I also liked doing housework, truthfully! In my mind the bending, lifting, cleaning and mopping made up for my reluctance to go to the gym. I even found washing dishes therapeutic, and I would find myself humming while I soaped and rinsed, admiring the rose sprigs on my saucers, or the blue border of a much-loved tea cup.

In my early years in Dhaka, post Paris, Moscow, and Belgrade, I used to team up with a friend and go to the health club of the Sheraton in the evenings, where we would spend a few good hours on the treadmill, try weights and cycles, then going on to the sauna and the jacuzzi, and finally into hot showers.

It was fun comparing how many calories each of us had burned, or how long we had used the machines. We always emerged refreshed, saying to each other, "Ah, ki shukh!"

Things change though, and after a time when the heavy traffic made the drive from Gulshan to the hotel too time consuming, I tried other gyms nearer to home.

Gyms in general are pleasant and well equipped, but there were challenges for me. Most people wanted the room hot, whereas I wanted it cold. I preferred quiet, but most people wanted 'deshi' disco. I found it stressful to listen to the shrill tones of someone giving orders over the mobile, or the revelations of someone sharing gossip with others at top volume.

So, I decided to work out at home. I found that I quite enjoyed doing exercise by myself, to my own routine and music, thinking my own thoughts. In some ways it was almost as pleasurable as washing dishes. I could lose myself in the rhythm, not even counting the number of reps or the time, and emerge at the end both wonderfully relaxed and delighted with myself for having done a good day's work-out.

Things changed again. These days exercise bores me, and even housework has lost its charm. My new excuses for avoiding exercise include having a sore knee, feeling cold, feeling hot, feeling lazy, needing to freshen up my flower arrangements, or drinking a cup of tea before I begin.

Sometimes while sipping the tea I notice a book on the table. I open the book, and before I know it, two hours have passed and so has my exercise time.

In today's world there are hundreds of different types of workouts to choose from. YouTube has been a revelation for me. I have become a devotee of Lumowell, Fitness Project, Fitness Blender and Yoga for Seniors. There is even chair yoga, which should be great for lazy people like me!