If you have never done any deliberate exercise before, I recommend going for a 5-minute walk. You don’t even have to go outside to do this. Set the kitchen timer for 5 minutes and start moving around inside your house. Walk from room to room, up and down the stairs, and back again. When the timer rings, you are finished.

Try out your new exercise routine three to five times a week. If you take your mini-walk three times a week, you have done 15 minutes of deliberate exercise, and if you do it five times a week you would have an accumulation of 25 minutes of exercise. You can really feel good about yourself, now!

Keep up the five minutes of walking for a week or two. Then, increase it to six or seven minutes. Look what this does to your weekly total! Increasing your exercise routine by a minute or two each workout is a very easy way to gradually increase your stamina and endurance.

Stamina – what does that mean? Staying power, energy and resilience are all definitions of stamina.

Endurance – we are all familiar with this word, but how does it relate to exercise? Endurance and stamina are interchangeable. As we gain more endurance, we are able to exercise longer. As our endurance increases, we get stronger and have more resolve to stay the course.

Exercise is habit forming. It is also a physical activity that leads to fitness and health. In fact, exercise is well regarded as the most highly prescribed “drug” there is. In almost every article and book about exercise, the same conclusion is reached: exercise is the closest thing to the “Fountain of Youth” that we have.

It’s really a shame that only about 15 - 18% of the population engage in regular physical exercise weekly. Exercise and diet are the two major critical components to weight control. The great thing about exercise is that it can be fun! It also offers you a chance to get creative. Along with walking, for example, you might put on a CD of your favorite music and dance for 5 or 10 minutes. Moving can be enjoyable, refreshing and stimulating – after all, that‘s what our bodies are made to do!