Dear LPG,

When I had not long been retired, after it had only been a matter of months, I got up one morning and decided that I had had enough of not doing much with my life anymore.  I had been on the holiday that I could not wait for during the months running up to the momentous Monday morning when I did not have to get up and go to work.  I have to admit that it was really good at first, it was a progression of long lazy days,  but I soon got bored with that.

At that point, I took a philosophical, and literal, look at myself in the mirror and decided that exercise was one of the ways that I need to move forward. I remember reading in an earlier LPG article, about a writer who was a bit too self-conscious to join an exercise class because they felt that attempts to keep up would be too embarrassing, and so I found myself a very basic video.  Over the next couple of weeks I did my morning mini programme and I could see and feel the benefits.

The idea was to do a really short routine every day and it went well for a while, but then came the day that I decided to skip it just once.  But that day was followed by another, and then came another and another and before I knew it I had lost a really good habit.  One week later I turned to that mirror again and realised what I was missing. Being really honest,  I not only looked just a little worse for wear but I was also aware that I started to feel more lethargic and it began to take a little bit more effort to do things that I found easier when I was doing the mini workout.

It was a lot harder to get back into my mini exercise regimen the second time, and I think that the hardest part was actually turning the video on and getting started, but having jumped that hurdle, I admit to quite enjoying the ten-minutes that I spend doing the routine, and I now appreciate the effects more.   I still have to admit to having to really push myself to get started sometimes. I know that there could well be a time when I really have to stop or skip a day or two but now, even if I don’t feel like it I get started and am usually quite surprised at how much I enjoy what I am doing.

I think that there is a moral to my story and that it is relevant, not only to exercising, but to many other activities; getting out to visit friends, sewing or DIY, learning to play an instrument,  joining groups or day centres, writing a diary, keeping in touch with friends and many more activities. 

That moral has to be, whatever you decide to undertake, stick with it because the day that you decide to give it a miss could well be the day that you never do it again. 

KN, Bellingham.

LPG feels it important to add that although KN could be talking about any activity, if you decide to follow her lead and exercise it would be a good idea to consult your GP before you get started.  We have found a couple of interesting pieces of information that could be seen as endorsements for this article…

(►►►)   (►►►)