Lend Us Your Voice? Inspire Someone Else With Your Own Fitness Wisdom

Dear friends — Last week, we asked you to nominate people who inspire you, fitness-wise. (It's not too late! Do it here.) Now, we're asking you, yourself, to become a fitness inspiration for others. (Yes, even if your deltoid definition still leaves something to be desired.)

Why all these asks? We're working on a podcast that aims to apply the power tools of public radio — solid information, great storytelling and sound — to fitness. You know the umpteen "Why To Exercise Today" posts we’ve put up over the years? Kind of like those, only even better, and in the form of ear candy plus a daily email you’ll be able to sign up for in a few weeks. It will aim to help people evolve their relationship to exercise, from seeing it as (mostly) a chore to seeing it as (mostly) a treat, a gift to self.

As we begin the early stages of production, we’d love your help, in your own voice — or rather, your own voice memo, recorded on your iphone, if you have one. Please check out the questions below, and if any of them speak to you, please consider recording yourself as you answer them, and sending the recording to me at goldberg.carey+magicpill@gmail.com (Instructions below.)

• What is your name, with spelling, and age?

• If your forms of exercise feel good to you, how? Please try to describe it.

• What do you like to do for exercise/activity and why?

• Do you find it affects your mood? How?

• If you love strength training or weights, can you describe why?

• Do you abide by any simple exercise rules for yourself? What are they?

• Is location a problem for your exercise practices, and if so, how do you overcome it?

• Is there a social side to your exercise? Can you describe it? Do you have buddies who help?

• Does fear motivate your exercise at all? Of what?

• Are you very strapped for time but still manage to exercise? Please describe how and why.

• How do you get over the inertia or resistance so many of us feel about exercise?

• Do you know of any free (no-cost) ways to exercise you'd like to let others know about?

• If you've fallen off the exercise "wagon," how did you get back on?

• Do you find that exercise gives you less or more energy? How?

• Do you think exercise is affecting how you age? How?

• Do you set very modest, reachable exercise goals for yourself? What are they and does that work?

• Do you have any exercise quirks, in the sense of "it has to be like this for me to exercise"? (Time of day, music, coffee or other drinks, pre-loaded sugar, anything?)

THANK YOU!! (And we hardly ever use that online-shouting upper case here, you know.) Now for the tech part. Here's how to do it:

1) Open up the Voice Memos app on your iPhone. (It might be hiding in your Utilities folder.)
2) Tap the red circle on the screen to begin recording. Be sure to hold the end of the phone that you normally talk into a few inches from your mouth when speaking. You should be able to see the wave file recording while you're speaking. Don't feel the need to yell into the phone, but instead speak in your normal phone conversation voice.
3) Tap the red icon again to end the recording. Instead of a circle, it'll now look more like a square.
4) Tap 'Done'
5) You'll be prompted to name your new recording. Please title your voice memo file with the following convention: Your First Name-Last Name-mp
So, if your name is John Smith, the name of your file would be: John-Smith-mp
6) Once you've named your file, tap 'Save'.
7) Your file will now appear by name on the screen - tap on the name of the file.
8) Click on the icon of the box with an arrow pointing up. This icon should be on the left of the screen.
9) Choose the envelope icon to share your file with us via email.
10) Please send the file to goldberg.carey+magicpill@gmail.com.

If anything is unclear, maybe one of these other instruction sets will help:

Gastropod -- Only please don't email it to them! Please send it to goldberg.carey@gmail.com.

http://www.wikihow.com/Record-a-Voice-Memo-on-an-iPhone

WNYC's Note to Self: How to record a voice memo. (But don't send to them! Send to goldberg.carey+magicpill@gmail.com)

One more thank you for any recording you're moved to do. We'll let you know if your recording is going to be featured. And please stay tuned — watch for word of “The Magic Pill.” (As in, there isn't one, but exercise is the closest thing.)