EVERYONE should exercise!

[Angrboda]

I recently started exercising regularly. Thanks to a change in insurance, I get a free gym membership, and I depend upon the classes they offer to keep me active and involved. If I had to work out on my own, I'd hate it and probably have a really hard time of it. I was pretty athletic when I was younger, but age and the constant companionship of depression left me rather sedentary. My mental health improved this past summer to the point that depression is much less of an issue now, so I really have no idea how much psychological benefit I'm getting from exercise. I'm mainly doing it because I'd rather age more gracefully rather than less so, and at my age, that can make a big difference. The only thing I worry about is that I wonder if I'm getting an appropriate level of exercise for that goal. I attend Silver Sneakers classes, and they are pretty active for about 20 minutes out of a 45 minute class, but I may need to add something else to get my heart rate up where it needs to be for the effort to be really effective. I'm not sure. I'm due for a physical, so I'll talk to my doctor about it. They do have "cycling" classes which, I assume, employ stationary bikes, and those might provide a more effective workout. It's harder to cobble together a weekly set of classes from those, though, as they're not as well represented.