Getting fit for 50

[Ces6]

I am a few years off fifty and am starting to really feel the effects of not looking after my body. I have never liked sport and have never managed to stick to exercise for more than a few weeks. Is there any hope? Has anyone managed to go from a lifetime of no exercise to actually enjoying keeping fit and where do you start? I do actually walk a lot but I have joint problems and that is starting to be a problem. I think if pain stops me walking I will lose all mobility pretty quickly as I am so stiff. Help!

I'm probably about your age. I did couch to 5k (the One You one by the NHS) and loved it. I now run all the time and practice Yoga 3 times a week as well.

I started for the same reasons you're thinking of and feel a lot better for it. I'd say go for it

Thanks! That's encouraging.

Couch to 5k

I’m older than you and started exercise classes. Zumba, body conditioning, Pilates, yoga, Flex and Tone, Booty Barre.

Last night I did a ten mile walk for charity.

How have you managed to stick at it though? Thinking maybe the gym is the answer, much as I loathe it!

On Future Learn and Edx there are free online courses on healthy ageing. I took them because I observed how my DMil aged and din't want to end like her.
I am nearing 60 - my greatest problem is exercise. Running is off the list and swimming too far away. I tried yoga, pilates and ordinary exercises of the 'old fashioned' variety and I am running out of ideas.

Me! I never did anything besides a bit of yoga all through my twenties and thirties. At 40 I realised I needed to do something so joined CrossFit. I absolutely love the combination of weight training and cardio, I’ve stuck it for almost 2 years and am really pleased with the results. You don’t need to be sporty at all, just find something you enjoy doing.

Our classes are a social thing too. We often have a coffee after class and the occasional lunch. We’re all over 60 and we all did the charity walk. I like classes because the instructor makes sure you’re doing things properly, which videos can’t do.

Don't do something you hate (the gym). Try loads of things, rowing, karate, fencing, Zumba, tennis, dance, Pilates, mountain biking, kettle bell classes pole dancing, swimming, rock climbing...... See what's on locally and give things a go. Most clubs and sports love their activity and would embrace new entrants. Find something you like and it won't be 'chore'...

Couch to 5k and yoga for me too. (I’m 45.)

I run part of the way to work two or three mornings a week (parks & rivers, it’s lovely) and found a weekly evening yoga class not too far from my office. It’s quite full on so that means I have to practice at home if I want to keep up!

How do you feel about brisk walking, swimming, yoga or Tai Chi?
As someone who is almost 60, my goals are to keep mobile and flexible, and at a reasonable weight to avoid joint and heart stress.
So far, so good. Never been in a gym, not likely now.

School totally put me off sport - years of PE lessons spent oxters-deep in mud on a freezing hockey pitch praying that the ball (or is it a puck? I still don't know the rules) doesn't come near will do that to a person. I did my first marathon (slowly) at 40 and did my PT level 3 qual at 47. Throw on some running gear, go for a lovely walk and run the fun bits. Find something you enjoy and make time for it.

Echo the previous poster. Try loads of different things. Walking with an audiobook, cycling to shops, local classes, gym classes, CrossFit, Pilates, spin. You'll find something that makes you feel good as that's the big draw in the early stages. Exercising in a group/ class is perfect for me. I found PT sessions too intense and eating disordery.

I am nearing 60 - my greatest problem is exercise. Running is off the list and swimming too far away. I tried yoga, pilates and ordinary exercises of the 'old fashioned' variety and I am running out of ideas
What about body weight exercises you can do at home? There's loads of ideas on YouTube

48 today so two years to go. I need to get more flexible and improve cardio and do weight bearing exercise. My mother got really unfit at this age and, bless her, is really struggling in her seventies.

@notacooldad
I'll have a look, thank you.
I am not supposed to exercise my right arm because of missing lymph nodes, but I can find away around that.

Can I join? I'm 47 and have never exercised, never ran, attended an exercise class or set foot in a gym
I'm very slim but I worry that isn't enough. I recently got a 'Fitbit' style watch and apparently I average about 14k steps a day, is that enough?!

Unless you find something you like, you won’t keep it up, and the depression and resentment of doing it will offset the physical benefits.
Which is why I’ll never go to a gym. Or run. Rather have an allotment.

I used to do sports 5 times a week when I was a child / young adult, but that peetered out.
An allotment would be great, but the waiting list is endless and we are looking to move back to DH's hometown in two / three years time.
I could start walking to and from work, that'll be 40 min one way against 30 min by public transport. That's certainly doable. But does (fast) walking count as excercise?

Fast walking definitely counts as exercise!

Ok, persuaded, tommorrow I'll start with half the distance and see how it goes.

Im in the same boat. Just turned 49 and i feel a bit squidgy and soft. I want to exercise more but im almost always working or recovering from working.

Rather have an allotment.
Me too! But I have been on the waiting list for ten years and am nowhere near the top!