Sweat those blues away

Yes, the Polar Bear Plunge officially counts as exercise - not for running into and out of the frigid lake, but for the massive shivering and shaking afterward.

The year is young, so this is as good a time as any to commit to an exercise program that fits your schedule and your budget. And speaking of budget, dig a little deeper than superficial numbers. Consider the cost of a membership at any of our region's outstanding health clubs vs. the extra medical costs you can incur now and a little further down the road from not taking good care of your body.

To help catapult you off that comfy couch, here are words of wisdom from folks whose names might ring a bell - which itself is a form of exercise.

"Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it."

- Plato

"Exercise and temperance can preserve something of our early strength even in old age."

- Cicero

"Exercise and application produce order in our affairs, health of body, cheerfulness of mind, and these make us precious to our friends."

- Thomas Jefferson

"Few people know how to take a walk. The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The physically fit can enjoy their vices."

- Lord Percival

"Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity."

- John F. Kennedy

"The word 'aerobics' comes from two Greek words: aero, meaning "ability to," and bics, meaning "withstand tremendous boredom."

- Dave Barry

"Too many people confine their exercise to jumping to conclusions, running up bills, stretching the truth, bending over backward, lying down on the job, sidestepping responsibility and pushing their luck."

- Author Unknown