When you've excelled in high school, college and professional sports, whupped athletic butt on prime-time network TV, paddled the Moloka'i Channel and chased Tour de Francers up and down the Pyrenees, what is there to do but ... keep on going?

"I've been active my whole life," says 55-year-old Linda Fernandez, founder of Fernandez Sports and Physical Therapy. "It's not something I even think about anymore. It's how I live."

Longtime Honolulu residents will remember Linda Fernandez not just as the granddaughter of amusement giant E.K. Fernandez, but as one of the most gifted local athletes of her generation.

At Punahou School, Fernandez was a standout in volleyball and tennis as well as track and field, in which she competed in the high jump, and 100-meter and 200-meter dash.

After a solid career in the (pre-Dave Shoji) University of Hawai'i volleyball program, Fernandez played internationally for five years (1975-80) and competed in the old network TV series "Superstars," which pitted top athletes against each other in weekly multisport competition. Fernandez twice won the show's season championship.

These days, Fernandez devotes much of her time to her 7-year-old business in Kahala. Here, Fernandez, a registered physical therapist, integrates Pilates with other rehabilitative therapies to help clients regain, build or maintain strength and flexibility.

Fernandez learned about Pilates — a low-resistance system of exercises that emphasizes flexibility, posture, balance and the coordination of big and small muscle groups for proper movement — nearly a decade ago and has since earned certification through Rael Isacowitz's Body Arts and Science Corp. She's been making repeated trips to the Mainland to work on another certification.

The exercises have proven effective for people of various body types and fitness levels, from stroke-impaired seniors to surgery-repaired elite athletes. And Fernandez herself provides perhaps the best example of what Pilates can do for active people without any major physical limitations.

Fernandez said Pilates helps her maintain the core-muscle strength needed to stabilize athletic movement, while enhancing her overall muscular balance and flexibility. As a result, Fernandez is able to keep up a rigorous weekly regimen of running, biking, swimming, weight-lifting and other activities.

"It's a baseline," Fernandez says of her active schedule. "If I keep that up, then when an event comes along, the fitness is already there and I can just focus my training in a specific way."

That's what she does when she enters the long-distance paddling season. It's what she did last summer in preparation for a bike tour in France that found her pedaling 30 to 50 miles per day along the Tour de France route, before or after each day's official race.

Fernandez hopes to one day expand her business to include a full complement of personalized treatment and fitness services. For now, she'll continue to preach — and demonstrate — the joys of staying active.

Workout habits: "I lift at the gym twice a week. I do cardio every day for anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, depending on what I'm doing. If I run, it'll be 30 minutes. If I bike, it might be an hour and a half or more. I include swimming and paddling with this. I also do Pilates every day for strength and flexibility. It's great for balancing me out, which is really necessary with the activities that I do. Imbalances are what causes injuries."

When and why I started working out: "I grew up with three older brothers, so I've always been active. It's a lifestyle."

My good foods/bad foods: "Variety is important. I'm not a vegetarian; I eat some meat. I also eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and I drink a lot of water. I can't stand fast food. My weakness is lattes. I love them. I also like chocolate, but not a lot of it."

My biggest motivator: "No. 1: Me! I'm my major motivator. I think that's where it has to come from. No. 2, in my profession, you can't just say it, you've got to do it, too."

My next challenge: "My next challenge is always the next day. I want to be able to mentally and physically deal with whatever. No matter what age you are, I think you should try to be in the optimal health and condition that you can be."

Advice for those in the same boat: "As you get older, change is OK. Just try to be as healthy as you can be. There's no secret and there's no pill. Get the right exercise, eat well, do things in moderation and be consistent. You have to keep it up."

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.