I’ve had my couch potato days. Now I understand exercise is crucial to health. The National Institue on Aging recommends two types of exercise each week: 1). 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, and 2). two days of muscle-strengthening activities.

When I began lifting weights, I bought a pair of cute little two pound pink weights. After awhile, without my even noticing it, I got stronger. I felt proud when I graduated to five, and then eight pound weights. Now I use the pink ones as doorstops!

On the days when the power walk is extra boring (pickleball is way more fun), remembering that it’s a powerful medicine for prevention helps me get through.

“If exercise could be packed into a pill, it would be the single most widely prescribed and beneficial medicine”.

Dr. Robert Butler, first director of the NIH