How much exercise do you do?

[PerfectionistProcrastinator]

I am soon to be 37 and do no exercise. I’m a few lbs overweight and go through phases with exercise but in general, normal for me is none. My job is physical but not in an exercise replacement sort of way.

For me any exercise I do goes hand in hand with trying to eat better etc, so quite stop start. DP on the other hand always takes regular exercise, and so do his circle of friends.

It got me wondering how common it is at my age for people to do no exercise outside of normal day to day life such as running around after children and walking into town etc.

I walk for a minimum of 4 miles per day and I'm getting back into c25k.Im 40.

10 mins of yoga most mornings as soon as I get up. That's pretty much it although I do walk as much as I can and cycle to work sometimes. Been walking a lot since beginning of lockdown and I love it.

I am 47 and always been fairly slim but can def feel I am a bit bigger than I used to be. Never set foot inside a gym and never weight myself.

I eat pretty healthily, don't smoke and very rarely drink and I feel good. I could probably do with taking up running or something but it never happens. I'd much rather read a book.

I'm very obese and 37, I already have chronic kidney disease so during lockdown I took up the couch to 5k programme. I'm on week 7 and I do 25 minutes running incorporated in to a 5k walk 3 times per week. That's all I can manage at the moment due to my pain levels.

I'm 38, do a job that involves walking for 13hrs a day and other days I walk places with DC, but no actual exercise. Am not overweight (God knows how, because I eat crap and don't exercise). At the moment I am either at work, which means I am out from 6.30am til about 9.30pm so no time to exercise around it, or at home looking after DC who don't go to sleep until after 9. I had vague intentions of taking up some sort of exercise when DC2 started Reception last September which didn't go anywhere.

I’m mid-fifties.

Before lockdown, I ran 5k twice a week, and practiced karate for an hour once a week.

During lockdown I’ve added a couple of bike rides and walks, so I do something everyday, but I’m furloughed so I have the time.

I’ll go back to three times a week when back at work.

A fair bit. For enjoyment, but also because its needed for my second job (rugby player).

I do cardio twice a week, anymore and it would lead to mass loss.

Various weights at least 5 times a week.

I'm 48.

I started couch to 5k earlier this year.

I now run 4-5kms five times a week.

Some days I love it. Some days I feel meh.

But I've lost 7kgs and I feel a bit happier.

I have to walk my dog anyway so now we just run and get home quicker.

I don't want to die of a heart attack or be overweight forever. I'd rather be a running little old lady.

@Themosthappy that's brilliant. I hope you keep on going!!

I do a fair amount of walking, normally over 50 miles a week. The gym a few times a week and bounce / mini trampoline a few times a month

I’m 44 and have always walked a lot. I walk at least 15,000 steps (Often 20,000) during the week and a minimum of 10,000 at the weekend. Before lockdown I did a once a week boot camp during term time.

Since the beginning of lockdown (I’m abroad and we weren’t allowed outside of our properties other than to do food shopping or emergencies for 5 weeks), I started doing an online high intensity workout 30 mins 6 days a week.

I eat a lot of vegetables and drink 1.5-2L of water a day and try not to eat starch after lunchtime but am flexible with that...I also try not to snack between meals but I tend to snack after dinner in the evenings...

I'm not a natural exerciser but I've now made it a normal part of my routine. A great nudge for me has been my Apple Watch - it's an encouragement to do 30 mins of exercise (includes a brisk walk, and counts any tune you have an elevated heart rate, so I sometime achieve this just from normal day to day running around) and my active calorie goal every day (this one I usually have to have done some kind of exercise, even just a walk).

I see a PT (weekly at the moment, but in normal times, fortnightly), do a strong yoga class weekly, then maybe an online strength session, or a run, or a cycle. In normal times I also do a weekly circuits class. During lockdown I've been able to walk much more than normal, so am normally out for at least an hour a day for a brisk walk.

This is my new normal, I feel sluggish and lazy if I don't do something every day. My DH is sporty, always has been, so I'm sure that also plays a part in keeping me on my toes! I also find it's great for mood, and giving me the incentive to get off my screens and get on with other stuff.

39, kids are 9 and 5.
Pre lockdown - 3x run per week (2x 5k and 1x 10-15k), Pilates class.

Now - 2x run per week (5-10k), walk for an hour a day with the kids every day (if they want to or not) and 2x joe wicks or sessions. I've got some muscle appearing from the joe wicks pe.

I exercise more than most of my mum friends. Some are slimmer than me (am size 14) but that's more down to diet. My diet is awful. But I like cake and I like running.

More since the pandemic. Working from home, walk at least half an hour each day.

What you describe seems not unusual, OP. Worse still are those who drive distances that are only 10-15 minutes walk.

Not enough. I walk for about two miles a day and do 20 mins on stationary bike. That's it. Up until lockdown I did none at all though so I'm making progress.

I'm 37 and am addicted, so quite a lot.

The Most Happy I'm very impressed. Well done

Really interesting thread. I'm 60 and a latecomer to what I'd call focused exercise, although I've always enjoyed hill-walking and swimming, and yoga when I could find a good teacher depending where I was living at the time. Also pretty active in the garden and around the house.

Pre- lockdown I'd go to the gym rather reluctantly two, maybe three times a week. Forty minutes of stair-climbing, some resistance work plus a half-hour swim at the end if I had time. And if I was going on a skiing holiday I'd be disciplined about pre-ski exercises - which I detest - as I find that they do make a huge difference to stamina levels on the slopes.

During lockdown I've been doing Joe Wicks every weekday morning and it's been great. I definitely feel fitter and stronger. It's quite measurable with number of squats, lunges etc and I can do much more than when I started. I can't say I actually enjoy it but I do feel much the better for it. I've always run upstairs but now I'm running upstairs faster! And mentally it has really helped too at an uncertain time.

I do a bit of Pilates and yoga at the weekends but that's more for relaxation than exercise as I'm pretty flexible already.

I'm seriously considering giving up my gym membership and just doing youtube workouts. It saves so much travelling and changing time for one thing. I would miss the pool though.

At my age you do start to think about getting older and how important it is to stay in good health as much as possible. I've been very lucky so far.

Can you tell us about it @unicornparty I am always interested in other peoples routines and the types of fitness they partake in.

I run 4/5 times a week (averaging 4kms a day/120km a month) of various length runs. Yoga 4/5 times a week if I remember (I try to do daily practice but life gets in the way). Pre-lockdown I did a Saturday bootcamp and other hiit classes as well and I can't wait for them to reopen.

I know very few people among my friends who do no exercise, most do either classes or running or gym. We're certainly not 'gym bunny' type people though; I think it's becoming very normal to exercise for fun. The 2 skinniest people I know are the ones who never ever do anything physical.

Loads - pre lockdown I would go to the gym most evenings straight after work. Kids are teens now so it’s much easier.

During lockdown- WFH
I power walk daily 1 and a half hours - five days a week
Hilt exercises five days a week- DVD’s
I use cleaning as a form of exercise and as a result I have a very clean house.
Tbh , for me exercise has become more about maintaining my mental health

Lots of walking, lots of swimming. The odd bit of dancing. Some gardening. Not much else.

At least an hours walk a day, sometimes 2 or 3 depending on the dog. Cycling (it's hilly where I live), tennis once a week. Ore lockdown weights on the gym 3 times a week... lots of functional big muscle stuff.
I'm quite outdoorsy so it's the walking cycling and tennis that gives me a buzz. The gym stuff is because I know it's good for me

I'm seriously considering giving up my gym membership and just doing youtube workouts

I did this. Once you’re in the routine of doing regular home-workouts it becomes just part of your normal day. I used FitnessBlender ones mainly, but now I have a subscription to Fiit which you have to pay for but I like the training plan structure it has.

I got into exercise at about 36 after having been almost completely sedentary since school. I was never overweight but I was definitely flabby and unfit.

Gradually, over the last 15 years, my life has changed immeasurably. Now almost everything fun in my life revolves around exercise and I have a great group of friends (gained via parkrun and a running club) to do these things with. Now at 50 and with friends of a similar age my social life is things like:

• a weekend away with the bikes
• adult birthday parties and other celebrations will be things like trampolining, paddle boarding, climbing wall, high ropes.
• if we go out for lunch we'll cycle up to 20 miles each way to do it.
• race on Sunday followed by the afternoon in the pub
• Run in a group twice a week, although I also love the headspace of running on my own. Run almost everyday.
• Group mountianbike ride weekly in summer
• Coffee after yoga classes (mostly in winter, too busy outdoors in summer)
• Holidays almost all activity or walking based. We've had some amazing family holidays since I got active and started throwing myself into activities with children/teens.

To have a more balance fitness regime I should do more strength work, but apart from the yoga I don't enjoy it so I don't.

I'm definitely loads fitter since I discovered exercise but I no longer do it just for the sake of exercising, it's an integral part of my life and it has made life so much more fun.

I'd say, for me, eating better conea as result if exercising, not he other way around. I eat to fuel my exercise and improve my race times.

I exercise lots. I like to run a few times a week (5-8k on weekdays and a longer 10-12k at the weekend) but am injured so doing shorter runs. I cycle to work (16 mile round trip) and walk the children to school. I also do Beachbody On Demand programmes. I've recently finished Insanity Max 30 which was a 6 day a week, 2 month high intensity cardio/bodyweight programme. Am a week into Liift4 which is heavyish lifting mixed with cardio intervals and core.

I'm 39 and have 2 dc.

I also love food, Netflix, lazing around and reading. The two are not mutually exclusive!

Hardly any. I work full time so pretty lockdown I was out of the house 8-6. Then by the time I'd done homework/ dinner / sorting I just wanted to lie on the sofa.