Why We Exercise Description
Drs. Williams, Guthrie, and Greene discuss why we exercise including their personal exercise lifestyle. Dr. Greene, who participated in the race, discusses the Atlanta-Journal Constitution’s 4th of July Peachtree Road Race and how the physicians came to participate every year.
Why We Exercise Transcription
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Welcome to Take Good Care podcast, an endeavor that grew out of our love for obstetrics and gynecology. Our aim and mission is to serve as a source of vital information for women of all races, ages, and walks in life. I am Dr. Mironda Williams.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
I am Dr. Deanna Guthrie.
Dr. Karen Greene:
And I am Dr. Karen Greene.
All Doctors:
Welcome to our show.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Welcome to today’s episode of Take Good Care podcast. I’m Dr. Mironda Williams.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
I’m Dr. Deanna Guthrie.
Dr. Karen Greene:
And I am Dr. Karen Greene.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
We are winding down this season for Take Good Care podcast. We hope you guys have enjoyed some of the topics and things that we’ve discussed. I was actually listening to one of our previous podcasts recently where we talked about designing our lives and trying to be intentional. In that podcast episode, we talk about creating buckets as a way of conceptualizing that we are being intentional about how our lives are developing and how things are changing and evolving.
We always try to lead by example. Just as a way of a check-in, because we’re like everybody, we’re busy, we’re running in a bazillion directions all at the same time. It’s important that we model what we suggest our patients do, and family and friends, which is, how are you doing? How are your buckets? Anybody want to jump in? Dr. Greene, you don’t have to look like the deer calling the headlight right now.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Well, it was funny. I knew the podcast dropped yesterday and didn’t get a chance-
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Well, yesterday is whenever it was.
Dr. Karen Greene:
What?
Dr. Mironda Williams:
This is eight.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Right. The day before we were doing this, let’s put it that way. It could be any day because sometimes I can’t remember what day it is, which is part of the problem. My point in mentioning it was that I said, “Let me go ahead and listen to it when we’re in the car, because Dr. Williams had talked about it, said it really was good episode.” And it was. I had really forgotten that we talked about our buckets, and so my comment to her was, “My buckets are full of other people’s things.” That’s how I was feeling, because I was racing up the highway to some sporting event. But I was able to listen and it made me think, okay, I got to be more intentional of filling my own bucket. I do. I do.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
My buckets have shifted and I won’t say I’m neglecting, but I haven’t paid attention to one particular bucket.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Let’s say what the buckets are, so those who didn’t hear the podcast know what we’re talking about.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
Mine is my exercise bucket, but I’ve found, and it’s because of things that have been going on with my family and my-
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Which is life, right?
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
Which is life. But I’ve tried to make sure that I do something for me that totally relaxes me. Not to take the place of exercise, but at least it’s, I’m not just not exercising, feeling bad, and then going down that path.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Which is the whole point, and I think that’s why I wanted to just take that pause, check in with us, just as a way to model for everyone else. Because life happens. There are always going to be things. Again, it’s not a character statement. It’s not a character flaw. It’s just life. We all get busy. In that previous podcast, and this was a result of a course that I was taking at the time, and it talked about being intentional with your life.
One of the ways to conceptualize what that could mean is separating things into different buckets. You have your health bucket, and health is not just physical health. It’s your financial health, your emotional health, your spiritual health, along with your physical health. Then you have your … Oh, what was it? I just lost my train of thought.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
Child?
Dr. Mironda Williams:
No, your work. All right. You had your health bucket, you had your work bucket. Your work bucket is not just limited to what you may do for a paycheck. It includes what you do for a paycheck, but it may also be other things that you do that’s your work, that brings you a sense of fulfillment, that brings you a sense of accomplishment, and that you feel like you’re making an impact. That’s your work bucket. You want to look at your work bucket. You have your health bucket, you have your work bucket. I think this is the one in the previous podcast that we were all like, “Golly,” because then you have your joy bucket. The thing about your joy bucket is that your joy bucket is to be full of things that have no other redeeming quality, other than it makes you happy.
We’re going to talk about exercise today, and some people say, “Oh, I love to exercise.” Yeah, okay. Y’all are special, but that’s all right. Some people say, “That brings me joy.” I guess it does bring you joy, but that’s probably more in that health bucket. Because truly, what kinds of things do you do that just bring you joy? At that time, I’m not going to rehash that. Go back and listen to the episode. We just brought up the example of children. They just play. They just go outside and play. They’re not trying to get healthy. They’re not worried about their cholesterol or their blood pressure.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
Having a good time.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
They’re just playing.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Having a good time.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
I just wanted to take a moment because we’re all busy, and life happens. Again, it’s not a character statement. When your family is sick, you got to see about your family. Hen you make decisions and priorities and things shift. The point is, when things get back to a more regimented pace. The loved one gets back home. The children eventually leave the house.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Usually.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Usually.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
Til they come back.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Til they come back.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
This is the boomerang generation. You can remember to refocus and look at your bucket and see what kinds of things can you make. What decisions can you make now?
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
Because we talked about just doing things. When you start doing things when you were younger, you don’t want to just keep doing them because that’s what you’ve always done.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
And it’s not just younger. It’s just what happens is you just get in the habit. You can get in the habit of just taking care of everybody else. Run around, seeing about your mama. Run around, seeing about your auntie. Run around, seeing about your daddy. Run around, see everybody else. That just becomes all you know and you’re like, “Wait a minute. Daddy’s okay. I can take a moment for myself. Auntie’s home. Okay. For right now, I can take a moment for myself.”
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
It’s okay to take that moment.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
It’s okay to take that moment. No character’s judgment. Dr. got the right. It’s called taking care of yourself, that part. In today’s episode, we are going to be talking about why we exercise. Again, by way of introduction, I am Dr. Mironda Williams.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
I’m Dr. Deanna Guthrie.
Dr. Karen Greene:
And I am Dr. Karen Greene.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
As those of you who are listening can probably tell by my long introduction, I am not-
Dr. Karen Greene:
That’s what I was going to say.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
… a person who finds joy in exercise.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Have you ever?
Dr. Mironda Williams:
No.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Okay, and that’s fine.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
That’s okay. That’s not a chemical flaw.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
I’m not mad at me.
Dr. Karen Greene:
It’s just funny.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
What I am is, again, everybody not the same. What bothers me more, I’m okay with not being the exerciser. What I’m not okay with is people who try to make me feel guilty because I’m not one that’s going to run exercises. I’m not saying that I don’t exercise. I’m not saying that I don’t understand the reasons why we exercise. All I’m saying is it ain’t the first thing on my mind. That’s all I’m saying. It never has been the first thing on my mind, Dr. Greene, and it probably never will be. It’s not the first thing on my mind.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
And that’s okay.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Again, I’m good. I’m saying this because I think we do represent a very good cross-section of our patient. When I talk to my patients about the benefits of exercise, I tell them, “It’s okay if you don’t like to do this.” It’s okay because we know people who really, if they can’t get out and run, they start to feel antsy. That ain’t me, but there’s some people like that, and that’s okay. It’s okay for me to just say, you know what? I really don’t like this. I don’t want to do this, but it’s important for me to do this.
The only reason why I’m bringing that up is not because I have a problem with it. I just want to make sure that all of us remain sensitive, that people come from wherever they come from. We are not to make anyone feel bad about what they do, don’t do, like and don’t like. We want to just give them a safe space to say however you come, whatever your lived experience is, that is good. But what we are going to do is to say, wherever you fall on that spectrum, from those who love it to those who be like, “Well, something else that’s good right now,” it’s still important.
In today’s episode, as we talk about why we exercise, I’m going to give my issues. We’ll continue to talk about my own issues. Dr. Greene is going to go into specifically how she became a runner and why, and then Dr. Guthrie will also talk about how she feels about exercise. The point is not one of them is the best. Not one of them is better than the other. Not one of them is a character statement. We want to let people know we’re real, just like the rest of y’all out there, and how whatever you do and however you do it, it is good.
Those patients who have been coming to our practice, and maybe those of you who’ve looked at some previous episodes, have found out that we fell into this tradition that I’ve been trying to break, but this tradition of running the Peachtree Road Race. We are located in these Southern areas. Our practice is located in the Southern areas of metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. Every 4th of July, there’s this huge 10K race here that is really a cultural experience, as well as a physical experience, which is the 4th of July, Atlanta Peachtree Road Race.
Dr. Greene will talk about that, how we came into doing it together, and now they won’t stop. Again, I’m the one that exercises don’t talk to me while I’m exercising. Don’t ask me to be happy about it. Be glad I’m here. That’s how I normally show up to the Peachtree Road Race, and that’s okay. But Dr. Greene, why don’t you tell about how you even got us all back into this?
Dr. Karen Greene:
How I dragged her.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
How you dragged me into it.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Which I didn’t realize I was dragging her into it, but I realized years afterwards that that happened. The reason I ask, have you always been like that? Because I can honestly say I don’t think I ever really thought about exercise per se.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
You were just an active person?
Dr. Karen Greene:
Yeah, I was active.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
But you didn’t cheer?
Dr. Karen Greene:
Yeah, I cheered in high school.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
But that’s physical activity.
Dr. Karen Greene:
That’s physical activity, but I remember there was the Presidential Fitness Test that you had to … There were qualifications.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
You’re telling your age.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Yeah, I know I’m old. But my point was that there were things you had to do to pass this test, and one of them involved being on a track and running. I hated that part because I was like, “This is not for me.” Cheering and running on a track, two different things. For me, that whole running thing was like, it brought back those type of memories. When I was thinking about why I exercise, I was thinking about the first time I actually went to a gym was in Augusta, with Dr. Guthrie. Can’t quite remember how we ended up there.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
Augusta, Georgia.
Dr. Karen Greene:
But that’s where we were. Augusta, Georgia had a gym.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
For residency?
Dr. Karen Greene:
For residency. Again, really wasn’t thinking about exercise. Not quite sure why the two of us were there. I come to Atlanta and …
Dr. Mironda Williams:
You join our practice.
Dr. Karen Greene:
… I join the practice.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Again, just a quick review, I came in 1992. Dr. Guthrie joined the practice in?
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
’94.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
And Dr. Greene?
Dr. Karen Greene:
In ’96.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
There you go.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Somehow, I ended up joining another gym. I laugh because I can honestly say it was a gym where it was more of a social aspect of going to the gym. But there were fun things to do at the gym. There were aerobic classes. This was back when step aerobics-
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Okay. Hold. Hold. Hold. Hold. “There were fun things to do at the gym. There were really classes.” I was at that gym for maybe a month because everybody else was doing it, but I didn’t stick with it. But carry on.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Remember though, we would go to the gym, we would exercise, and then we’d go out to eat. That really was the best part.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
It was really social.
Dr. Karen Greene:
It was really social.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
But y’all worked out real for real. I waited till it was time to go to dinner. I’d be on the station, everybody could do something, but you were in the classes. Y’all were doing all … Anyway, and that’s okay.
Dr. Karen Greene:
It was fun. It was fun. Again, it still wasn’t “I’m the exerciser,” it was just part of the social climate of being in Atlanta. I probably didn’t start thinking about exercise per se until pregnancy, in all honesty. Yes, I’m telling my age. I am old, and I got pregnant when I was old.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
You’re not old.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Older.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Thank you.
Dr. Karen Greene:
I was advanced maternal age.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
By medical definition.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Medical definition, advanced maternal age. You start thinking that, “Well, wait a second, maybe I’m going to have to do some exercise because you have to gain weight to have a baby.” And then you’re supposed to lose it.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
That part.
Dr. Karen Greene:
That part worried me and not so much the weight per se. But as I would also, as in raising the kids, you see people that you get so involved with your kids, you put taking care of yourself on the back-burner and spending a lot of times at ballparks and ball fields. The food isn’t healthy. It’s just not. And you really can fall into that. But the medical part of me being very conscious of the, I probably should take better care of myself because older mom, kids. Eventually, they do get out the house and you don’t want to be run down because you’ve not taken care of yourself.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
You want to be there for them, and they go off and they do their life.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Exactly. That part of exercise for health reasons was really what did it for me. The Peachtree Road Race, because it’s always on the 4th of July, is always early in the morning. I never got up to watch it, or even would see the results.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
You know all this stuff. You didn’t know about it?
Dr. Karen Greene:
I didn’t know any of it.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
All the things.
Dr. Karen Greene:
If I wasn’t on call and was up, I was asleep because that meant I actually had the day off. It was one year before we ran, because we ran in 2016, I think.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
I was trying to remember the first time.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Exactly.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
We all did it.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Yeah, 2016. So it had to be 2015. I was in the hospital with my mom on the 4th of July. I’m sitting there, watching all the results and listening to the different things. I was like, “Oh, wow, this is exciting.” Honestly, that was the first time I ever really thought about running the Peachtree. I said, “Well, clearly, I’m never going to actually run it unless someone reminds me to register.” On the spot, I joined the Atlanta Track Club and so said, “Okay, I’m going to run it.” Somehow, talked these two into doing it with me.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Well, okay. Dr. Guthrie and I, over the years, have done the Peachtree Road Race off and on, that kind of thing. It wasn’t a new experience for us because we had done it before. We knew what it was about and all this kind of thing. When you decided that you were going to run and you told me about, I think you had a Couch to 10K or some app, something like that. You were talking about how you were preparing, and I said, “Oh, it’s going to be your first time.” You were all excited. I said, “Maybe I’ll do it with you.” I wasn’t really gung-ho to do it, but I said, “This may be something fun to do.” What’s that app again? Whatever. And then same thing with Dr. Guthrie. And then it wasn’t planned as much as it just evolved because it was your first time. See, we knew about the culture and the experience.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Right.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
Exactly.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Then what happened for me is then, I started getting excited because I said, “Oh, it’s going to be her first time. She’s never done it, so this is going to be good.” I said, “I want to be there.” And then that’s how I got caught up in the fact that this was going to be your first time.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Exactly.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
I knew how much fun it could be, just the culture of the Atlanta Peachtree Road Race in and of itself. That’s how we evolved into all running it that first time in 2016.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Because at that point, I had run a 5K because one of my family members said, “You probably could do it.” I got the app. It’s Couch to 5K, so that was perfect.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Couch to 5K.
Dr. Karen Greene:
You start at the couch. A surgical assistant had done it and I was like, “Oh, I think I can do this.” I needed to gradually work my way into this whole running. Because at that point, it still wasn’t that you get that runner’s high and you want to keep doing it. I wasn’t really at that point. It was just a way to, well, let’s do something different for exercise. By the time I got to the Peachtree Road Race, which was a 10K, the thought of doing it because I’m not an Atlanta native was like, okay, this is my first time. I should do this because now I’m a Georgia Peach. I should do the race. And it is. You go to the expo, you buy the stuff.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Let’s back up. Let’s talk about your first expo.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Yeah, that’s it. The first expo. I went with Dr. Williams. I was excited. We were buying stuff. We were taking pictures.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Stuff we didn’t need.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Right, but this is what you do. We were calling Dr. Guthrie, who was actually on a bike riding somewhere. She’s probably wondering, “What are they doing?” It was the moment. It was the excitement. It was just the thought of doing it, that I’m going to do something that you’re supposed to do living here in the Atlanta area.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Well, everybody should experience it at least once.
Dr. Karen Greene:
At least one time. It was definitely, for me, an experience because it is a big race and it’s a lot of people.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
The world’s largest tin cake.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Yeah. But it’s also a lot of people cheering you on.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
That part.
Dr. Karen Greene:
That’s the part-
Dr. Mironda Williams:
And the costumes. You got to tell them about the costumes.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Oh, the costumes. Yes, you’re right.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
You don’t just run in running gear.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Right. You have to put something on.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
You got to coordinate.
Dr. Karen Greene:
You got to coordinate your outfits. That first race, we didn’t do that. Subsequent races, we have. But it’s the whole experience. It’s not just like any other 10K. It really isn’t. There are people that are dressed like Santa Claus. There are people that are firemen that are in their firemen gear.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Like you’re doing. You see veterans. You see disabled. It’s really-
Dr. Karen Greene:
It’s a wide variety of folks. I’ve been on the train with women that are 20 years older than me and they’ve done it 10, 20, 30 times. I’m thinking, “Wow, if they can, I can.” That solidified my being a runner per se, and that really has changed just in terms of how I run and why I run.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Why do you run, Dr. Greene? No. No. No, give your hashtag.
Dr. Karen Greene:
I run to eat.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Thank you.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Honestly, I do. I really do. Years ago, my husband tried to talk me into running and I didn’t really want to do it because as I said, I wasn’t a runner. The thought of running with my very competitive six-foot-two husband, who would be challenging me and pushing me with the very long legs, did not appeal to me. When a female suggested that I do it, and the way they had done it was more supportive and gradual, I decided, okay, this was good. It does, it burns a lot of calories. I enjoy food. And if you enjoy food, you got to balance it.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
It’s a mental health thing for you, too.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Yeah. It’s also a way I found that because I’m not an outdoors type person, it’s a way to get outdoors, enjoy the quiet, enjoy the scenery, enjoy the animals in the neighborhood. The dogs that I carry my spray for. All of those.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
I’m going to say it, the ones that you want to tase.
Dr. Karen Greene:
I got a taser because he’s a German Shepherd, but there’s also the deer that you surprise in the morning because they’re out and you’re like, “Oh.” And the bunnies and the bugs. But it is, it’s a way for me to enjoy nature in a way that I probably wouldn’t have. And so mentally, it helps a lot. COVID changed that a lot because we didn’t run during COVID. And then 2021-
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Despite what you say, we didn’t have the race.
Dr. Karen Greene:
We didn’t have the race in 2020.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Right. The race was canceled because of COVID.
Dr. Karen Greene:
This was canceled because of COVID. In 2021, they had the race differently.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
They changed the format.
Dr. Karen Greene:
They changed it, so we didn’t run. 2022 is a way to get back into it. Looking back on how I ran before then and how I ran in 2022, it was very different because it was more about the race itself. Not the 10K aspect, but the crowd. It was about the support because in training for the 2022, I had to really think, “I’m older, I can’t run as hard or as far,” but I still enjoy the mindfulness.
I still enjoy being present in the outdoors. I still enjoy that aspect of it. It definitely is a mental thing. I still run to eat, but mentally, it helps me. For me, that’s really why. I guess I finally have to call myself a runner, but I run for other reasons other than … The health is the benefit, so that I can be here after my kids are gone and I can enjoy. I can enjoy them and hopefully, grandkids and all the other stuff. But it’s more mental than physical now.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Right.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
Yeah.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Now, before you talk about your Peachtree Road experience, Dr. Guthrie, give a little bit of background. Because again, I think we represent three different exercise or physical activity evolution. Go ahead and tell them about yours.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
I guess I’m the person who I like to exercise.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Well, I’m talking about when you were in school. Didn’t you do track?
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
In a way, yes. Yeah.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
I’m just saying you did because I didn’t never run. Okay. Now, when I did run, I was in the band. I was in the marching band. When you’re in the band, there are things that they make you do, drills and stuff like that. I had to do it then because I wanted to be in the band, but I wasn’t trying to be on the track. But talk about-
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
Okay. Okay. I wasn’t on a specific track team, but for me, it was more track and field that I liked versus running for distance. That never appealed to me like you. I had a friend, a male friend, who always tried to get me into running. I was like, “Oh, you’re just running. Are you going anywhere? What are you doing? You’re just running for time? What are you doing?” That never appealed to me until, this is in ’97, I think it was the first time I ran Peachtree, I saw it on TV. I said, “You know what? I’m going to do that one time, just to say that I did it.”
One day, the person I was dating at the time, we went somewhere and when he was going to drop me back at home, we prepared before I left home. I said, “You know what? On the way back, we’re going to mark out where two miles is from my house, and then you’re going to drop me off there and I’m going to head back home.” I said okay, I’m going to try to run, but I’ll probably walk most of it. I ended up home in 10 or 15 minutes and I was like, “Oh, well, I could probably run a little bit.” I started running and I got ready for the Peachtree. I did that first Peachtree, but again, I wouldn’t really call myself a runner.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
But I think you’ve always been a very physically active person.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
Physical person.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
That’s what I’m saying. Y’all have always done this gym thing, right? You, I know you. I’m just saying, I want people to understand that.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
For instance, before I had dedicated-
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Then, you had a baseline.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
Right, I had a baseline. Exactly. Before I even got into running in Augusta, I started step aerobics. That was the big thing in the ’80s. That’s probably how you got to the gym because I was doing step aerobics. I enjoyed that, and in certain instances, I like group classes. But then when I moved to Atlanta, like I said, that’s how I decided to do the Peachtree once. And then I started running. Well, it ended up that I liked running. Because for me to be able to run, I had to do it very early in the morning.
It’s quiet. I can think about things. For me, it was just the stress reduction. I would talk through whatever problems I was having during that run. I know people thought I was crazy there. If I was mad at somebody, I would be screaming while I was running. I was mad at the person, but it was a release for me. And then that’s when I started running more and more. So then I ended up doing a lot of Peachtrees between ’97 and now.
There are times when I was on call, I couldn’t do it. When I was out of town, I couldn’t do it. But I’ve always done the Peachtree. But like Dr. Williams said, when Dr. Greene decided, she’d finally started running, we were like, “Okay. Yeah, it’s going to be her first time.” You meet in the park. It’s not just even the race and the costumes and everything like that, the people encouraging you along the way. It’s the social aspect afterwards, too.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
It’s a cultural event.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
Cultural event. There’s that. But for-
Dr. Mironda Williams:
And very Southern.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
Yes, Southern.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Like I said, so that’s how I got into running. For me, it’s not a particular thing. It’s like I find things as I go along, and meeting people while I’m working out introduces me to different things. When I was a runner, let me put that in parentheses, somebody asked me about riding a bike. I was like, “Riding a bike? You’re just sitting on the bike. Are you really exercising? Are you really getting a workout? I don’t know.” I never bought a bike until about seven years ago. They finally talked me into it and I loved it. And so ended up buying a bike, riding fair distances. I wouldn’t say I’m a marathon biker, but I do good distance.
Dr. Karen Greene:
She rides a lot. Long.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
No, she rides long.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Long. Long.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
But again, biking, while I love it, it takes up a lot of time. With things that are changing now with family and things like that, it’s now out of my bucket. It’s harder for me to do consistently. But even gym workouts, I have gone from yoga, I used to do yoga. I did yoga for a period of time. I got into kettlebells. I was doing that. I even got a first level certification in kettlebells. Like I said, exercise has always been a part of my life.
There are different people. There are different personalities of working out. Some people like the challenge and they like to compete against others. They need that person be beside them, so that they can chase them or push them, or pass them. In fact, a friend of mine who started riding, he didn’t think he was going to like riding. He decided to just buy a basic bike and I kept telling him, “You’re not going to like that.” The whole time we were riding for the first time, every time somebody passed him, he would just automatically start to try to pedal harder to pass them. I would say, “Your bike is not built for that. You have to understand the type of bike they’re on and the type of bike that you’re on.” Again, everybody has a different workout personality, and you shouldn’t be intimidated.
The main thing I will say about exercise is, don’t compare yourself to anybody else. That’s one of the first things you learn in yoga. You could be beside somebody who’s doing a backbend, whose legs are wrapped around their neck. Don’t worry about that. That has nothing to do with you. You get your stretch in. That’s good for you. And then you’ll develop further on. That’s number one. Don’t compare yourself.
And then find the thing that you like. Like I said, exercise doesn’t mean that you have to run the hardest, the longest, whatever. It could be simply just walking. It could be yoga. It could be Pilates. It could be whatever. As long as you’re moving, that’s a good path to it. I found a phrase in one of the articles that said successful aging. That’s going to be my new quote, successful aging.
Dr. Karen Greene:
That’s my goal. That’s why I moved. Yeah.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Because you want to age.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
Yeah, exactly. Some people like group workouts, where somebody else, they like to be by themselves. It’s a quiet time for them. It’s where they get to think to themselves and things like that. It just depends on your workout personally.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Well, and it changes. I think that’s the other thing is that as we bring this episode to a close, we’ve done other talks where we’ve gotten really specific into the nuts and bolts and health benefits in terms of blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, all those kinds of things, which are important. But the real issue is to just, as we did at the beginning of this podcast, check in with yourself. Where am I now? What appeals to me now? And that’s good. Five years from now, it may be different. And that’s good.
I think the main thing, as Dr. Guthrie has said, and Dr. Greene has said, is that there’s no right, there’s no wrong, there’s no good, there’s no bad. The only bad thing is to do nothing. You may not be able to exercise consistently all the time because of life, but when you can move, healthy movement, consistent movement. As I’ve heard so many of my more senior and seasoned patients and friends say, motion is lotion. Okay? Move it or lose it.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
Yeah, it’s true.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
And that those things are real. How you choose to put yourself in motion, how you choose to move it, it may change as life changes and as we change just in our physical capabilities and other responsibilities. You can have people who’ve always been healthy and active and have a baseline level of fitness. You have those of us who come to evolve to being more conscious about moving and being consistent about it. Whatever you do, it’s just the consistency. It’s not necessarily the intensity. Everybody doesn’t have to do CrossFit. What’s the highest bell you swung?
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
What’s the highest one? Was it 50 kilograms?
Dr. Mironda Williams:
Yeah, whatever. I like kettlebell. I got a nice little night bell, and it’s okay.
Dr. Karen Greene:
I can’t even lift.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
And that’s okay. Find you, boo. That’s what we want you to do. Find where you get in, where you fit in.
Dr. Karen Greene:
Where you fit in, and it’s okay.
Dr. Mironda Williams:
And it’s okay. Exercise is important. We exercise so that we can have successful aging. We exercise so that we can be present for our family now and for many years and decades to come. We exercise because we want to be the best person that we can be and the healthiest people that we can be for as long as we can be.
As always, thank you for listening to Take Good Care podcast. We enjoy each other. We enjoy taking the time to come together in this format. We appreciate so much our audience for listening to us wherever you get your podcast. We appreciate you checking us out on all of our social media platforms and visiting our website at ptcobgyn.com. Please continue to share. And until we can get together again, I’m Dr. Mironda Williams.
Dr. Deanna Guthrie:
I’m Dr. Deanna Guthrie.
Dr. Karen Greene:
And I am Dr. Karen Greene. Take good care.