What if regular exercise wasn’t driven by guilt—especially in [B]old Age?

A reader Asks Debbie about a “reasonable level” of physical fitness as we age

“What are the best ways to maintain a reasonable level of physical fitness as we get older?” asks reader

Jeffrey Streeter

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A confession

One of my greatest guilty pleasures is waking early (5:30 or 6 AM) after a good sleep, pouring a cup of hot coffee, and then crawling right back into bed. Trouble is, I have a hard time getting out of bed once I do that. If I don’t have a morning commitment, I can loll read in bed for several hours, as the Maine fog rolls in. This might sound self indulgent, but it’s so enjoyable. Not only am I a compulsive reader (mainly mysteries¹ this summer), I find that this unscheduled time unspools creative thinking.

The reason this pleasure is a guilty one is complicated. On the outside, it should be fine. I’m retired (or “unretired” as I call it)! I’m healthy! What’s the harm?! But on the inside, I’m full of should’s: I should resist this lazy habit, I should be exercising, pumping my heart rate up on a brisk walk, should be getting “into shape.” It’s the should’s that rob me of fully enjoying and allowing these hours of downtime in the mornings, and frankly, if these should’s were once motivating to me, they are losing their power. 

I actually love to walk outside and I do it daily, including a few steep hills. But I’m tired of feeling guilty about how, what and when to exercise. Just like I’m tired of feeling horrified and guilty about my expanding waistline and sagging figure. Recently I changed into my swimsuit in front of my daughter, very fit in her 40s, and found myself apologizing to her for having “gotten a bit fat.” It’s as if I’ve done something wrong to allow this—getting old and saggy—to happen. It’s utter nonsense, I know, but my reflexive guilt is still very much alive, even if I’m sick of it.

Of course one of the ways I think about exercise is that it might make me look better, as well as feel stronger. But at 72, I want a different way to think about regular exercise and how I can motivate myself to build more of it into my daily life. So when Jeffrey Streeter² posed his question, responding to Ask Debbie³, I decided that an answer—and this confession about my morning routine—were in order.

Hiking in Ireland in June ‘24 with our nine-year-old granddaughter Libby.