No less authority than Winnie-the-Pooh said, ''A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercise.''
With Thanksgiving lurking right around the calendar corner, we must take care to be fit enough to feast. How tragic it would be to faint from exhaustion while walking to the buffet table.
This is why committing acts of exercise is so important.
According to national statistics, more and more of us show a certain amount of, um, ''experience'' and, er, ''solid character.'' Our grandkids refer to it as being too ''old'' and ''fat'' to work out, but that's simply not true. You're closer to holiday shape than you realize.
Try this workout on for size:
SIT-UPS: Perform at least one each morning. For a more strenuous workout, don't throw off your blankets first.
Here's a tip for added benefit: Health experts agree that one should drink at least eight full glasses of water a day. If you drink all eight of them just before you go to bed, you'll find this somehow encourages you to perform even more sit-ups during the course of the early morning hours.
NEGATIVE SIT-UPS: This is the reverse motion of the sit-up and can be performed every night at bedtime.
PUSH-UPS: Those of you who sleep on your bellies may prefer this alternative to the morning sit-up.
JOGGING: Most of us in the "solid" and "experienced" group consider this activity a nuisance. However, it does have benefits. For example, if you are an overachiever and drink, say, a dozen full glasses of water before bedtime, you'll probably find jogging - if not flat-out sprinting - quite beneficial.
SQUATS: One of the best all-around exercises one can do is squats. And they're easy to work into your schedule.
Every night before performing your negative sit-up, scatter the next day's clothes about the floor. In the morning, after doing your sit-up, you can tally anywhere from one to six squats, depending on how many clothes you pick up in one swoop.
PELVIC TWISTS: You accomplished this when you scattered your clothes on the floor the night before. See how easy this exercise program is! (If your spouse catches you scattering yesterday's dirty clothes as well, you also may increase your sprinting.)
CURLS: Normally, these are conducted in a gymnasium using heavy dumbbells. But we're not trying to get into a Mr. Universe competition. We want Thanksgiving dinner shape.
So do this: When you sit at your dining room table, load your fork or spoon with as much food as you can scoop up - the more weight, the better - and curl it into your mouth. The longer you eat, the more reps you get.
Use both hands to not only make sure your biceps develop equally, but so you will clean your plate even faster and get back in line for seconds before Crazy Cousin Meatball McGirth does.
ROWING: You already did this when you pulled out your dining room chair. I told you this was easy.
And, and remember, stretching is important. You wouldn't want pull a muscle before doing your nightly negative sit-up. So do your cool-down exercises in the La-Z-Boy after every meal.
OK, get to it. Thanksgiving is only 12 days away.
----- For more fitness types, write Cole at burtseyeview@tribtoday. com or find him on the Burton W. Cole page on Facebook.