Just as I get to the "end in sight" on my somewhat sporadic exercise challenge month, I am thinking I will start it over again. (You may think some cliched phrase like "glutton for punishment" here, but I don't want to actually put that in my writing. Cliches are so evil, after all. In fact, it's really a cliche that they are evil...)

I picked up a book at the library sale the other day. It's one of an apparent series: The 28 Day Plan by Christine Green. This one is called Get Fit for the Beach. I'm hoping that if I follow the 28-Day GET FIT FOR THE BEACH! plan, at the end of it I will be magically transported to said sparkling, pristine beach. (Did you catch the clichs in that paragraph? There were two.)

I'm a sucker for 28 day plans, or 30 day plans, or 21 day plans, or monthly challenges. The beach premise is also pretty thrilling. We'll see. I shall review and report. Maybe I would do better with a book titled "Get Fit for the Midwest!" but I see why that wouldn't be a great seller.

Resources: I couldn't find anything online for the book except for the publisher's website, which doesn't itself have much information but you can watch a little scrolling slide show of all their adult reference titles.

Tip: I don't think I can say it any better than Samuel Johnson:

Don't think of retiring from the world until the world will be sorry that you retire. I hate a fellow whom pride or cowardice or laziness drives into a corner, and who does nothing when he is there but sit and growl. Let him come out as I do, and bark.

When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers, but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order. Proverbs 28:2

I think there is something, more important than believing: Action! The world is full of dreamers, there aren't enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision. W. Clement Stone

(An aside: a great quotation above other than using the word "actualize." I'm not a fan of it.)

After a week away from posting, I have returned with slightly sunburned arms and slightly stretched muscles. I got in some good walking - it's the exercise that takes you anywhere! - but my abs are suffering from a failure to incorporate sexy-abs-situps into my vacation routine. Alas. I'll get right on that.

A week away is good for one's perspective on things, usually. This trip, however, I returned feeling a little muddled. I think it was just... well. I really don't know what it was just. It just was, but I'm muddling through the muddle. This day, home is a clarifying place. (Ironic that I'm at the library as I write this, not at home.)

Challenge Update (review of the week 17 - 25):

Day 17 (Thursday): Ran around the house packing, cleaning, laundering, stressing, calling random people, checking the mail too often, paying bills, sitting down, standing up, playing with Mara, repacking, forgetting things, worrying about forgetting things, making a list, losing a list, finding a list, ad infinitum. Wearily she falls into bed... Read the rest of this entry »

We have a flow of ideas, sometimes a tremendous flow of ideas, at times in one direction, or at other times in another direction; or perhaps even ten directions at once. And we have to make a choice. We cannot do everything that comes into our minds, nor can we create everything that comes into our imaginations... There is choice involved in the very simplest form of creativity, because as any set of possibilities comes into our minds, we have to choose. Edith Schaeffer, The Hidden Art of Homemaking

Update (Wednesday): 30 minutes cardio (walking); 10 minutes toning (tai chi, sort of).

The kids and I went to the park again. I am taking advantage of every clear blue spring day that we have, before the temperature reaches those unbearable heights as it soon will. I am not a fan of summer. Ick.

But right now, April is fresh and green and warm without being sticky. And getting - just getting - to the park is a great work out. 17-pound Robbie is in the Baby Bjorn carrier, strapped to me; 30-pound Mara is in the umbrella stroller with the little wheels that must be half-pushed, half-carried across the large grassy field we cross to get to the park; 25-pound Bag'O'Necessities is on my right arm, and 150-pound Dakota's leash is looped on my left wrist. By the time we cross that field and I drop the bag under the tree by the walking path, I feel like I've been on an two-week-long African safari. Whew.

After I recover a bit from the journey to the park, we walk the loop two or three times. It's a half-mile walking path, so I get in a mile or so. And Mara likes the kiddie swings, and we definitely must get a drink from the water fountain, and we need to stop by the big puddle so Dakota can also have a drink... then I spread out the blanket and collapse onto it.

I love living next door to a park. I love living in our small town. I love piling the kids in the stroller and taking off, waving at people I know as they drive by, stopping to chat with our neighbors, going into the little library or grocery store, heading back home by way of the ice cream stand (only open summers).

I love that our neighbors don't mind that we take a long time to finish house projects, that sometimes the weeds are bigger than the tomato plants in our garden, that our dog howls whenever he hears a siren, that sometimes I do tai chi in the front yard while waiting for Joe to get home. My version of tai chi, anyway... No one seems to notice, or mind if they do notice. Perhaps I could start a tai chi class; every Wednesday night we could gather on the front yard and become more fit and flexible while providing entertainment for the parents of the young softball players, heading to the fields at the end of our street.

Contact me if you're interested... or if you know anything about tai chi.

Resources: Read about the history and practice of Tai Chi. Come on, you know you're crazy curious now. Or learn more about L'Abri, the Christian community which Edith Schaeffer founded with her husband, Francis Schaeffer. Or read this article about creativity in the home that corresponds with the E. quotation above.

Tip: Pick one or two ideas from this list and do it. We all need more creativity.

I will be on "vacation" from the 17th through the 24th for two family weddings; if I'm able to update while I'm away, I will. If not, then life will continue on, the planets will turn as they always do, and somehow the internet will survive my brief absence.

When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world. George Washington Carver

Update (Saturday/Sunday): Normally my day of rest occurs on what we officially recognize as the day of rest: Sunday. This week, however, Saturday was my off day for exercise. So Sunday I did 30 minutes cardio (we walked around town) and 10 minutes stretching (while watching funny YouTube videos with Joe; maybe this is why I like stretching).Humor is healthy. It's like stretching for the brain.
Resources: Exercise your brain with these silly quizzes or with these puzzles or with the suggestions from this article.Then stretch: Read some jokes, or better yet watch the Vintage Jesus videos (read the explanation behind the videos here). Oh, you'll laugh.

Wealth gained hastily will dwindle,
but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. Proverbs 13:11

Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses. George Washington Carver

Update (Friday): 20 minutes cardio (aerobics); 10 minutes stretching.

I am really starting to enjoy the stretching. It's getting to me. I feel... well... stretched. (Profound.)

Resources: I recently read Organizing for Success by Kenneth Zeigler. I'm addicted to organizing books. I should get help, but I don't know of any group called "Organizing Books Addicts Anonymous." Maybe I should start the first OBAA. We can have a sheep (with glasses, and a book, and paper for taking notes, and a selection of pens, pencils, and highlighters, and file folder just in case) as our mascot.

My personal problems aside, I recommend this book if you are a fellow potential member of OBAA or if you actually just need help organizing. It deals with time management, work, productivity, and some good habits to incorporate whether you are the CEO of a corporation or a household, or both.

A couple of my favorite concepts from the book:

• The Veggie Principle: A veggie is a task, activity, or project that is good for you (work or personal) but that you have a hard time "eating," as Zeigler puts it. The Veggie Principle is simple: eat your veggies first. "The fastest way to improve productivity," Zeigler says, "is to start each day with a veggie and actually try to get two accomplished before lunch."
• Friday Planning: Zeigler recommends taking half an hour or so every Friday afternoon to review your week, note what you accomplished and what you didn't get to, figure out why (if you're unsure), put together a "Master List" for the upcoming week, jot in your appointments and scheduled events, and wrap up any loose ends. I've taken to doing this, usually on Sunday rather than Friday, and I enjoy having a larger view of what the last week was like and what the coming week needs to be like.

Tip: Eat a veggie. Then have dessert.

Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't as all. You can be discouraged by failure - or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because, remember, that's where you will find success. Thomas J. Watson

Update (Tuesday): 0. Nothing. Nada. Zip. None. Zero.

An out-of-town friend came to visit for the morning; it rained in the afternoon. Excuses. I just didn't get to it. I didn't want to get to it.

Hence, a small bump of failure to climb over. Since we're on the subject, let's define it. According to our friend Mr. Daniel Webster, to fail is to be insufficient, to perish or cease or die, to not produce the effect, to omit or neglect, to disappoint, not to perform. A very negative term, but it can help us.

I fail often in writing; that is because I set big goals and expect great performance from myself. I have an exacting standard of what good writing is; most of the time, when I read over what I have written, I don't meet my own standards. In that sense, I fail more often than I succeed.

But I also have a goal in writing which is simpler: write. Anything. Just get it on the page. And I have decided that this simpler goal must be greater than the more particular goals of writing. As much as I may fail in the detail by simply making myself achieve the broader goal, I would fail far more, in a more serious way, by letting perfectionism dictate my success.

This principle is true in almost everything we try, and is key to letting failures be helpful in our overall progress. Movement of any kind toward a desired goal is progress, even if it is not the exact movement we have envisioned. We need to set particular goals, detailed goals, and have standards; we also need to have broader points of progress in place, and accept any movement toward them as successes.

Resources: See what other people (famous people) have said about failure. Pick out a line or two that helps you keep your perspective, and write it on a card and stick it where you'll see it often.

Read an article about Overcoming Failure from Motivation-Tools.com.

WikiHow's very own instructional page on Overcoming Failure.

An article from BusinessWeek on How Failure Breeds Success. Business principles are just personal principles applied to companies. Go read it and learn something for yourself and your business.

Tip: If you keep a journal, try logging both your failures and your successes for a week or so. Compare. Many times we fail in details but we let that seem so huge that we fail to see how we have succeeded in important things. Perspective matters. Failure teaches. Success follows.

Day 1: 25 minutes cardio (walking); 10 minutes toning (stretch, abs, lunges)

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The first non-rainy days in what feels like weeks of sogginess, and I was happy to get out even though it was still chilly. My walk actually lasted about an hour, but that includes a stop at Logo U, the library, and Pacific Foods.

I learned something on my first official April exercise: don't look at your reflection in store windows as you walk by. Bad, bad, bad, bad idea.

I have this image of myself from about 8 years ago still ingrained in my psyche. I glance over at a shop window and scream. "Whoa! What is that Big Round Thing and why is it following me?"

Two babies will do something to your posterior, and it's not a good something. My mental image collection hasn't updated to match. Talk about wounding your psyche. Mine cried all the way home.

At my library stop, I picked up a book and two dvds:
Your Body, Your Life: The 12-Week Program to Optimum Physical, Mental, and Emotional Fitness by Kim Lyons. I'm only giving Ms. Lyons 4 weeks, so I guess we might make it to 33% optimum fitness.

Pilates Workout for Dummies with Michelle Dozois.

Cardio Kickbox from Jillian Michaels, whose tagline is "TV's toughest fitness guru" and who says things like "You rock" in her dvds.

Can't say it won't be an adventure...

Errrr should be said in a kind of harsh, guttural, unhappy way, because I don't really want to commit to exercising for 30 days. So I'm only going to commit to 24. Sundays off, people. There's a reason God commanded us to take a day of rest: we need it.

Exercise Is in the Eye of the Baby Holder

I use the term exercise rather loosely. I have two itty bitty wonderful babies and a busy schedule. There will be no trips to the gym (which would require a membership anyway), no aerobics classes, no training for a marathon. Not any running or jogging or any movement faster than what I could do behind a double stroller.

The Stated Goal: Cardio + Toning

My daily goal is 15 - 30 minutes of cardio: walk, dance, work-out dvd at home; and 10 - 15 minutes of toning: stretching, strength, weights, abs. Minimum, then, is under 30 minutes (15 cardio plus 10 toning), so it's doable even on busy days.

I miss being active. I was getting up early and walking before the babies woke up for a while, but I let the cold winter keep me in. Now that it's getting warmer, I want to get outside and get the kids outside too. We all need to breathe air that hasn't been recirculating through our house all day. Mmm mmm good.

Sexy Abs by Evening?

It's not raining today, so after morning naps and lunch I will load them up and we're off for a nice, brisk little walk. I did some crunches this morning. Joe was walking out the door and I yelled after him, "I'll have sexy abs when you come home tonight!" I am going to have to do quite a few more crunches before that's true. Maybe in 24 days...

While we're out, I'll stop in the library and pick up a couple of exercise dvds. I need something for rainy days, which we're supposed to have more of later this week. I'll also be looking for a good deal on a set of weights (light ones) and a mat. And an exercise ball! And a stretchy rubber work-out band! And sports bras! And new tennis shoes! And a tennis racket! And lipo!

The Rest of the Story

In keeping with this month's challenge - exercise, in case you forgot - I'll do some writing on health, exercise, and nutrition this month. I have at least five books I want to read and review. (Two of them are quite large, so I will break it down and just do sections of each, most likely.)

Back to Eden by Jethro Kloss.

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. This book has the greatest subtitle I've ever heard.

Today's Herbal Health by Louise Tenney, M.H.

Chicken Soup and Other Folk Remedies by Joan Wilen and Lydia Wilen. (Think they're related?)

Alternative Cures by Bill Gottlieb.

I notice as I write this list that they are all on nutrition, herbs, natural medicine and none discussing exercise and fitness. I'll just keep a weather eye out for some good information on that subject. Something besides my own daily adventures, that is.

Help Me

I need, crave, long for, yearn to have the voice of experience here. I didn't play any sports growing up (something I now regret). I've never jogged more than maybe 3 miles at a time, and that nearly killed me. My work-out gear is my pair of blue and green Saucony shoes. I consider climbing trees a viable strength-training routine. I have horrible balance. I fall over during those stretching routines that require you to lift one leg and one arm at the same time. I do frequently drink water out of those squirty-top bottles, so that gives me kind of an edge.

So, any tips, tricks, recommendations, routines, secrets, advice that you healthy, fit, active, sporty people have: share them with me, please!