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turn my three days a week exercise program into a daily habit. All I'd have to do is walk, run, or bike one mile on the days I'm not usually working out. I thought about the four days a week that I don't exercise, how busy I am, and wondered how would I find the time to do it.
• "One mile is only 12 blocks," she said, glaring at me with the dare. "$20 to take the challenge, and those still keeping the promise of doing at least a mile six days out of the week after a year will split the pot."
• So my wife and I both threw 20 bucks into the kitty with 35 others and promised to try to get that mile in every day. At first I thought of it as a nice donation to help encourage other exercisers, but I have been doing it six days out of seven for two months now. On the four days a week I used to take off, I now walk the six blocks to my study spot, a local cafe in the early morning, and then home again before work.
• Something this good is worth sharing, so I offer the same challenge to you. Start your own group with a $20 pot, a charity gift plan, or just do it for fun. Simply walk, run, or bike at least one mile a day, six out of seven days. If your physical condition presently cannot handle a mile, then make it something shorter. One friend suggested walking the dog six blocks twice a day. That would work. But do it daily.
• I could mention here all the great things walking can do for you to include better bone strength, energy, memory, and aging with grace, but that's not the main reason to do it.
• My morning one-mile walk has become a pleasurable time to observe the beginning of the day, it is easy, makes me feel remarkably good, and what's more, I just might win some money. I dare you to do it too.
Dr. Rick Holm wrote this Prairie Doc Perspective for "On Call®," a weekly program where medical professionals discuss health concerns for the general public. "On Call®" is produced by the Healing Words Foundation in association with the South Dakota State University Journalism Department. "On Call®" airs Thursdays on South Dakota Public Broadcasting-Television at 7 p.m. Central, 6 p.m. Mountain. Visit us at OnCallTelevision.com.
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