Inside Marcy's Mind
Having hosted the Aging aint for Sissie's podcast for two years, I wanted to expand what I could discuss. This podcast will touch on the fun of aging and whatever has crossed my mind! Please join me as I walk through life! #retirement #travel #fun #aginggracefully Link in my bio! Listen now!
#insidemarcysmind
#aginggracefully
#retired
#retirementpreperation
#aging
#retirementplanning
www.insidemarcysmind.com
Inside Marcy's Mind
Sweat, Spite, and Survival: Finding Your Fitness Path
Forget the fancy leggings and Instagram-perfect workouts—real fitness is about finding joy in movement and giving your body what it needs to thrive through life's challenges. After decades of starting and stopping various exercise routines, I finally discovered that consistency matters more than intensity, and finding movement you genuinely enjoy is the true secret to lifelong fitness.
Having recently completed 12 weeks of chemotherapy and 16 rounds of radiation, I can personally attest to exercise's profound impact on health resilience. My oncologist directly credited my relatively smooth cancer treatment experience to two factors: my positive attitude and my commitment to regular exercise. Even on my worst days, I'd drag myself to water aerobics, feeling terrible going in but significantly better coming out. This isn't just anecdotal—research consistently shows that regular physical activity supports immune function, improves treatment outcomes, and enhances quality of life during serious illness.
The fitness world loves to categorize us—the gym unicorn who never sweats, the reluctant hero checking their watch, the bragger discussing their pre-brunch 10K, or the influencer filming every perfect lunge. But real-world exercise isn't about fitting into these archetypes; it's about moving your unique body in ways that feel good. At 64, I've found my joy in water aerobics, while my 69-year-old husband runs five miles daily. Your movement might look completely different—walking your dog, gardening, or dancing in your kitchen—and that's not just okay, it's perfect. Because when it comes to exercise, if you sweat, it counts, and the best workout is always the one you'll actually do.
Ready to reframe your relationship with movement? Listen now, then share your favorite way to move in the comments. Your body will thank you, and you might just inspire someone else to find their exercise joy too!
Hello and welcome to Inside Marci's Mind. My name is Marci Backus and I am your host. Well, welcome back to Inside Marci's Mind, the podcast where I say what we're all thinking, but sometimes with worse filter control. I am, marci, your guide through the psychological jungle gym of midlife and beyond. Today's episode is all about exercise. I am not an expert, I am not a nothing, just bringing you a little information hopefully helps you out. This is, or I like to call it, the slow torture we are willing to sign up for because society told us to. We pay for exercise in more ways than one. That's right, friends, lace up those orthopedic sneakers, grab your sweat-wicking shame and let's get into it. So, as you all know, I have two podcasts Inside Marci's Mind and Aging A for Sissies. Aging A for Sissies if you want to know what's going on with my health, I ask you to check that one out. You can also find that wherever you find these podcasts, at all places where podcasts are, and you can find them from every outlet possible. So let's get into it.
Speaker 1:Let's go back in time, you know, to, when humans had to run for survival. You see a tiger, you run. You don't need Lululemon, all you needed was adrenaline. Well, now we've replaced survival with SoulCycle gyms. We pay people to tell us and yell at us and tell us what to do. We pretend to be racing each other to nowhere on our bikes. If my ancestors saw me sprinting on a treadmill in place, they'd assume I was possessed and call a village healer.
Speaker 1:Exercise has changed a lot. We can also talk. Can we also talk about gym memberships? You pay $100 a month so you can feel guilty when you don't go. Well, let me tell you something my gym is a lot more than $100 a month and I do do go. It's the first time I have joined more gyms in my life that I didn't go to. Finally, I can say I found what I love, so I'm hoping to encourage you through this podcast to find what you love. Anyways, paying for a gym, that's not fitness, that's's Catholicism with better lighting. Anyways, what are the types of exercises we can do? What are things that we can do?
Speaker 1:The gym unicorn you know this person Always glowing, never sweating. They say things like I just feel off if I don't work out Must be nice to be powered by kale and fairy dust, because man I am not. What other species of exercises are there. So that was the gym unicorn. We have the reluctant hero. I'm working out, but under protest. I'm sweating like I'm smuggling cocaine through customs and every five minutes I'm checking my watch like it owes me money. So that's our reluctant hero.
Speaker 1:Number three the bragger. Oh, I just ran a quick 10K before brunch. No, janet, you ran away from your problems and now you're trying to guilt me out of my pancakes. And then there's the influencer Works out in a full face of makeup, somehow never grunts, never makes an ugly face and films every lunge from every angle. That makes you question your life choices. I do one squat and I sound like I'm being exercised. That is true. So those are a lot of the things we think of, of people that go to the gym. But I go to the gym now and I don't think I'm any of those. I'm just trying to get through life here. I'm any of those. I'm just trying to get through life here.
Speaker 1:So what are some classes that I've taken in my life or haven't? But here's a few types of classes. Right now We've got our Zumba, a Latin dance workout that proves my hips can't lie. They lie a lot, okay. So I took Zumba with Debbie and Mary when we lived in. When I lived in California, honest to God, our teacher had what we called the magic butt. She could move her butt separate from herself. It was amazing. I found myself so mesmerized by her behind and not in a weird way, I could not exercise sometimes, honestly. So there's Zumba, hot yoga. I do not know how anybody can do hot yoga and I know you're out there. You pay 30 bucks to sweat in a hundred degree room next to a guy named Chad who smelled like patchouli and regret Namaste More like nah, stay away, I can't do it. But if you can, more power to you. Spin class, more power to you. Spin class. I've taken one. You know what's fun Biking to nowhere while being yelled at by someone named Brittany with two E's Bonus. I couldn't feel my butt for days after doing that class, wasn't for me.
Speaker 1:Again, this is talking about finding what is for you, and if any of these things I've talked about are for you is talking about finding what is for you, and if any of these things I've talked about are for you, more power to you. The trick is find out what works for you. So I did water aerobics. Now this is where it's at Low impact, high sass, everyone's floating, no one's judging, and you get to wear a floral swim cap. You're either like you're in an Esther Williams movie, so that is kind of funny. There is a gal in mind that wears a flowered swim cap. But that's where I found my love. I found my love in water aerobics. I do it four to five times a week. I have my people. I love my class. We have a different instructor every day. It's awesome.
Speaker 1:Okay, exercising at home Lies, we tell ourselves. Today, I'm going to do yoga in my living room. Translation I'm going to lie on my mat, scroll tiktok and call it intentional rest. And let's not forget the home equipment. Grab equipment. Graveyard, that treadmill you bought in 2020, it's a coat rack now peloton more likeope. No, I've bought equipment, even here when I was doing trying to do some exercises at home. No, I you need to find out again what works for you. I need to go to the gym. Yes, I pay for my gym membership, but I use it. And when I equal out my classes, my classes are about $10 a class. That's worth it to me. All right, every now and then, we put on a workout video. Do one push-up here's something pop and decide we're good for the week.
Speaker 1:Let's be honest, the real reasons we exercise. I want to be honest to eat nachos without guilt, to make our doctor shut up, to justify leggings as pants and, of course, to keep up the illusion we're aging gracefully, even if everything hurts and the only six pack we care about is in the fridge. That would be a six pack of Diet Coke for me. But the truth is, working out matters and if you can find what works for you, that's what matters. Realistic fitness If you sweat, it counts. Realistic fitness If you sweat, it counts. If you walked the fridge more than 10 times, that steps. If you laugh until your abs hurt, you basically did your crunches. And if you're tired, you're doing better than yesterday.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I've told you a lot of funny things, but a lot of, it's true. But I will tell you the main thing. I've just gone through 12 weeks of chemo and 16 rounds of radiation and I'm doing pretty good. Now I know everybody's cancer journey is different, so I am not here to tell you what your cancer journey should look like, but I can tell you what my doctors have told me. One of the reasons I have done.
Speaker 1:Not saying it hasn't been hard but I've done fairly well is because of keeping up my exercise routine. Now, when I was doing chemo, I averaged three to four times a week exercising. That is my water aerobics class at the gym. It's made a difference. Yesterday I went in the water, not feeling great. Radiation is taking it out of me. I think one of the hardest things for me is I look pretty good but I don't always feel good. But yesterday was a struggle. My blood clot hurt and my leg really hurt. I can't explain to you how bad a blood clot hurts, but they hurt. It's not great, but I knew when I got in the water when I'd get out. I felt better and I did. So.
Speaker 1:What is it about exercise? Find what works for you. If walking your dog works for you, fabulous, but make sure you do it. If hot yoga Peloton my niece Angie is the bomb. She is what got me realizing I needed to do something. That girl works out like crazy, works out hard. She's hard on herself, but she should be proud of herself because she is amazing. She is my hero. She is what drives me. She posts every day what she's doing. I appreciate it because it reminds me to get out there and move.
Speaker 1:Yes, I'm 64, but I'm not dead and I'm not going to be dead for a long time. This is the only body God gave me and I need to take care of it Right now. Yeah, I'm struggling. I'm struggling with sugar and I got to find a way to get that under control. But I am exercising, I am doing what I can do for my body. I want you all to think about that. I want you to think about, if you face a health challenge, what you're going to do. Don't stop working out Because, again, the doctor, my oncologist, told me the reason I did so well with my chemo and I'm going to have to do 12 more weeks here, coming up in July, is because of my positive attitude and my ability to continue to work out. Now. I hope that's the way it goes for my next. What is it? 12 weeks of chemo that start in July? I don't know. All you can do is do your best every day, but do your best. Some days we can't, but on an average, I'm telling you, you have it in you. If I can do it, you can do it.
Speaker 1:I have spent my life overweight Not when I was young, I was thin. My adult life I have struggled up and down, up and down, up and down with my weight. I never worked out consistently. For the first time in my life, for two years now, I have been consistent Two years. I have a friend named Laura, laura Bankson if you're listening to this, you are another hero of mine. I've seen you change your life in the last several years and you work out and you looking is a is a bonus from working out. But I'm so proud of you. I want you to know that.
Speaker 1:So get out there, find what you love. If it's archery, I don't care what it is. Do it. Do it consistently. It will not only help you physically. It's going to help you physically. It's going to help you mentally. My mental state is so much better now than it was before.
Speaker 1:Am I hard on myself? You bet Not as hard as I used to be. I don't have as much to get on myself about. I can't feel bad that I'm not exercising because I am, and here in Chicago, most days I walk to the gym and I walk home. These are all good things.
Speaker 1:If you listen to my podcast this week Aging Ain't for Sissies we talk about our cognitive decline. One of the things that slows down cognitive decline is blood flow. And what do you get when you work out? Positive blood flow. So look at your life, find out where you can squeeze in If you're too busy, if you've got kids, I get it. It's hard, it's hard.
Speaker 1:My husband is 69. He runs five to six miles every day, monday through Friday here in Chicago. He runs. Unless it's below zero, he runs outside. Unless it's pouring down rain or snowing, he runs outside. If he doesn't, he runs in the gym. Here we have a gym in our building. He runs on the treadmill but he doesn't miss it and I think it's important. It's important to keep that blood flow, no matter how old you are. So I'm 64, craig's 69. If we can do what we can do, you can do it too.
Speaker 1:I hope that gives you a little bit of motivation, information, understanding that exercise is more than just staying thin and keeping fit. It mentally helps you, it physically helps your health. So that's it for today's ride on the struggle treadmill Friends, remember it's not about how fast you go, it's about how sassy you look doing it. So whether you're a gym rat, a couch cat or somewhere in between move that body, or at least think about it, while eating chips. I won't judge you, I really won't. I just want the best for you, as I want the best for myself. So I'll catch you next time on Inside Marci's Mind, where it's always sweaty, snarky and a little unhinged. Don't forget to rate, review and do a sit-up in my honor. Stay hydrated and don't give up on that Diet Coke.
