Authors need exercise, too
As a writer, I'm painfully aware of the pitfalls of inactivity, especially when trying to meet deadline. But what about international, best-selling authors -- do they struggle with being active? Or, given their daily digit workouts, are they exempt from the pressures of fitting in exercise? Not according to Naperville-based best-selling authors Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Luis Alberto Urrea. They know only too well the challenges that come from a sedentary job.
"I started to get serious about exercise when I began writing full time back in 1982," says Phillips, New York Times best-selling author of "What I Did For Love." "I realized having such a sedentary job meant I had to counterbalance it. I'm so glad I did."
As for Urrea, 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction and author of numerous books, "For me, I may find myself sitting for hours upon hours but know the value of countering that with activity. It's hard, but I've been doing it consistently since working with a trainer. I try to hit the treadmill or do a bit of weight training four to five times per week."
For Phillips, she aims to write for three uninterrupted hours, but fits in 2.5-mile walks most days of the week. She has been doing this for almost 25 years.
"It's the only exercise I've been able to stick with because I don't hate it. But strength training, I hate that," she says. "Given that osteoporosis runs in my family, I try to incorporate walking lunges along with other strength exercises during the course of the week."
For Urrea, whose most recent book was "Into the Beautiful North," it depends on what he's writing and when he's writing.
"In the middle of a project, I can write many, many hours in a stretch," he says. "Sometimes, I only write what I can fit in. Sometimes, I can't. But it helps having a schedule so I always know when it's time to go and see my trainer. It gives me the excuse/reason to step away from the desk."
Excuses are like loose change; you can find them easily and use them often. But for Urrea and Phillips, they know that excuses ultimately don't work; consistent exercise does.
"Finding time is one thing; looking for excuses not to exercise is another," Urrea says. "My suggestion is to be answerable to someone other than yourself. When you have a schedule, you're more likely to meet it. My wife and I go together, so I'm also answerable to her as well."
For Phillips, she values the flexibility that comes with being a full-time writer.
"I'm lucky to have a flexible schedule. Flexibility makes it much easier for me to get my exercise time in than if I were a mother working a 9-to-5 job, and coming home to car pools and hungry kids."
With travel and tight schedules, I asked both authors how they handle nutrition. Urrea recognizes that it's a process and appreciates that he makes better choices now than in years past.
"You can usually tell what's good for you and what isn't," he says. "Sometimes there's no choice. But you can always pick a meal that doesn't have french fries, for example."
Phillips is pretty conscious of her nutrition choices.
"I pack nutritious snacks when I travel: half a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread, a piece of fruit," she says. "Letting myself get too hungry always makes me overeat, so I try not to let that happen. I'm also fairly good at finding the most nutritious choices on a restaurant menu. I always order salad dressing on the side and barely use it. I drastically limit my intake of fried foods and try to discipline myself when it comes to the bread basket. Just don't get in my way when the dessert cart shows up!"
