How to improve fitness when you are incredibly unfit

I've started doing walking meetings with my boss, he spends a lot of time commuting and was saying how he doesn't have time to move as much anymore. I suggested a walking meeting and it works really well for us, just laps round the block

If you have one, chuck the youngest back in a pushchair so you can walk faster sometimes. Those years when they can walk but aren't school age are a pain.

Love this for you 🙌

I'm another one who recommends Couch 2 5K.

22 months ago, realising that my 3yo could run away from me, and I couldn't catch him, I vowed that I had to get fitter.

I went out early on a Saturday morning, in walking sandals (as I didn't own a pair of trainers), and put the first podcast on the speaker on my phone (as I didn't own a pair of headphone).

The first one nearly killed me. 9 individual 1 min runs. At the end of each 1 min run, I was heaving. But, there was serious sense of achievement, it was the first time I'd run on purpose in 20 years, in school sport.

The next day, I got a cheap pair of trainers and headphones from the supermarket. And I carried on. I'm a stubborn thing.

I've lost 4 stone now, can run for 2 hours without stopping (18km) and will be taking part in my first half marathon in May, to mark 2 years since I started.

I'm tired, and I ache, but for a good reason. I can go out running with the DC on bikes and scooters. I can play chase and tag, and the children can hold their hands around my waist when they hug me.

I never. EVER. Thought that I could be a runner.

I agree, it was seeing a lot of people reaching retirement and then not being able to do the things they’d planned due to mobility and medication restraints that made me get more focused on my physical exercise. Also having a mother who suffered really badly with osteoporosis changes your view too.

You just start. I was very fit in my 20s and then a bit fit in my 30s then stopped completely apart from a bit of walking and a bit of pilates. Woke up one morning at 55 and joined a gym that did weights classes. I ain't no Schwarzenegger but I'm much much fitter....I feel better, my shape has changed...and it inadvertently led to me taking my blood pressure and realising it was dangerously high.

I found loads of short exercise videos on YouTube.
You can walk on the spot for however many minutes you want or you can do resistance or weights etc
Whatever you want it’s there.

It wasn't meant unkindly, and it reflected the language OP used herself.

There's a lot of evidence to show that your fitness and strength between 40 and 60 is a strong indicator of living well post-60. It's much harder to regain fitness and strength as you get older so OP is doing the right thing in trying to prioritise it now.

15 squats and 8 lunges on each leg whilst brushing my teeth.

I second incorporating squats and lunges into your routine, you don’t need to do many and they efficiently build strength, stamina, improve mobility and you burn more fat if you regularly use your larger muscle mass muscles. Better than sit ups and push ups imho which I think are a bit dated plus I’m fit and I can’t even do one decent proper push up.

ps. I mean the good old floor from plank position sit ups. The wall ones are great

You could try to do bursts of fast walking while out for a walk. Pick an object like a tree or lamppost and walk as fast as you can to that. Do it a few times while walking. Anything that gets you out of breath will help.

Don't despair.
I get it.
I'm the sane size, but in my mid 50s now, and the dc are teens.
At 40 I had a three year and the Incredible Non Sleeping Baby. All I could do was walk. I had a double buggy just so that I could walk miles with them. The big one was always a great sleeper and happy to snuggle down in the pushchair.

As they got older I found pockets of time. When DS started school, I worked through the Couch 2 5K. I'd go for a run a work lunchtime when the dc were at school/nursery. I'd swim lengths at the sports centre where ds used to go to a football club. We used to have family bike rides out; walks a bit too and we all learnt to sail together through Scouts. We all did junior parkrun too once the dc were 4. Once they are old enough to leave at parties - well those parties were great!

Battle on. Do what you can when you can. Expect equal "time off" with your partner and use it for you. Then one day you'll realise that you can leave them to go to the gym for an hour... (they'll also be faster and stronger than you if they're boys) and you'll have a good base to build on when you have more ooourtunuties.

I found the very early years a struggle in many ways. Those windows of opportunity to get out for a walk, run or swim were so important to me to clear my mind.

Try Walk at Home on YouTube. They have a lot of videos between 10-15 minutes and you can walk a mile by doing marching on the spot, kicks, sidesteps and knee lifts. You don’t need much space and you can do it with the kids in the room. You can put more effort in the fitter you get and then increase how far you walk.

About 5-6 years ago I was very unfit six stone overweight and this is what I started with. I lost four stone slowly over two years and I haven’t put any back on.

If you’re currently unfit then you need to build up gently and launching straight into sit ups will be very difficult. Don’t let the sit up experience deter you! Use it to motivate you.

If you only have time in your home start very low level. Do some step ups on your stairs. Buy a very light dumbbell (2/3kg) to workout your arms. Do some squats even if they are not full range. Commit to moving more and build up from there.

My past mistake was thinking I had to repeat the workouts and increase the reps every day. My DH told me to use how I’m feeling to guide me. I didn’t know I was ‘allowed’ to do this 🤣. If I’m tired, low energy I just do what I can, it’s better than nothing!

Good luck and well done for starting OP x

I think that first paragraph is quite helpful. It’s easy to just let them go along and accept the status quo. Personally I need a bit of a shock factor to make me change my entrenched habits.

Joining you on the walking thing OP

• Start with stretching and yoga - Livinleggings and/or Yoga with Kassandra
• Lucy Wyndham Read is next - she is great for beginners
• Start doing planks (to develop a strong core, which is the key to fitness) - check out the Bowflex 3-minute plank
• Growingannanas is an excellent all-round fitness trainer - follow her at your own pace
• also try pilates-inspired workouts, e.g. Rebecca Louise, Sydney Cummings, Heather Robertson
• next get a pair of 3-5kg dumbbells and start working out with Caroline Girvan - weight training is soooo important and CG is the best

Get a step counting watch and do 10,000 steps at home. Look at YouTube videos and it also logs hula hoop spins as steps too. (Weighted).Hula hoop work is.fun.and.you can so.it while watching tv. I've lost 2 stone.doing this. I'd like to start going running soon,.now I'm.lighter.

Not sure the first paragraph was necessary there.

Are you a lone parent?

When mine were younger I’d get up earlier (I’m an early bird so it worked for me) and leave DH and the kids in bed and do couch to 5k or workouts on the TV.

Just keep moving is my advice, when the kids are older you’ll thank yourself for it

You're right that pushing 40 with no fitness and carrying extra weight is a big danger zone. You need to make time for fitness and exercise or you will need help putting on your own socks by the time you're 60.

Do you have a partner who can take the kids for evenings/weekends to get some focused time for exercise? Otherwise you just need to shoehorn it into your day.

I was thinking of getting a rowing machine. Have you found it very beneficial?

Walking is brilliant. Brisk and even intermittent jogging so your heart rate goes up and you get a bit pink faced.

Building strength is also great.

I started by incorporating more movement whilst I was doing other things.

15 squats and 8 lunges on each leg whilst brushing my teeth.

Doing standing press ups against work surface whilst the kettle was boiling.

My strength slowly increased.

After a month of that, I started Caroline Girvan's Iron programme with 3kg weights. Three rounds of that and I'm on to 7.5kg weights. Slow but steady progress.

Also try to eat more protein. Eggs for breakfast for example. There's lots of interesting commentary on taking creatine too but I've not done that.

As others have said walk, if you cannot do that just try marching on the spot maybe with a couple of water bottles in each hand. Hold them above your head and also by your side. Get some resistance bands and do some online workouts like Caroline Girvan, beginner yoga with Adrienne.

But you must be consistent and find something you can do daily for 10mins to begin with and build up from there.

Look on YouTube for low impact workouts to get you starter.
There's some 5k step indoor workouts on there, with something like that you can build up adding more intensity as you go along. You also don't need any equipment to get started.

As well as doing something for yourself, be more active with your kids.
Take them for regular walks, even if it is slow due to the youngest.
Play with a ball with them, chase them around being a hug monster or a sock monster stealing their socks, have a pillow fight, dance to a song, follow YouTube kids exercise video or just dance video, race them in the park.
Think of making sure your dc are as active as possible too and join them for some of it.

In lockdown I started some home workouts. One very easy one to start I did is Leslie Sansone - you don’t need any equipment, you can find many free episodes on youtube. I also liked one called Team Body Project. There is so many on youtube, gentle videos to start you off. I became pretty fit and lost nearly 2 stone too (I was counting calories too)