No Excuses!

By Jeff Chu

Martina Navratilova must have a secret. The rivals of her youth have moved on--into retirement, onto highlight reels, up to the TV booth. Yet Navratilova, the tennis great who will turn 50 in October, is still whipping forehands past players who hadn't been born yet when she started on the pro tour in 1972. With her unusual endurance have come questions--lots of them. "The longer I play and the older I get," she says, "the more I get 'Why are you still doing this? How can you do it so well?'"

So? "There is no secret, no silver bullet," says Navratilova. "Everybody can do it." That means you--flabby you, middle-aged you, gym-loathing you--can get into shape and, like Navratilova, stay in shape. After years of giving advice ad hoc, Navratilova has written a book explaining how. In Shape Your Self, Navratilova argues that healthy food can taste good, getting fit doesn't require physical pain and joining a health club isn't necessary to get results. The bottom line, she says, is "you have no excuse to not get fit."

Navratilova did not get to the top by making excuses. She has won 167 pro singles titles--more than any other player, man or woman--and 175 doubles titles, including one last year, when she paired with Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 20, to win the Canadian Open. The oldest player on the women's tour, Navratilova plans to play a full doubles schedule this year--and improve on her showing at last year's Grand Slams, in which she reached the doubles semifinals of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. She says she may even play singles "on the grass"--at Wimbledon, which she has won a record nine times--"if the body's feeling good and the game's up to it."

As you may expect from someone in the fourth decade of her athletic career, Navratilova doesn't believe in instant gratification. The quick-fix mentality, she says, is what's wrong with how a lot of folks approach fitness. "You can't feel like you have to drastically change your life overnight," she says. "People make resolutions, especially at New Year's. They last two weeks." The enthusiasm may be well intentioned, but the plan is usually not well executed. "They get excited. 'I'm going to the gym!'" she says. "Then they totally overdo it. They are exhausted and sore, and that's the end of it."

Her plan is based on baby steps. "If you do things incrementally, you have a much better chance of succeeding," she says. Navratilova's approach is commonsensical and holistic, focusing on a strong mind and spirit as well as on the body. Of the six steps in her plan (see box), only one focuses on physical exercise. Her healthy menus feature dishes like guacamole wraps and whole-wheat pancakes, and the recipes are user friendly (a 1-oz. serving of cheese is described as the size of a lipstick tube) and not too restrictive (they include ingredients that other diets would deem indulgent, like maple syrup and grated Asiago cheese). She also emphasizes mental exercise. For example, to sharpen your focus, she advises keeping a journal. "You have to feel on the inside that you want to make this change," she says.

As for physical exercise, she's a myth buster when it comes to the notion of no pain, no gain. "You don't have to suffer in order to feel great and look great," she insists. "You don't have to run sprints or do suicides on a basketball court in under 30 seconds."

Her alternative: simple, low-impact exercises that "people can do inexpensively and easily, with no big equipment." Many are based on the Pilates principle of strengthening your core--the abdomen, hip and back muscles that support the spine. To do her abs-targeting tummy tuck, for instance, lie on an exercise mat or other soft surface with your knees bent and arms at your sides. Inhale deeply, then as you slowly exhale, draw your abdomen in. You don't have to leave the house to do the exercises. "You can get an overall body workout without going to the gym," she says. If you don't have dumbbells, she suggests water-filled milk jugs instead.

Navratilova says that with her strategy, "you can feel a difference over a couple of weeks." But it's really about the long term. "You need to have the wherewithal to see the big goal," she says. "Stay with it." Her long career may be her best advertisement. "I'm still playing! I'm still doing it!" she says. "And if I feel like this the rest of my life, I'll be happy." Take it from a pro: it will work for you too.