As director of the Louisiana Division of Administrative Law, you might think Ann Wise wouldn’t have much time to exercise. And you would be right. But Wise makes time, whatever crazy demands her busy schedule might make.
“I go to the [Paula G.] Manship YMCA or the downtown [Charles W. Lamar] Y, especially at lunch,” says Wise, who runs the state agency that provides administrative judges to conduct hearings statewide. “I often have things to do after work, so I make time at lunch at least three days a week.”
It’s a strategy that’s paying off. At 53, Wise is in top physical shape. She looks good, feels good and has the energy to keep up with a demanding career and three children, including 12-year-old twins.
Staying in shape has always been a priority for Wise. She didn’t play sports growing up in Sulphur, not for a lack of interest, but because there weren’t many athletic opportunities for girls in the 1960s and early 1970s. As an adult, however, she has cultivated a healthy lifestyle. She enjoys the outdoors and likes to walk and hike, especially with her family. She also plays tennis on a regular basis and takes ballet at the Baton Rouge Dancers’ Workshop.
“Growing up, I was never a ballet girl,” she says. “But I have to come to realize it’s such good core training. You can’t even do the simplest first-position plie if you’re not keeping your shoulders back and down and keeping your back and hips straight.”
Then there’s the gym. Wise says her thrice-weekly workouts usually last more than an hour. She varies her routines to break up the monotony, but typically spends between 40 and 60 minutes on the StairMaster. Then she does strength training, which includes weights on the upper and lower body and exercises like inverse military pushups.
“I like to do lots of reps with weights that aren’t too heavy,” Wise says. “I’m not trying to build bulk but I want to be strong and toned.”
A healthy diet also helps to keep Wise in shape. She enjoys the kinds of foods that are good for you—fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains. She also has the discipline to stop eating when she’s full.
“I don’t really worry about what I eat because I don’t have any bad eating habits,” she says. “I eat chocolate every day, but only a very little bit. The thing they tell you about eating reasonably and being sure you have plenty of fruit and vegetables and exercising, it really works.”
Wise appreciates the benefits of her healthy lifestyle in her professional and personal life. She says exercising often helps clear her head after a stressful day at the office and helps her maintain mental focus.
“If I get to feeling stressed, the best thing to do is to get on the treadmill or go for a walk,” she says. “It doesn’t solve the problem, but frequently I’ll find that by the end of my walk I’ve either thought of a solution or I’ve gotten to the point where I can leave it alone for a while.”
She also finds that by staying in shape she can keep up with her kids, who play a variety of sports. That, after all, is the ultimate goal.
Says Wise: “I want to be able to continue to be fit enough to play sports with my kids as long as I can.”
