"What's the best kind of exercise?" asked LynnAnn Covell, senior fitness professional and one of the great talents at Green Mountain at Fox Run, a women-only healthy weight-loss program in Ludlow, Vermont. "The kind you'll do."

During a lecture called "Finding Your Fitness Soul," she invited us to close our eyes and remember being age four to nine. We raise our hands and lowered them only when we hadn't done an activity.

"How many of you played hopscotch? Jumped rope? Rode bikes? Took your hands off the handlebars? Jumped into a lake off a dock? Ran into the sea?"

She ran off twenty things that I had even forgotten I'd done, and made me remember the pure joy of being alive and energetic, moving my body. My hand never came down. I'd done everything.

So what happened to that pure joy in movement? Now we call it a "workout." We feel like we "have to exercise." LynnAnn said many women are so used to being caretakers that they don't make time to take care of themselves. "But if we make ourselves a priority, we have the strength to handle all our responsibilities."

LynnAnn emphasizes realistic goals for beginners or people who struggle establishing a regular exercise routine. The most important basic goal are to be healthy, comfortable in our skin and more active. And you can start anywhere, no matter what your fitness level. "Anyone can start walking and doing stretches in the house."

One of the main obstacles to exercise is negative self-talk.

Notice when it starts, and have these answers ready.

"I'm too busy." Remember that your making your health a PRIORITY.

"I'm too tired." Exercise will give you energy.

"I'm depressed." One of the biggest deterrents for depression is sunlight and movement.

"I'm lazy." That's a judgement. You might think you're "lazy" because you're trying to exercise at the wrong time of day. "You're either a morning person or an evening person, and you're born that way," says LynnAnn. "Don't exercise outside your zone. It's miserable."

"I'm bored." It's time to change what you're doing.
Establishing Fitness Goals

There are three fitness goals we're trying to reach.

Cardiovascular Health. Cardio includes walking, jogging, dancing, or anything that gets you breathing harder than usual. Doing cardio three to five times a week for 20-30 minutes at our target heart rate challenges our heart and lungs. Your personal target heart rate varies based on your age, fitness and resting heart rate. The Polar Heart Rate Monitor helps you know when you're in the zone. Add at least five minutes warm-up and cool-down time to your cardio workout.

Strength. Strength training, primarily through weights, tones and firms our muscles, increases our metabolic rate, and promote bone health. It's a good idea to have a personal trainer show you proper form and develop a program for you. When it's easy, you take up the number of sets or use heavier weights (Hate strength training? Try doing it while you watch TV.

Flexibility. Flexibility gives you greater range of movement and helps prevent injuries. You will increase your flexibility through stretching exercises or practices like yoga.

Eating To Support Exercise

Structured eating -- three meals and one or two predictable snacks -- supports exercise. "When you skip a meal, there's less fuel, so you have less energy. When you have less energy, you move less and feel depleted," LynnAnn said. "In order to feel good, you have to eat, sleep and move."