Brrrrr Winter Is Coming -- How to Keep Exercising

Those of you who follow my writing know that I made the move from Florida to Georgia this year. This is the first fall colors I've seen in almost 20 years and I find it breathtaking. However, the "unusually cold" weather also takes my breath away. I slept with socks on my feet last night.

I also find that the cold water curbs my appetite for exercise. Oh wait; I didn't really have an appetite for exercise. Well it does put the kibosh on the routine of exercise. I start out thinking--later when it warms up. But later, I'm busy. If I don't fit exercise into the morning, the chances of following through and actually working this old body diminish significantly.

For the last three days, I've climbed aboard my daughter's treadmill. You know--it's one of those things that work great as a clotheshorse. I'm sure many of you have harbored one in the corner of a bedroom, basement of some out of the way place. All kidding aside, once I climbed on and started walking I remembered that I actually like treadmills because I can read while I walk. On yesterdays hour-long trek I read through a good amount of my manuscript for Beyond the Seventh Gate.

But for today, here's the point. We don't always feel like exercising. The weather isn't always perfect for exercising. Our joints can't always do every exercise. However, we need to have a plan B. God created us to move around to burn energy. If we don't move, our bodies store the energy to use later. The storage receptacle is fat. If you don't want to be a storage unit, you have to use the energy.

Donna Sundblad, author of Pumping Your Muse and
Windwalker