Best Revenge: A personal look at living well
By: Chris Bynum
© The Times-Picayune
Gini Davis, 57, A licensed physical therapist
Favorite exercises: Running, boxing, Pilates.
Days of exercise a week: Six.
Diet do: Well-rounded diet with protein in the form of fish.
Diet don't: Sugar.
Exercise benefits: "The strength, flexibility and endurance to snow ski, climb mountains and keep up with my 6-year-old granddaughter."
Exercise philosophy: "I've done marathons and scheduled my life around running. Now I've learned moderation . . . and the importance of strength, flexibility (which I have always preached to my patients) and cross-training with other Ôfun' activities like Pilates and boxing."
Prioritize and set goals. That's Gini Davis' mantra. Fitness goals top her list.
One goal was to run her first marathon by age 40, 17 years ago. Her mission was accomplished. Other fitness goals followed -- hiking the Andes in Peru, trekking the Rockies in Montana and heli-skiing in Canada. Next summer she will be riding the rapids on the Colorado River.
Davis, the owner of Crescent City Physical Therapy, tells others how to put fitness in their lives sans injury. She has provided fitness tips to golfers, footwear assessments to runners and training calendars for those preparing for the annual Crescent City Classic 10-K race in the spring.
Her own Achilles heel when it comes to diet is a weakness for sugar, but Davis says she considers sugar cravings a sign that something is missing in her nutritional plan. "When I crave sweets, I know I'm not getting enough protein," she says.
In addition to the practice of Pilates (a flexibility and stretching routine originally used by dancers), Davis continues to run (with her granddaughter biking beside her) and uses boxing for agility and added strength. Weight-training is also part of a weekly routine that makes age 57 nothing short of fit.
