An Exercise Tip from Satchel

"I use my single windup, my double windup, my triple windup, my hesitation windup, my no windup. I also use my step-n-pitch-it, my submariner, my sidearmer, and my bat dodger. Man's got to do what he's got to do." -----------Satchel Paige

“Man’s got to do what he’s got to do”. I love that concept. It can be applied to any number of life’s challenges or even to unpleasant, but necessary tasks. Acts of superhuman strength are said to have occurred when someone was required to do what they had to do----think of the woman who lifted a car off her trapped child. Or when the nerdy guy “rises to the occasion” to save the day. On a more mundane level, consider the single, working Mom who demonstrates tremendous ingenuity and multi-tasking skills in order to keep a roof over her family’s head and tend to the needs of her children.

The concept can also be applied to getting the recommended amount of exercise. Exercise for many fits in both the “life’s challenges” as well as the “unpleasant, but necessary task” categories. But taking a cue from Satchel, since you got to do it, you might as well figure out how. First of all, find out what you like to do. If running isn’t your thing, no big deal. There are many ways to get aerobic exercise. Walking, riding a bike, swimming, working out on an elliptical trainer will all allow you to reach a “moderate intensity” level of exercise. If gyms give you the creeps (I can relate to this), get outside. The weather is rarely too hot or too cold to keep you from getting in your 30 minutes a day. If you can’t exercise formally, see if you can walk or ride a bike to work. If you can’t exercise formally or walk or ride a bike to work, exercise in short bouts during the work day.

The point is, you can reach recommended exercise goals if you use some creativity and perhaps a little sacrifice. Very little I’d say, since we’re usually talking about missing a rerun of The Sopranos or missing half of the fourth college football game of the day. Listen to Satchel and mix it up-----walk to work on Monday, work out with weights on Tuesday, do calisthenics and yoga on Wednesday, ride your bike on Thursday, and so on-----“do what you got to do”.