The new year presents a fresh opportunity to carve out time and commit to an exercise routine, so we spoke to three Fordham employees who have cracked the code. Here’s what motivates these staff and faculty members to keep moving throughout the year.
Working Toward a Goal
Upon hearing that a former colleague had registered for a half marathon in 2018, Ainsley Woakes, senior associate director of alumni relations, thought to herself, “I can do that, too.” As a former cross-country runner who works out regularly, she was in good shape to start running again.
With one race down, she signed up for the 2019 Boston Marathon as part of a charity team. But a stress fracture foiled her plans to participate, and then COVID canceled the following year’s marathon. The organizers allowed runners to complete the 26.2 miles on their own and so Woakes ran her first marathon solo in the fall of 2020.
She has since run five more marathons and plans to register for a new race in 2026. Still, she doesn’t consider running to be a core part of her personality—it’s just “proof that I can do something hard.” And it all begins by putting a race on the calendar. “For me, having something to work toward is good motivation.” Each marathon requires about 16 weeks of serious training, but she doesn’t beat herself up if she misses a day. “I miss weekday runs all the time, and I’m like, okay, cool. You’re not trying to win the marathon. Things happen.”
A Shift in Mindset—and a Group Text Thread
Jed Dorfman, an adjunct professor at the Gabelli School of Business at Rose Hill, credits meditation and the camaraderie of his friends with helping him to stay fit. He begins every morning “with a short meditation that always includes a gratitude moment,” he said. “I remind myself that I am lucky that I ‘get to’ work out today rather than ‘having to’ work out today.”
He also takes Peloton classes with his friends, and they often push each other to exercise harder—while also “throwing around a fair amount of trash talk.”
His friend group also participates in a collective fitness challenge that began three months ago. For the first 30 days, they did 30 push-ups and a 30-second plank daily. After that, they added one push-up and one second of planking every day, so that by the final day of the challenge they will be doing 365 push-ups and holding a plank for 365 seconds. The best part, he said, “is the group text thread filled with daily check-ins, encouragement, and shared suffering.”
A Better Commute
Adam Bermudez, assistant director of communications and program management for the Center for Community Engaged Learning, began walking regularly during the pandemic to get outside. Since he joined Fordham in 2022, he’s kept up the habit, even in the dead of winter.
“I’m not a runner,” said Bermudez. In fact, he doesn’t particularly love to exercise. But he does enjoy walking, and commutes to work on foot from his Bronx home, about 30 minutes each way, which adds up to roughly four miles a day.
“I don’t necessarily feel like I’m exercising, but I’m getting my steps in.”
Seeing the crowded, carbon-emitting alternative also keeps him motivated to walk. “When I’m walking and I see the bus and it’s super packed, I’m like, this is a more relaxing, pleasant experience. It’s also a more green form of transportation.”
