Alex Trebek hates it. I recently watched a behind the scenes piece Business Insider filmed with the longtime Jeopardy host. They spent a day in 2017 following Alex around the set. They also asked some personal questions to help us get to know him better.

I was particularly amused by the brief back and forth about exercise. Alex says he doesn’t believe in exercise…in fact, he hates it. That surprised me because Alex Trebek has aged better than most and certainly gives off the appearance of someone for whom exercise is a key part of his life. We quickly learned his disdain of exercise wasn’t the complete story.

I should note…this video piece was filmed a couple years before Alex was diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer…a terrible disease that does not discriminate between those who exercise and those who don’t.

Alex Trebek is not alone in his hatred of exercise. In fact, my guess is that he is part of the majority. Even those who regularly exercise don’t always like it. Some may hate it, but do it anyway.

The biggest problem with exercise is that most of it is separate from real life activity. How many of us do sit-ups, pull-ups, and push-ups in our normal daily comings and goings? Same for squats, lunges, and planks. Yet, we have the idea that fitness can’t happen without exercise.

I disagree.

When Alex Trebek answered the question about exercise he did not have a light hearted expression. He was serious. After he told the interviewer how much he hates exercise there is an awkward pause. In that moment, an off-camera assistant gives us a different perspective…one that the reporter from Inside Business wouldn’t even think to ask.

Alex Trebek loves doing remodeling projects around the house…and, not just his house. At the time of the interview he was working at remodeling his daughter’s place.

Have you ever done full-on remodeling? I spent many years doing that to our house. It’s an intense workout involving strength, cardio and stretching. That’s how Alex Trebek stays fit. He found an intense real-life activity that he loves and does regularly.

That’s how you Win at Fitness without exercise. Find an enjoyable physical activity you can do regularly that pushes you. It’s that simple.

To be clear, there are people who love exercise…pull-ups, sit-ups, and squats. They look forward to their workout as much as anything else they do. It’s now part of their lifestyle. The problem is very few of us start there…enjoying exercise, that is.

Instead, we start with the understanding that to be the healthier version of ourselves we need to exercise. We make a goal to get fit and start our exercise program doing stuff we don’t enjoy, may even hate. And, no surprise…that rarely sticks.

If that describes your fitness history, don’t give up. Walking intentionally is a great way to re-start your fitness journey. It’s already a part of your daily activity and there are lots of different ways to supersize the enjoyment.

The key is starting the right way. Set a modest, daily step goal and track your progress. It’s amazing how building a chain of daily fitness wins creates momentum. Don’t ever underestimate the power of setting goal and consistently hitting your target. It’s profoundly life-changing.

My daily goal is 20,000 steps. I didn’t start there, and would never suggest anyone starting there. I don’t even think 10,000 steps a day is a good starting place for most people. It’s too big a jump since the average person gets about 4,000 steps a day. Start small and work your way up to 10,000 (and beyond) to get that momentum moving in the right direction.

I’ve put together a step by step guide to help you reach 10,000 steps in a way that you will find encouraging and momentum building. I’d like to give it to you free.

In addition to my step goal I also do a daily high intensity cardio workout and strength training five days a week. These other two activities could be defined as exercise. But, because I have momentum, it doesn’t feel like it. These are workouts I enjoy. But, again…I didn’t start there. That’s the power of fitness momentum.

Coming later this month you will have a unique (and fun) opportunity to start a new fitness journey that WILL last. If you are currently on a fitness journey this opportunity will help you build even greater momentum.

I’ll be rolling out details in a few weeks. If you click FOLLOW (below on your phone…to the right and above on your computer) you won’t miss a thing.