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Your wellness journey can be a lot of FUN, too!

I’d like to introduce you to two people. These are both real, living people. I didn’t make either of them up. One of them has been wearied by this world. She has a hard time sleeping when it is appropriate to sleep and staying awake when it is daytime. She has aches and pains that make it difficult to do much housework or grocery shopping or cooking. We worry about her falling because she doesn’t have the muscle strength to get back up again. Her world is pretty small. The other person has just published his first novel. He regularly hosts parties and you can find him taking long bike rides in the Spring along country backroads. He is also still tackling the double black diamond downhill ski runs. He has a zest for living! Both of these folks are in their eighties. In fact, Mr. Double Black is three years OLDER than the woman who can’t get up if she falls. And, I can tell you for a fact that it is not genes that made the difference between these two individuals.

Let me ask you this: which of these individuals would you rather be while you are living your purpose and travelling to your favored destinations and reeling in that fish and finding that perfect photo op in your dream retirement? Of course, it’s the zest for living guy! How can you become that guy instead of the woman who needs help getting up from a fall? He will tell you that it is all about making a JOB of exercise after you leave your 9–5. And maybe watching what you eat a bit. But mostly, it’s exercise — 60 minutes a day 6 days a week, no exceptions, no excuses. Show up for it like you do/did for your job.

Ugh… you kind of knew that, but didn’t really want to hear it, right? You know you should exercise, but sitting is just so much… nicer… Me telling you to exercise is probably not super helpful, either. I’ve just added stress to your guilt. Sorry about that… But let me see if I can help.

I have to preface the next section by saying that, if you have not exercised in a while, please talk to your doctor before you jump headlong into anything, and take it slow to begin with.

Set a goal

Setting a goal can be really helpful — but not a goal to exercise. You’ve already tried that (haven’t we all?) and all it got you was a case of the guilts. The goal I’m talking about is one that is fun and that you really want to do! I’ve got one of those scheduled for this weekend. It’s called an inn to inn hike and they ROCK! It’s like backpacking, but at the end of the long day of hiking you’re at a little inn or bed and breakfast! They have a meal, a shower and a nice, soft bed waiting for you! There are “self-guided” inn to inn hikes where you are on your own, and there are also companies that run these hikes that take care of getting your things to the inns and sometimes may take you to the trailheads or pick you up after your hike and take you to the inn. They have them all over Europe, but there are also great ones right here in the good ol’ USA.

Try an inn-to-inn hike

The one we’re going on this weekend is in Northern California and you can find it in this fabulous book of inn to inn hikes. This same author also has a book of Southern California inn to inn hikes. Inn to inn hikes are the bomb! Here are some in the US: Vermont has four of them that I am absolutely going to try one of these days! If you’re looking for a bigger challenge, try Colorado. Here are a few more in California by the author I referenced in the article. There are a ton of them in Europe. And, of course, there’s the Mother of all hikes The Camino de Santiago. There are lots more you can find with a quick Google search! The hike we’re going to take is glorious! It takes you along the bluffs on the Pacific Ocean and the view is spectacular! (The picture above is from the last time we did this hike.) The first inn we’ll stay at is called the Pelican Inn, about 7 miles from our starting point at the Marin Headlands. It’s on Muir Beach and the surrounding bluffs are filled with amazing trails and wildlife. There is even a Zen Center right next door! The vibe is all England, with bangers and mash and shepherd’s pie on the menu. There’s a traditional pub with a dart board and even a “snug room” exclusively for overnight guests. Last time we did this hike and stayed here we met someone in that snug room who had competed in the America’s Cup! The next day it’s about a 6.8 mile hike to quirky Stinson Beach, with tons of restaurants on the water and enough tie die to send you back to your days watching The Partridge Family as a kid! The next day is 13.5 miles to Bolinas and then, day 4 is another 14 miles to Olema. We’re only doing the first two days this weekend, due to time constraints, but the whole walk is breathtaking! The thing is, hiking 42 miles in 4 days isn’t something you probably do on a whim. It takes some training. That’s the best part about it! We worked up to 10 miles a day slowly, over a couple of months, and in so doing, we got our butts out there and did at least 60 minutes of exercise at least 6 days a week for those couple months — not so we could exercise, but so that we could go take on this hike and have this glorious experience! The days of walking didn’t seem like work because we knew we were headed toward a goal.

Or try something else that strikes your fancy

Do you want to hike the bluffs like we do? Or maybe you’re more interested in a yoga retreat, or a century bike ride, or coaching a high school soccer team or even skiing the Alps! Whatever it is, even if you don’t believe you can do it right now, set it as a goal! The key is to schedule it. Put some money down on whatever adventure you’re planning or sign up for that class or put your name in for the little league coaching position. Then, figure out the little steps to get there. Each little step is one of those stinky days of 60 minutes of exercise, but it doesn’t feel that way if you’re progressing toward your goal of kayaking through the sea caves on the island of Kauai or whatever is your thing! And BONUS, you’ll be able to get up off the floor when you fall when you are in your eighties!

You’ll be glad you did!

Part of living the good life in retirement is being able to enjoy it in good health. If you start putting those habits in place a bit before you retire, you’ll be in a much better place to enjoy your freedom when you do. If you didn’t quite get around to it before you retired, that’s OK, too. Starting now will put you a leg up on everyone who is still putting it off!

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