MURRAY, KY - Exercise is an important component of an overall wellness-focused lifestyle, but not everyone finds their exercise the same way. Some prefer to go it on their own, but others like Mitzi Cathey know they personally need the accountability and support of others to accomplish their wellness goals.

Mitzi had been a regular in the gym for most of her adult life, and lived a healthy lifestyle. In 2009, a traumatic event shook her world and her wellness became much less of a priority. It would be two years before she ever stepped back into a gym, after her friends kept encouraging her to return.

“I just let it slide, and it wasn’t until a friend encouraged me to get active again that I decided to build wellness back into my life,” she said.

Since her comeback, Mitzi is down 30 pounds and feeling great about herself. She has learned two things that help make her successful when it comes to wellness: She needs to schedule it in and she needs the accountability and support of others.

If exercise isn’t placed on Mitzi’s calendar, she knows she is much more likely to skip out on a workout. So, she makes sure her weekly schedule includes any physical activity she wants to do and sticks with it. It helps her to know that it’s coming up and also makes it harder to pass on instead of heading to the gym so she can check it off her list.

She also has found success in accountability, and has a group of workout buddies to motivate and encourage her. This was important and crucial in the early months of 2011, when Mitzi was having trouble starting back into a wellness routine.

“Sometimes if it wasn’t for my workout partners, I wouldn’t go. You need someone there to encourage you and not let you slack. We had a group once who would try and meet the workout goal at the Wellness Center where we got half our membership fees back. Those that met the goal went out to eat at Patti’s together. If you didn’t meet the goal, you didn’t get to go. It’s things like that that give you that extra push to work out. Having friends there with you to share it with and make sure you’re staying accountable is what works for me,” She said.

Mitzi has taken her system of scheduling and accountability to her Walk it Off team in the Radiology Department. As a co-leader of the team, she makes sure there are organized, scheduled activities for team members to participate in (but she made sure to mention she’s never pushy about it, but simply makes everyone aware of the opportunities to get together and exercise). She also tries to keep up with the team members and encourages them during the Walk it Off challenge.

“We’re trying to have fun but also trying to be there for each other and be supportive,” she said.