Staying fit means not making excuses, says Judi Straughan

Morning North6:22Wellness Column - no excuses when it comes to getting fit

It takes a certain amount of motivation to commit to getting fit. In this edition of our Fitness Column, the CBC's Jan Lakes speaks with Judi Straughan. She's adopted the philosophy that there's no good excuse for not taking the time to get fit.

Sudbury's Judi Straughan says she's made a commitment to herself to keep fit and won't let excuses get in the way.

She once used walking as a primary way to keep in shape until she developed plantar fasciitis in her foot and couldno longerwalk long distances.

That is when she joined the Sudbury YMCA and started swimming 70 lengths a day, five days a week.

• Series: Morning North Wellness Column

It has been seven years since she started her morning fitness routine, as well as being one of the first people to show up to the Y everyday.

At 5:30 a.m. says Straughan, there are at least 15 people at the door waiting to get in.

"I line everything up at the door in the morning. I get out of bed, andby the time Ifully wake up my brain, I am here," she said.

"I don't cut myself a lot of slack. If I don't show up, somebody the next day will say, 'you were not here yesterday, what happened?'"

Inspiration from others

Since then she's moved on to the gym, something that took her years to work up the nerve to do.

"I was a bit nervous to go up there because I didn't know how to do any of the machines."

One day she went up with a friend and did whatever she did and since then the fear is gone.

The biggest motivator to get to the gym said Straughanisthe other people there that inspire her.

"One lady who cannot bend over....she can't get her socks on, so she has figured out a way to get her sock on with some kind of contraption. So really what is my excuse? That I can't get up at 5:30. Are you kidding?"