"Do I have to get up?" - Homer Simpson

I walk a lot these days. You would think that something as simple as walking would be an accepted form of travel anywhere. You would think I could jaunt to the grocery store and not have to get into a fight with the bag boy over the fact that he can't carry my stuff to my car. I live two blocks away from the grocery store. You would think I could make the trip both ways without getting funny looks. You would think wrong.

"Feeling a little off the mark lately? Are you having a hard time playing your best game? Maybe it's not old age. Maybe your mental facilities are atrophying because you stopped moving."

I live in car-land. I live in drive-two-blocks-to-the-store country. I live in a nation where people will go without before they go without a car. Walk two blocks to the store? Never!

America is a population of stiffs. Our jobs are sedentary. Our transportation is sedentary. Our entertainment is sedentary. The only exercise most of us get is the amount required to walk from the parking lot to the mall. Oh sure, one sees the occasional jogger or cyclist and I hear tell there are these places called gymnasiums where folks do nothing but exercise. The fact remains that a good many Americans give up regular exercise the moment they graduate from public school. We're more out of shape than we've ever been in our history.

Adult webmasters are notoriously bad about exercise. We spend our days glued to our chairs, staring at our monitors. We don't even expend the energy it takes to get dressed or drive to work. We loll for countless hours, eating bad food and drinking bad drinks. We go to bed, get up and do the same physical nothing week after week, month after month. "Just...one...more...gallery and then I'll get off this computer!"

We're the most consistently successful profession on the net but physically; we're falling apart.

This is not wise. In case you don't know this, exercise is good for you. It's good for your heart, your bones, your lungs and most importantly, your brain. Feeling a little off the mark lately? Are you having a hard time playing your best game? Maybe it's not old age. Maybe your mental facilities are atrophying because you stopped moving. The brain needs blood and oxygen. Are you starving yourself with stale air, fake sun and a complete lack of physical activity?

Granted, many of us worked hard before we discovered the cushy life of adult webmastery. I spent 24 of my 45 years on my feet @ eight hours a day. I scurried from table to table, carrying, lifting and scurrying some more, and I did it in high heels. I would guess I've walked thousands of miles in my lifetime. I didn't work the loading docks but I've lifted my share of heavy things. One of the reasons I became a self employed Internet entrepreneur was so I didn't have to walk or lift things for a living anymore. I've enjoyed my newfound leisurely lifestyle, perhaps a little too much.

The down side to leisure? I gained about twenty pounds. I felt tired all the time and I was having difficulty concentrating on work. I got tired of feeling so crappy and went outside.

Now I walk all kinds of places. I walk to the post office. I walk to the movie theater. People stare at me from their cars. They pull over, all worried and ask if I need a ride. I wonder if I would get all this pity if I wore a tracksuit? The thing is I don't want to play dress-up in order to get a little physical activity. I don't need a gym or the newest home exercise gadget. I'm not fond of sit-ups or running. I just walk. It works for me. I feel better. I think better. I live better.

You can too. Maybe you're not lucky enough to live in a peaceful, idyllic town like mine. Maybe you'll have to go to a park to take a walk. Then again, how far is that convenience store or DVD rental shop? Why not use function as an excuse for exercise? If your destination is less than five minutes away by car, why waste the gas? When was the last time you walked anywhere besides a shopping center? When was the last time you walked out of your door and kept on walking?

Or don't walk. Do yoga. Follow some exercise guru on the teevee. Buy a stationary bicycle or treadmill. Get a real bike. Run around your living room if you have to. Whatever you do, get some action in your bones. Get your blood flowing and your lungs freshly vented. You don't have to be obsessive or adopt some scary "plan". You know that you'll sleep better, think better and make a better business if you take care of yourself.

I don't have to tell you that exercise is good for you. I don't have to tell you that eating right is a wise way to live. You know this stuff already. I'm just reminding you that a healthy webmaster is a wealthy webmaster. Walk with me. The path is always open.