How can you build a regular fitness routine?
Fitness matters to me, although I can always do better than I am currently doing.
The one thing I do without fail is walk. Every day. Even when it is bitterly cold. Even when it is wet. Even when I do not especially feel like it.
I would like to walk longer, but time does not allow that at the moment. During COVID, I often walked two or three times a day.
First, I would take the dog out early in the morning. She loved to stop and sniff. She was getting older and her health was not great, so we took our time.
Then, straight after, I would take myself for a walk. That one was brisk and energetic. It helped burn off some of the stress.
Often, at night, I would walk again after dark. That was a way of settling myself, letting the day quieten down enough for sleep.
So walking has never been just exercise for me. It has been companionship. Stress relief. Prayer. Thinking time. A way of marking the day.
I have been fortunate to have good health. I am on no medication. I have no physical conditions. No surgeries. I have never been to hospital except for the occasional medical test.
Maybe that is good genes. Maybe it is good luck. Maybe it is because I have loved sport and tried to stay active throughout my life. Taking the stairs instead of the lift. Walking when I can. Moving as part of ordinary life.
In the next season, I hope to be as active as possible. Not because I am trying to prove anything. Not because I am training for performance.
A regular fitness routine in retirement may not be about speed, strength, or self-improvement. It may be about preserving the freedom to keep saying yes.
Yes to walking to the café at sunrise. Beginning the day on foot, with time enough to go there and back before the rest of the world has properly started.
Yes to walking to the supermarket and carrying home what we need.
Yes to travelling, within Australia and overseas.
Yes to walking bush trails or wandering through national parks.
Yes to serving, visiting, gardening, playing, and wandering.
The routine becomes less about adding years to life and more about remaining available to life.
The Afterword 
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