Claire's mention of exercise sparked these free-form thoughts.

The best exercise is the one you are willing to do every day.

It's both irritating and discouraging (to me at least) to hear these pronouncements about how I *must* do this exercise in this manner for so many minutes and I don't. What I've learned is the best exercise for anyone, especially someone just starting to improve their fitness, is what you're willing to do.

If all you're willing to do is walk around the block, start there.
Fitbits and other pedometer-type devices are not accurate per se. What they do is remind you to get moving. If you're walking a thousand steps a day that's not an exact measurement of steps but it is an exact measurement of the fact that you're almost completely sedentary. The Fitbit encourages you to double your steps from one thousand per day to two thousand per day. Supposedly, the national average of steps walked every day is about four thousand. Shoot for five thousand a day.

An important point I'd like to make before I go further with our exercise program. I did not learn this from any gym teacher at any level of school. Or from any textbook on physical fitness. Or in the Navy. I learned this from the physical therapist *after* I damaged a disk in my spine. I've had two steroid shots into that disk and will never be able to do certain movements ever again. My back won't let me.

Here it is: Every time you bend forward (as in bending over or doing sit-ups) BEND BACKWARDS. What you're doing, according to the physical therapist, is allowing your disks to, to, to put themselves back where they should be. They're not escaping the confines of the bones and then being compressed between the bones. I can't recall her exact discussion but I know that when my spine hurts, it's because I've been bending forwards too much and not back enough, allowing the disks to resettle themselves.

As for exercise, Bill and I still use the Wii Fit Plus on our antique Wii gaming platform. We do yoga and strength almost every day. When we don't use the Wii, we walk to the Friendly's and back and pick up trash. I've changed exercise routines a lot over the years, depending on how much time I have, my age, my injuries, and so forth.

Our Wii just turned itself into a brick, so we dug out the Royal Canadian Air Force exercise plan. I've done this in the past and it, like every other exercise program works if you're willing to put in the time. It has the huge advantages of not taking huge amounts of time, it's whole-body, and you don't need any equipment at all. There are loads of pdf downloads of the program online. Start at the very beginning and work your way up.

All exercise programs should include these components: aerobic and cardiovascular. Strength. Flexibility.
Running, walking, biking, swimming, salsa dancing and so forth work your cardiovascular fitness.
Weightlifting provides strength. Free weights as opposed to Nautilus machines improve your balance as well as your muscles.
Tai Chi and yoga improve flexibility and balance.
Calisthenics tend to improve all three areas at the same time, especially if you wear ankle and wrist weights when you're exercising, which I do.

So what exercises do you do? Inquiring minds want to know!