Joan, 67: Finding Motivation During COVID-19

Welcome back to this special series featuring the stories of the Senior Planet Sponsored Athletes as they pursue their fitness goals in 2020.

If you missed Joan Janek’s inspiring story of perseverance; be sure to read it here. You can find all of our Sponsored Athletes’ stories here.

Hello, my fellow seniors! I’m Joan Janek, just checking in to give you all an update. A lot has happened since the last time I introduced myself as one of the Senior Planet Sponsored Athletes.

Wow. A lockdown, shelter-in-place, and now re-opening—or a period of “how to open”—since the pandemic. It’s a challenging time to be a retiree, right?! I so wish I was up at Senior Planet NYC, teaching you all the level 1 and level 2 Cardio Aerobic Workout with Jane Fonda. (No, not the real Jane :) Jane Fonda’s “BeFit” programs on YouTube. Check it out!)

This pandemic has been very challenging for me. At first, the motivation to continue my daily, 45-minute Jane Fonda workout program came very naturally for me. Well, let me tell you, getting distracted is very easy. Soon, instead of exercising, I watched the political dilemmas and controversies about whether or not to open the cities. I made chocolate cookies and chocolate cake—gluten-free, of course. Then I focused on weeding my perennial garden, with over 1000 bulbs that are ready to explode. Well, I ended up with 2 days of cold packs on my left hip and ankle, which I had injured in track meets many, many years ago. Guess I weeded for too many hours.

Thank God that Fiona Adams came to the rescue, reminding me that I needed to get this blog post ready!

I was finally relieved to be refocused on my fitness routine—getting structure in one’s life is so important. No more distracting myself by baking goodies, eating chocolate cake, weeding my beautiful garden, or obsessively watching the news! Back to my daily routine: wake up at 6:00am, have a cup of joe, and do my Jane Fonda stretching routine. I follow that up with the level 1 and level 2 Cardio Aerobics classes, and the Fat-Burning Latin Dance Workout, all of which I can’t wait to lead on a Senior Planet Zoom Class! Of course, we can’t do all at one time. But I hope to be able to lead you in each of them virtually soon, and eventually at the Senior Planet Center.

I’m inspired by Jane Fonda, and invite you to check her out: she’s 83 years old and definitely aging with attitude! She still believes in staying healthy and eating right, and in the importance of physical exercise to support our health, maintain our balance, and keep our minds sharp.

Hope to see you all on Zoom soon. Stay well and healthy.