Every Saturday morning is the same: My husband and I hop out of bed, quickly dress, and tuck Lucy into her stroller. We're out the door by 7:30. Then comes the time I look forward to all week--the Saturday morning walk. Destination: Tom's, our favorite diner, four neighborhoods and a brisk 50-minute walk away. Along the way, Jim and I catch up with each other, sing to Lucy, and try to get her to say the magic words, "Mama" and "Dada." Mostly, we just enjoy stretching our legs after a week of being deskbound. After breakfast, we head to the local farmers' market and then walk back home.
The whole point of this exercise is that it's much more than exercise. It's a ritual that feeds several important needs: time with my family; brain clearing after a hectic week; a chance to observe the seasons. But it's also how I get almost 2 solid hours of exercise every weekend (and now that I'm pushing a stroller, some upper-body work, too).
Such is the value of fitness rituals, the things you do not just because you're supposed to, but also because you really enjoy them. For example, Prevention's beauty editor, Sherry Kiser, traded in the ritual of meeting a friend for drinks for a different kind of happy hour. Now she walks an hour each weekend to meet her pal for "catch-up coffee." Deputy editor Amy O'Connor bikes with her husband through historic neighborhoods to look at architecture. Research editor Lori McLaughlin delivers loaner books and birthday cards--on foot--to friends who live up to 2 miles away. (If you have a ritual, share it at
www.prevention.com/fitnessritual.)
The trick to creating a fitness ritual that will last is that you have to really like what you're doing--to the point that you'll be grumpy if you miss it. If you don't have one in your life, think about the physical activity you feel happiest doing. Then, think about ways it could feed your body and your soul. Make sure there's immediate gratification (time with your family or friends, the world's best latte), and you won't even notice that you had to exercise to get it.
Create a Moving Ritual
