I encourage all of my patients to be engaged in some sort of physical fitness routine regardless of ability.  I have always tried to stay in shape myself, but like many of you, sometimes find it hard to find time for a program in to an already packed schedule.  The key is to do something fun, or at least something where you get motivation to do it daily.  For me, that activity is running.  

I recently discovered a great tool for runners (and walkers) to help with motivation and to track progress called Nike +.  This consists of a sensor that fits in your shoe and a receiver that connects to your iPod or iPhone.  If you have the iPhone 3GS or newer, it already built in.  Basically, Nike + will track your speed and distance, like a very fancy and much more accurate pedometer.  With that information, it will track every second of your workout and graph it out.  You can create goals ranging from burning a certain number of calories to preparing for a marathon.  Plus, you can share this information with an online community, send it via Twitter or Facebook, and much more.  The beauty of the system is that it is like being on a team and having a coach.

Since I last wrote this, several similar apps have been written to make Nike + obsolete.  Check out your smart phone to find a GPS based tracking program that works with any shoe.

If you do this or have any other fitness program, feel free to bring in your logs the next time you see me!