Getting strong, fit and flexible at 50. Possible?

Pilates is great for core strength. Weight training is also good.

I joined my local running club. It is very inclusive. There are people who regularly run marathons and people who never go further than 5k (me) and although I am one of the older ones, I am not the oldest by quite a long way.

I would say the age ranges from about 20 to 65, with occasional people either side of that. Sometimes people bring their teenage kids along too.

Oh, and my workouts were all online so easy to fit in at anytime during the day. Loads to choose from on YouTube, although I found a local fitness group that had gone virtual which has suited me perfectly.

OP, I am 58. I started Couch25K 4 years ago and have been running regularly ever since.

I also do a weekly Pilates class, although had a 2 year break during Covid & only just restarted.

I was unfit and slightly overweight.

I'm still slightly overweight, but the improvement to my fitness has been massive!

You can definitely do this.

I started at 49 and gave myself a year to get fit and not flabby for when I turned 50. I did/still do a 20 min HIIT session 5 days a week plus lots of walking. HIIT sessions are a mix of hand held weights, kettlebell, boxing and bodyweight. 20 min sessions are easier to fit in, meaning I do them consistently and never put them off.
I got pretty toned with this, but still had weight to lose and used the nutracheck app for this. Easiest calorie counting app and great for making you eat healthier as you can see the split of fat, sugar, fibre, protein, etc. It also links to Fitbit, etc, so encourages you to workout/walk, as then you can eat more!
Lost just over a stone in that year and my arms, shoulders and back have never been as defined as they are now.
I'm now adding in Pilates for flexibility, as sessions seem to be shorter than yoga, so again easier to fit in.
Good luck to you all starting out on this. I love the way I look/feel now so it's really worth keeping going with it.

Can you add me?

I’m 46 and haven’t been fit since I was early teens. I need to lose maybe 4/5kg but my main aim is to gain flexibility. I’m incredibly stiff and have a bad back and I’m also very weak and want to work on that. I’m not quite menopausal and really want to get a handle on it quickly. In the new year I started posterior chain stretching on YouTube but It’s a work in progress. I have a mild prolapse and I don’t want to make that worse (but want to be as fit as possible in case I decide on a surgical route later - or even better become fit enough to avoid surgery). I’m very interested in yoga but not sure where to start. I don’t want to do a class as I work shifts so it’s hard to do anything regular and I can hardly more so I would find it embarrassing.

This is so encouraging. I'm 52 and have never been sporty, I had just got into a bit of cycling and an ok weight and lockdown/SEN teenager stress torpedoed it. Whenever I try to up the exercise either my knees pack up or I get raging migraines. My DM and MIL both have health problems and I'm really worried about "ignoring warning signs" as others said.

For me I really like the group classes! I find them fun and motivating. Body Pump, etc.

Weights or some kind of resistance training is important. Plus something for core and mobility like yoga or pilates. I love Ashtanga yoga, it makes you feel amazing.

I admire you for wanting to do something about it. I've tried and failed so many times. Before the pandemic I had actually been going to fitness classes and occasional boot camps. I'm fat and 48. I developed frozen shoulder and then a never ending hip/thigh pain issue which is the physio thinks is bursitis.
I have regular physio and I'm now doing Pilates, but it's more that I'm really unfit and having palpitations (post covid) I feel like I'll never get back on form as these issues are limiting what I can actually do.

I'm in my 50's and local running club brilliant for all ages and abilities

Ashtanga yoga. game changer.

These posts are inspirational. Thank you. Im very unfit and feel defeates and embarrassed. I've started more times than I can remember never mind count. Can anyone teach me about stretching? I'm as stiff as a board.

How long did it take (to get fit)...

It's a continuum, and it depends on where you are starting from.

I was fairly slim and reasonably fit when I started.
I noticed an increase in my fitness within a couple of weeks, but I'd guess it took a few months to get fit-fit.
A year later I discovered Caroline Girvan, and I never looked back.

These days I do a Growingannanas workout and the Bowflex plank most days, plus - on alternate days:

• a CG EPIC workout
• a mix of Rebecca Louise (especially her Best Abs), Lucy W-R's Thighs & Glutes (a gamechanger!), and one of CG's shorter workouts - basically making sure I target, legs, arms and abs
• plus an active rest day once a week, i.e. brisk walking for at least an hour.

It's so worth it. I just finished a course of physio (having overdone the weights with Caroline...), and my therapist was astonished at my fitness. I also did one of those biological age calculators online..... apparently I'm 16 years younger than my real age!

People often say they don't have time to exercise, but I find it actually energises me, so I get a second wind for doing other things. Plus it definitely improves my mental outlook. So, instead of slumping on the sofa, I have enough fuel in the tank to make a healthy meal, or deal with paperwork, or read a book.

@Merrymouse I used to run 5k with my dog a few times a week. I never did couch to 5k just ran the 5k - I've always done a lot of walking so wasn't completely unfit. We don't have park runs here in France so that wasn't an option, otherwise I would have done.

If you don't find lifting weights fun then try standing on your head and handstands against a wall instead, it's great fun! Hill running is also fun. Make sure you only breathe through your nose and if you cannot, slow down or go back to a speed where you can. Also breathe using your diaphragm, these are ultramarathon runners top tips. Make sure you have lots of protein, veg, calcium and oily fish once a week.

I am nearly 70 and find you need to make sure your fitness levels peak the older you get.

Unfortunately nursing homes and hospitals
are full of people who ignored the warning signs.

You could well give yourself a scary and painful drawn out end if you don't look after yourself.

[quote samthebordercollie]@Merrymouse I had no problem joining the running club, it's a local one and very friendly and there were other women there when I joined. It gave me the confidence to start doing races and I found I had quite a good level for my age (never having been a cross country fan in my youth!) It's much easier to do interval training with other people than on your own.[/quote]
Were you a complete beginner or had you done things like C25K and Parkrun before?

I started exercising seriously 2 years ago. I'm mid-60s and fitter than most women half my age. I mostly do YouTube workouts and I focus on HIIT and weights. At least one hour a day. Plus I walk everywhere.

Growingannanas for HIIT
Rebecca Louise: Best Abs, Bingo Wings, Ageless Arms
Lucy Wyndham Read: Thighs & Glutes
Bowflex 3 minute plank (I do this every day)

And once you've done the above for a while, you'll be ready for Caroline Girvan!!!! (Start with her Epic Beginners).

I did couch to 5k at 47 so I could stay fit in middle age and beyond. Still running twice - occasionally three times - a week now I'm beyond 50, also do pilates once a week. If I don't I start to feel it in my back/shoulders/neck etc since work is very computer based.

@Merrymouse I had no problem joining the running club, it's a local one and very friendly and there were other women there when I joined. It gave me the confidence to start doing races and I found I had quite a good level for my age (never having been a cross country fan in my youth!) It's much easier to do interval training with other people than on your own.

I am 70. I started the Second Nature programme just before the first lockdown when I'd just had a hip replacement and was looking to shift some weight. Just over 2 years later I'm two and a half stone lighter, and fitter than I've ever been. It took time and I'm not 100% there yet, but I have imperceptibly changed my entire lifestyle and I'm much happier for it.

My advice would be to focus on healthy habits little by little, don't concentrate simply on exercise or simply on diet but include things like mindfulness and gratitudes, try lots of different exercise types till you find one that suits you, and read James Clear's Atomic Habits which is all about making microscopic changes that all add up. Lastly, engage with some sort of support group, it makes all the difference. I wish I'd done it at your age instead of waiting as long as I did.

@Merrymouse - I joined my local running club last year at 44 - lots of older ladies in it - some have run for years, others have only started in lockdown.
The club is immensely supportive to everyone at every level

My advice is to try your local clubs and hopefully there will be one close which has a similar ethos (many do!)

the training sessions are daunting initially but they should be doable at all levels (if the trainers plan it that way - and they should!) and runners are the best people - IMO everyone supports and cheers everyone else

Could you add me too please. I'm 43 but need motivating to sort my fitness and diet.

1-2 kg for person with fibromyalgia sounds much too ambitious -- try 500g max to start.

I suppose to me the important thing to keep in mind, is you will LOSE flexibility, tone, fitness if you don't try to maintain it. Leaving aside hope of gains, there is a lot to lose if you don't keep up physical activities as one gets older.