To hope that the exercise I do now will help mobility when I'm older

personally, I don't worry about flexibility, as I have seen this type of training cause a lot of issues later on down the line

You are not really doing any cardio though. The strength exercise is very good

Being active makes a huge difference but it's no guarantee of a healthy old age.

Anyone can fall, get injured or end up with a degenerative illness and I think lots of people don't realise how little it takes to turn your world upside down in terms of your activity levels and your fitness.

You cannot predict the future and life has a habit of throwing a spanner in the works. But I do think that you can improve your chances by doing things you enjoy and just keep moving. That might be gardening/walking/housework and general pottering about or going to the gym and working out. Like most things things it’s probably better to do little and often and in moderation.

I've had RA for some years now and feel that my daily half hour walk really does help. I feel dreadful if I miss it, it's so much harder to get going in the morning. Exercise, to me, can help you deal with existing conditions as well as staving new ones off.

I suspect it's a good start, but you can't predict injuries which can have a massive difference to your mobility.
I'm late 40s, and until about 10 years ago, I was really sporty and active. Played hockey three times a week, gym, cycling. I hurt my back badly, and I've been left with mobility challenges. I can't run, I can't do impact classes, etc. I've moved to doing yoga, adding to the pilates I was already doing, and a lot of swimming. It doesn't mean I'm not super frustrated - and I've piled on the weight since then too. I suspect that my mobility won't get much (if any) better than it is now.
I never saw this as my future.

It's good to establish a mindset of exercise, so that you are more inclined to keep exercising when older. But as others have shown, age can bring unforeseen issues that limit what you can do, but your mindset will ensure that you at least try to do what you can within your ability.

I have been sporty off and throughout the years and now in my 60s have osteoarthritis in most of my joints, but try to ensure I swim twice a week, do pilates and walk everywhere on good arthritis days. Would love to take up kick-boxing but I think that dream is fading somewhat.😥

Body's and how we can use and abuse them are really very complicated indeed. It's very easy to overuse some parts and underuse other parts. Just because someone looks to be doing the right things doesn't necessarily mean they actually are using the right muscle in the right way. Our larger muscles are programmed to take over if a smaller muscle is fatigued. Doing something using the wrong muscles is worse than useless.

Yoga taught properly 121 with a teacher who knows what they are doing has been a game changer for me. Started in order to Finally sort out my back and have found it useful for all sorts.

Anytime I present with a problem pain or even a twinge she can give me movements to do, first gentle then working up to quite strong which to me don't immediately address the issue but I have come to trust will address whatever the really problem in.

The place a pain appears is for example very often the 'other end' of muscle for which something is going wrong.

We work to the rate of my breathing. If I'm not a little out of breath, I can be worked harder. If I can't catch my breath, we slow it down.

Absolutely, strength, cardio and balance are all important, it's also important to work with correct use within your extensible capacity to avoid all the set backs that injury bring.

It will help and support your joints yes.
I'd also add some functional fitness/ balance type stuff - body weight squats, Turkish get ups, tricep dips, downward dog stretches. All will help massively as you age.

As others have said, nothing is a given. In my experience though I would say that people who were active when young definitely have a better chance of retaining fitness as they age. I take the ‘use it or loose it’ approach and with this in mind I do 20-30 mins yoga every morning and I walk quite a bit - I’m 69 and, fingers crossed, am pretty fit for my age.

My grandad never did any gym type exercise but he's walked and walked all his life as well as playing golf regularly
He's still playing golf at 96

Im 67. worked a sedentary job till retirement. Never did gyms or weights or running. However i walked an awful lot and with purpose! I can walk anywhere now but not hill walking, and thankfully have no joint issues.

My DP is 70. He was super fit, ran marathons and was a gym bunny. He has one new knee and another on the way. He has piled on the weight due to inactivity and joint/mobility problems. This has led to depression now sadly.

There are no guarantees, but i think walking is great. Well it seems to have worked for me anyway,so far!

Even if it doesn't help when you're much older (who knows when we'll go...) it will already be helping 👍

I exercise 5 times a week (2 x cardio / 3 x weight lifting) and the difference between my friends that exercise like me and those that do nothing but slowly walk their dogs is quite stark. They have aches and pains and a much different outlook on life.

My grandparents were all physically active and healthy (and wealthy/well educated), one got Parkinson's in their 70s, one got MND in their 70s, two lived into their 90s

Chance plays a far bigger part than people like to believe.

Lots of people with my condition were in robust health before they developed it. Now, because it is invisible they are often judged as lazy and sedentary by those who don't know they have it. Plus countless people will have it and not even know because it is hard to diagnose.

Exercise is great, not least because it is fun and means you can enjoy more things. But thinking that it will guarantee a healthy old age is deluded.

I agree, use it or lose it, but I think it is important to vary the exercise you do, and also find exercise that you enjoy, personally I don’t like running or playing sports so avoid them!

I do three, I do a fair amount of Nordic walking which I think helps with stamina and is also social, I do a gentle tai chi which focuses a lot on balance, flexibility, body awareness, breathing and posture , and swimming which does everything.

Yes. But you also need cardio and flexibility in there too.
Weights isnt the holy grail of exercise.

My mum didn't lift weights (although when she got Alzheimer's she claimed she lifted weights and ran miles every day😆) but she walked absolutely everywhere. Always briskly and with purpose. Her mobility was fantastic right up until she was about 88, when the dementia started to cause balance issues and made her scared to walk very far. I remember when she was having work done in her house at 86, the builder was hugely impressed at her ability to step over all the rubble (we did take her to stay at our house at that point though.)

Yes it will help. My mother's partner still plays tennis at 82! Walks for an hour a day.

My Mum does Pilates, and walks daily and at 80 is spritely!

Find a functional fitness class. It will definitely help with mobility in years to come.

I was a competitive gymnast from 8-18 and kept on being active and did more weight etc as I aged - but honestly as I hit peri menopause nothing seemed to have made any difference and it’s been a huge shock that I’ve gained weight and can’t seem to shift it regardless of diet or exercise changes or all the work I’ve done for years and years

If depends what type of yoga, what teachers you have and your body make up. Hyper mobile people who aren’t encouraged to develop the strength to support their joints are those who struggle. I’m not hyper mobile and have had excellent teaching, so at 46 am stronger and more flexible than most women in their 20s.

Yes but don't overdo it! I over exercised and injured myself and now have a disability as a result.

I think you need to be very careful with long term yoga, it has caused my sister major joint problems

It will help. I started learning yoga in my mid 20s, best decision ever.

It can't hurt, but it might not help. I was very active, now physically very limited