Can someone spell out to me exactly what I need to do to fend off old age?

Can I jump on and ask those who say do weights, do you literally mean standing still lifting weights up in the air? I get so bored doing this and surely it's just my arms being worked. Or does that mean I should use heavier weights? Any recommendations for YouTube etc videos to follow? I have a young family and little time to do this in a gym.

Get fit, stay fit, I am undergoing my 4th round of physio for my blooming hip, at age 56, once it’s fixed I think oh good, then do nothing for the next 12 months where’s it fine and then it starts again.

I need to keep doing physio/Pilates or something every week, I don’t and I really need to wake up and get on top of this because I’m going be decrepit in my sixties if I don’t. (Oh and brush your teeth every day, twice a day).

I'm 60, single mum with a busy full time job, a 15yo ds and three years flat out still to work.

At 48, I stopped drinking, cut back on red meat, increased the variety and quantity of veg I eat significantly, and took up running, about 10k a week. It has made a huge difference - improved energy levels, better immune system etc. I still haven't caught Covid and seldom get anything else.

I also practice karate weekly, to maintain flexibility and suppleness.

And take holidays - properly. Turn your phone off!

Keep your BMI in the healthy range. Don't smoke. Don't drink to excess. Walk, cycle, and take public transport where you can. Lift heavy things regularly. Several times a week, do something that makes you out of breath. Socialise. Take an interest in the world.

Michael Moseley can spell it out for you! He presents a podcast called Just One Thing for the BBC and the recent series of it is all about ageing well. It's brilliant.

I don't think you have to do much of either

Do whatever cardio you enjoy
Lift weights a few times a week, even 20 mins
Leave time for hobbies and passions, if that crosses over into exercise it's a bonus!

I have chronic health conditions so my week is a bit like

Work - then do either 20 min cardio/20 min weights or 30 min cardio/10 min stretch. Play a couple of brain games on my phone or read or do some puzzles
Weekends are for passions/hobbies so I do wild swimming or a much longer cardio session

Watch the short series Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones on Netflix.

@PerspiringElizabeth its hard fitting it all in! I weight lift 4 days a week and run once. I get at least 10k steps a day. I do mobility stretches before and after my weights- stretching etc… for flexibility.

Can't agree there. My mother, born in 1910, was a member of The Women's League of Heath and Beauty in the 1930s, which later generations would have called Keep Fit. She also went dancing three times a week, which was a hugely popular form of exercise for much of the population.

I was thinking about this the other day and realised that something is going ta have to go. They say ‘use it or lose it’ - muscles, fitness, memory, talents, passions. It’s literally impossible to keep all those plates spinning amongst all the other plates we have, so something is going to have to go honestly.
Howwww do people find time amongst the rest of life to use their strength, flexibility, cardio fitness, mobility etc… (this all came about actually in reference to my singing voice - ‘use it or lose it’ is so true)… I think I’m gonna have to pick which things I don’t mind losing 😭 I want them all!

As with all things there is a balance. Genetics plays a huge role. The longest lived generation the current 90 year olds, didn't do any organized excercise, but they did walk a lot, didote physical work, even just housework, and generally ate well. They also got more fresh air and sunshine without SPF anything!

Now my seventies, I am very glad that I started gardening at a young age with a young family. I worked full time, but still made time to work in the garden or the allotment. Digging, hoeing, strimming, sawing and mowing are all really good exercise and ultimately, in my opinion, much more entertaining and useful than working out in a gym.
In old age, being out in the fresh air and maintaining the cycle of sowing, growing and harvesting gives a rhythm to life and as someone once said, "gardening is the triumph of hope over experience".

Weights, weights, weights! And core strength exercises.
The best thing you can do for bone density

Strength training

Flexibility. ( it’s a thing that quite a few old people become immobile after they stop being able to walk, as the can’t get their shoes on, as their nails are too long, as they can’t bend well enough to cut their nails).

For your cognitive maintenance read ‘ 10 steps to a smarter you’. It summarizes the research on how to keep up cognition as you age.

I try and do
Lifting stuff
Something cardio
Something for flexibility

I use the peloton app for all of it

Being consistently active is more important than finding the perfect thing. So find something you enjoy and will stick to, ideally something is social as this helps you enjoy it and keep going.

Having a good social life in itself is increasingly being seen as vital for longevity - if you're one of the many people whose networks have collapsed a bit, volunteering can be a great thing to do.

Built to move (by Kelly and Juliet Starrett) is a really interesting book on mobility with ten tests (including the sit to stand test a pp mentioned) and recommendations for getting on track if needed.

Finally I listen to lots of wellbeing podcasts while our running and cycling and this gives me lots of ideas to try while also making me feel motivated. Some of my favourites are Hit play not pause, feel better live more, just one thing and the ready state.

I work out daily to Pahla B's videos on YouTube. She has whole series of exercises for women who are aged 50 & over (I'm 58). She mixes up cardio and strength training, and has lots of info about nutrition and what to eat for health.

I also like Lucy Wyndham Read's exercises. She has lots of shorter videos for targeting specific areas too.

@gamerchick that’s so good to hear. I’m mid thirties and have had problems with diet and exercise for a decade due to mental health issues. I’m finally in a position where I’m not binge eating and I’m going to the gym as well as building in everyday exercise like walking and stairs. I’m so ashamed I’ve let myself be so unfit but hopefully I’ll be like you with time and be better than my 20s!

Lol, I've got more muscle, strength and fitness now than I did in my 20s.

You need to be able to get up off the floor from a sitting position without using your hands. If you can do that at your age, it’s a good indicator of later life health.

So need core chain/muscle strength, balance and body weight to achieve this. However you get there is up to you, but a mix of weights, cardio and balance is a good start. Make it fun, make it routine.

Weights and cardio. Definitely weights though.

Nothing! It is impossible to "fend off old age". It happens to all of us, despite Western society's ever increasing hysteria about the inevitability of old age, infirmity and death.

Regular cardio exercise (jogging or speed walking) and resistance training (this is a lot more than just weights or pilates which are the current big consumer fads) will help you stay relatively strong and supple as you age, although loss of muscle and bone density is inevitable since you're no longer 23 (and nor am I)!

Enjoy :-)

I would say eat well, everything in moderation, including plenty of fresh veg. I eat a low-carb diet and avoid low-fat anything.
Keep the weight off and stay with a healthy BMI.
Keep going with the exercise, the things that work for me are yoga, brisk walking including hills and lots of gardening.
Try to retain the suppleness that you already have.
I am 74 and can still do the splits. 😊

Weights
Cardio
Yoga / pilates
Floss
Drink water