I enjoy exercise. That has not always been true. I used to hate physical education class. I always got left behind, trampled over or hit in the face with balls. I couldn't keep up with the jocks, and I did not want to. It was many years after that traumatic introduction to exercise that I felt like I had to add a little activity to my own life.

I took up hiking. This, I assure you, is nothing like exercise! I found a nice path up a small mountain which had great views and interesting plants. There were butterflies, dragon flies and all sorts of rabbits and groundhogs and miscellaneous animal tracks. It didn't feel like exercise, but before I knew it I could hike up that path in record time.

Next I took up skiing. It was love at first swoosh. A friend gave me a lesson as a Christmas present and I was hooked. This is exercise that really does not feel like exercise! I'm taking down hill here, not cross country which really is too much like exercise for me. Downhill is so much fun, I don't even notice the work out part of it. I can ski all day and my muscles are tired by the time I quit. I've had my heart rate elevated and my deep breathing as well.

I was enjoying this exercise so much that I decided maybe I better look into golf. I took a few golf lessons and found a friend who did not mind hitting the course with a beginner. We would walk rather than ride. Now, I didn't get all crazy and try to carry my clubs, I'm not that big. I did get a great work out just by walking quickly enough to keep up with the play around the course, and as a beginner, I had to hit my ball about 3 times as often as my friend - a par 4 was a par 12 for me. It's embarrassing, but a heck of a work out!

Again, this exercise is so much fun it doesn't feel like exercise. Get creative about your exercise. Make it fun, so you don't have to be grumbling to your friends all the time about what a bore the gym is. I'm taking up swing dancing next!