by Valerie Cerami

Created on: September 23, 2008

One sure way to get more enjoyment out of life is being fit.
To enjoy life, you have to live it - fully... and in order to
be ready and able for whatever comes along - a trip, a new challenge
at the health club, a super-duper spring-cleaning of the house,
or helping a friend move... you need to have fitness in your corner.

And, fitness doesn't have to be a chore or take up reams of your time.

It can be fun and - YES - easy. For me, that leads to enjoyment out
of my everyday life. I'm sure it will work for you, too...
Therefore; my advice and adage:

Fitness Made Easy

The ever-popular lead-in: Fitness Made Easy! (!) Hype? "Cheap trick"? Nuh ha. This isn't a "trick", but it is "cheap" ahh, affordably doable on a daily basis (less expensive than a morning latte and even more readily accessible).

Fitness can be simple. It simply takes three basic bullets:

Consistency
Consistency
Consistency

That's it.

Follow these bullets and you'll be fit. Not immediately, but ultimately - and consistently- in shape. There is no magic bullet, but there is the metered commitment to exercise approach that is everlasting not a "shot in the dark" quick fix.

Like the fable of the tortoise and the hare: slow and steady wins the race. Pace yourself. It's all about staying in the race, not quitting, doing your best (whatever "your" best may be that day) and not fluctuating in your integrity of taking care of your body.

Set aside 15 minutes in your schedule. Morning (as soon as you get up, before work) or evening (before bed, after work). In my experience, only these two bits of the "wee" hours when we begin or end our day are phone call, distraction, and hassle free personal time. Schedule it like a daily doctor's appointment. Don't miss it! What's a quarter hour in 24? Nothing when broken down, but it adds up incrementally to good, common sense, lifelong fitness.

You don't have to go to the gym. In fact, I suggest these 15 minutes be done exclusively AT HOME. In this way, there's no travel time, no dollar cost, no effort, no fancy outfits convenience breeds do-ability. It's a no-brainer at your fingertips

I suggest: a DVD snippet (if you're not self motivated) or do the moves you've come to love and that will benefit your particular sports or body need. Experiment with cable offerings of different types of workouts. Do whatever you like, have a stash of small fitness toys to alleviate boredom. Bands, jump rope, yoga blocks, light hand and ankle weights. They don't take up much room at all and you can

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