The Reach Out: Larry Summers
The Harvard professor and former Treasury Secretary loves to play tennis and golf, but he also picked up another sport during the pandemic.
Lawrence Summers is the Charles W. Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus of Harvard University, and the Weil Director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government at Harvard’s Kennedy School.
Dr. Summers is a contributing columnist with The Washington Post and a contributor to Bloomberg’s Wall Street Week.
He has served in a series of senior policy positions in Washington, D.C., including the 71st Secretary of the Treasury for President Clinton, Director of the National Economic Council for President Obama, and Vice President of Development Economics and Chief Economist of the World Bank.
Dr. Summers has played a role in addressing the major financial crises over the last three decades, and his tenure at the U.S. Treasury coincided with the longest period of sustained economic growth in U.S. history.
I spoke with Dr. Summers about why exercising regularly is important to him, and about which new sport he has taken up.
Is regular exercise an important part of your life?
Yes, exercise is important to me in large part because I love sports. I love to play tennis and to golf, and because I like playing, I try to keep a regular exercise regime. In recent years, I’ve been pretty disciplined in working out most mornings; stretching, using weights. It’s the first thing I do in the morning when I wake up.
Do you have a specific exercise routine?
I usually work out with a trainer, and because of COVID, it’s been via Skype. Our routine varies from morning to morning. Some days, we work upper body, some days it’s lower body. But I try to do 45 minutes of serious exercise most mornings.
Have your exercise habits changed since COVID began?
Working from home actually led to a more regular routine and being able to fit more exercise in, whereas pre-pandemic, my schedule was highly irregular, as I was frequently traveling both domestically and internationally. Now since I rarely travel, I have no excuse to not work out.
Do you wear a fitness monitor to count your steps or track your activity level?
No. I probably should. Perhaps I will one day, but at this point I can’t say I do.
Is there something that motivates you to exercise regularly?
One motivator is knowing that being in better shape, and being a bit lighter, enables me to play golf and tennis as well as I can. And, of course, I’m also aware of the long term health benefits of exercise.
I find that working with a trainer helps keep me motivated, and helps keep me from doing things that would be risky or could cause injury.
Do you keep the news on, or listen to music or a podcast, while you exercise?
I usually watch some kind of financial television when I’m not working out with a trainer.
How do you think we encourage kids and teens to be more active?
We need to find ways to make exercise fun, and I think we should establish the principle that kids need to spend a certain amount of time outdoors.
When my kids were young, I was very emphatic in saying they could have only so much vegetative time, which I defined as time in front of the TV or time sprawled across the couch.
Is there a sport or activity that you would like to try?
Actually, over the last year or so, I’ve taken up pickleball. I’ve always played tennis, and pickleball is a similar game, but some of the things that only Raphael Nadal can do on a tennis court, I can do on a pickleball court.
Dr. Summers is not alone, as pickleball was declared “the fastest growing sport in America” in 2021. I agree that kids need to limit their couch time and get outside. They can catch up on the financial news after they’ve broken a sweat.
Thank you, @LHSummers
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