Exercise - there is a point...

“An early morning walk is a

blessing for the whole day.”

– H.D. Thoreau

It is routine in our household – the two of us that is – for Molly and me.  For some reason, the cats seem even less than disinterested.

Let’s get going…

It starts something like this, “When do you want to walk this morning?”  It is sort of a mantra for us…one asking the other…the kind of gentle encouragement often helpful when folk are ‘tag-teaming’ through life.

It’s not that we wouldn’t do it on our own.  It’s just that the reminder from the other often acts as that last piece of motivation one needs to get over the hump…AND the time together helps to keep current on what is going on in each other’s lives.

One would think living in the same house would be enough, but there are lots of distractions in our daily routines.  Morning walks create a focused time together where the conversation is ‘free form’ and can go practically anywhere.  I like that.

It came honestly…

Exercise has been a part of my life as long as I can remember.  My mother had been a camp counselor in the summers for many years before she and my father found each other.  For her, exercise was about doing things that had lifetime value – swimming, tennis, horseback riding, skiing, basketball, hiking…she taught them all.  So when her children were growing up – well at the very least her son – there was encouragement to be active – just because.

My early years were anything but lifetime activity (swimming the exception).  Those days were consumed with basketball, track and field (sprinting and jumping), and one year of high school football – all of it extremely competitive.

In American culture, and now pretty much worldwide culture, team sport is not necessarily that much fun.  It is not really about the love of the game, it is more about what it takes to win.  There is nothing wrong with winning, I hasten to add, but winning at any cost – a mentality that has soaked so deeply into the minds of our shared societies – is a mechanical phenomenon rather than a character and life building experience.  Claudius Galen, the Roman physician of the first century AD, argued against competitive sport because it put excessive stress on the body for which the athlete would pay dearly in later years.  Sage advice…but I digress

Perception is everything…

Molly and I have taken the mental position that exercise should be both fun and provide a secondary reward. So we ‘train’ most mornings by walking around our neighborhood for about four miles (6.4km).  One would think we do this simply for our health, and that would not be wrong.

On the other hand, we see these morning walks, and the other things we do (not necessarily shared) such as yoga, resistance training, boot camp (some mysterious activity Molly loves), and swimming, as preparation for the exercise events we find ourselves doing from time to time.

Labor…fruit – you know…

This past week, we had such an event.  We found ourselves in Copenhagen, Denmark for three days after visiting our friends Uffe and Charlotte in Aalborg. 

In destination cities like this, there are many ways to see the sights:

·      Double decker busses that take routes to the most interesting tourist sites.  One can hop on or hop off these busses anywhere en-route to explore a particular spot.

·      Guided bus tours where an expert in the area takes groups of people to specific sites, giving them context and texture, and herding them like cattle.

·      Individual guides take small groups around in small buses or cars to get a little more intimate feeling for the city.

·      Guided walking, bicycle and water tours.

It is not that we get to travel often together as this past week, but over the years, we have done all of these sorts of things.

There is little, however, more gratifying than simply grabbing a map and heading out on your own to see what the day brings.  And so it was this past week in Copenhagen. 

We logged somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 to 15 miles over the two days meandering in and out of cobble stone pedestrian pathways.  We explored local stores, ate in interesting places when we felt like it – met and chatted in open-ended conversation with interesting people from distant places.

We climbed a couple of towers with spiral staircases and wide upward circular walking corridors…we hiked around a castle or two…had cheese and apples under the shade of lovely green trees in beautiful sunny parks…walked along rivers…explored, well whatever we wanted…whatever we found of interest, for as long as we were interested.

The reason we could do these things in the ways that we wanted to, begins with this simple and consistent question: “When do you want to walk this morning?”

It is this routine, built into our lives, that gives us the reserves of energy to play the way we like to play, and explore the way we like to explore.  Our training, by most standards is pretty tame…the event for which we prepare is not one that is very interesting to the masses…there are no performance standards…BUT there is little doubt, the ability to move and walk and climb and investigate provided us with a ‘win.’  Not a competition…nope, just a love of the game.

A nice path to the sunset…

As the years move along and the physical resources become naturally less robust, I can honestly say, I never played any game…run any race…jumped to any height or distance…that is as gratifying as having the capacity to be active ‘just enough’ to play the way I still want to play.  I/we are grateful, at a time in our lives when we are able to have a greater appreciation for the world around us, we are able to engage it.

Anyone up for a walk?

- ted