If you don't exercise...

[BakerMorning]

Please post here! I've just seen another thread asking how much people exercise per week and everyone's replies are about 8 hours, with 9 mile runs, daily weight sessions etc. I thought I was doing quite well doing 2 runs a week and now feel quite disheartened!

I posted on that other thread that I did about 15 hours per week. Out of 168 hours a week it’s not that much. I work 35 hours a week so there’s plenty for me to spare!
my kids are older so I can leave them at home.
I absolutely prioritise exercise in any form, walking, spinning and weights at the gym. They are crucial for maintaining my mental and physical health (not at all to do with my weight), I have a back that is prone to slipping discs. If I don’t exercise it niggles me and I need to have a strong and stabilised core!
When my dc were younger I was up at 5:30 to get a run in before dh went to work.
I don’t really watch much in the way of tv so spending hours in front of the telly with dh doesn’t interest me or do me any favours.

Read the thread to see how people have managed to fit it in. 30 minutes - 1hr a day of exercise, plus rest days, is perfectly manageable for some, depending on their personal circumstances, and doesn't impinge on other areas of their life.

It's just personal exercise choices for our own needs, and not intended to produce envy.

I don't do what you would consider 'proper exercise'. I go for a slow amble round the block most days - but not really any more than that . Do need to organise myself into doing some though .

I'm really glad to hear it! Yes, of course being an absolute gym rat is (usually) great for you. But it's surprisingly little movement that gives a whole host of benefits.

The problem with so many of those (frankly braggy) threads is that for most people, it all feels so daunting that they don't even start. If you've never been an exercise person, the idea of doing two hours at the gym every single day or going for a 5k run every other day seems so unachievable that most people don't even try, or try for a couple weeks, feel like a failure because they get bored/tired/whatever, and then stop.

The fact of the matter is, really simple little everyday things is all it actually takes for so much of the health benefit. If you're going out and stretching your legs for 20 minutes at lunch, breathing in some fresh air and just getting the blood moving, it'll make you feel better, it'll be great for your health, and it'll help break up the day. It's also really bloody close to 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week, which is what's recommended.

And eventually, you might do it twice a day, or have the family go for a nice walk after dinner in the summer, or a ramble on the weekends, and sooner than you know, you're walking an hour a day. You might want to add things like weights or swimming or HIIT or whatever. But you certainly don't have to.

Exercise shouldn't be intimidating. It's one of the things that keeps people from making small choices with huge impact. Because just going for a reasonably paced walk for 20 minutes at lunch is enough to do huge things for your health and longevity!

If it helps, copied from the New York Times:

"Those who met the guidelines precisely, completing 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise, enjoyed greater longevity benefits and 31 percent less risk of dying during the 14-year period compared with those who never exercised...Those few individuals engaging in 10 times or more the recommended exercise dose gained about the same reduction in mortality risk as people who simply met the guidelines."

(I excised the part where they got into more detail. It looks like the sweet spot is really an hour a day, but it only ticks you up to 39 percent from 31. Which means 20 minutes a day is almost as good for you as an hour, and it's way, way better for you than none.)

All of which is to say, exercising as much as the people on that thread do might be great for how you look, or be an interesting hobby, or be a time to prioritize oneself, or whatever -- but if what you're trying to do is to be healthy, honestly 20-30 minutes a day of reasonably quick walking will be of enormous help.

Read the thread to see how people have managed to fit it in. 30 minutes - 1hr a day of exercise, plus rest days, is perfectly manageable for some, depending on their personal circumstances, and doesn't impinge on other areas of their life.

Yes I read the thread, I never claimed "30 mins, 1 hr plus rest days" wasn't perfectly manageable. Plenty on that thread were doing a lot more than 1 hr every day....

I would say I'm more on the sedentary side of things. But I'm a martial artist so am out 3 times a week. However, as the instructor it tends to not be the big workout you'd expect as it's a lot of talking and correcting..

In spring/summer I run, but I just cannot do it in winter. The darkness, cold and wet just doesn't appeal to me at all.

Exercise doesn't come easy to me. I hate being out of breath and sweaty but once I get home from that run I feel amazing for having done it. Its just the actual act of doing it I find hard..

Of course it can take longer on some days, depending on the type of sport or exercise. And a thread like that is going to attract people who do exercise, which it did.

Any attempts to exercise, however much that might be, ought to be applauded and encouraged on a supportive site like this.

In spring/summer I run, but I just cannot do it in winter. The darkness, cold and wet just doesn't appeal to me at all.

Exercise doesn't come easy to me. I hate being out of breath and sweaty but once I get home from that run I feel amazing for having done it. Its just the actual act of doing it I find hard..

I still run in winter but less than I do in summer, and we have to change route. I agree as I still really don't enjoy the first part of a run, not until I've established my pace. Afterwards, and the runners high, is the best part.

No exercise here at the moment. Have a 4 yr old and 9 nonth old and I barely have any time to myself to do it. When my eldest was 9 months, I managed to do 30 min shred during nap time, but DD2 only naps in a carrier and would definitely not stay asleep if I attempted to exercise with her on me! Not planning to put DD2 into any childcare until next year, so not anticipating being able to exercise until then, unless naps improve. I do ferry her around in a carrier and do a lot of walking from A to B with her on me (and she weighs over 9kg).

I think that thread only attracts people who do loads of exercise, and probably not your average exercising MNer.

Reading this thread has actually inspired me to start getting a bit more exercise so thank you! I don't start work until 12noon on a Monday so my usual routine is just a lazy morning mumsnetting and procrastinating and a fry up. But today I've been out for a brisk walk in the sunshine - only 40 minutes - but I feel better for it and looking up some easy workouts ... Lucy Wyndham Read has quite a few gentle ones, used to do them during lockdown & I can recommend them. If I can do this as an unfit, overweight 60+ year old then anyone can (unless you have health issues).

I feel hugely better when I do regular exercise. I haven't for about 7 due mostly to perimenopause, menopause, a family illness and bereavement and, latterly, laziness. Sometimes life gets in the way.

But I've always walked as that makes me feel better.

But I went to get back to doing core work, strength and flexibility.

I don't exercise because I have a young DC with a disability and don't have any spare time. I had to take her out of childcare as it could not meet her needs. It really gets to me that I cannot exercise and affects my mental as well as physical health.

I see other middle aged mothers with young children in the same position and think we are storing up a national health timebomb as a society because of middle aged women not having the time to exercise. We will end up with increased rates of diabetes and osteoporosis in our old age and will cost the health service millions.

Good quality, affordable childcare is important for so many reasons.

I have dogs so I have to walk a couple of hours a day whether I want to or not.

Started doing a bit with weights a few times a week too, only about 30 mins at a time. I’m a novice but can definitely feel, if not see, the benefits already.

Pre children, I was easily doing 15 hours exercise a week. It was just so easy to build it into my life. Walk to and fro from work, gym classes/ swim after work and then a long hike on the moors at the weekend (my favourite thing in the world). I even had a weights area set up in my living room (now gathering dust in storage to make room for toys). My Fitbit would easily average 13000 steps most day, even though I worked in an office.

At my most recent review of my anti depressants with my GP, we both agreed that it would be much better if she could have prescribed me some suitable childcare for my disabled DC so I could get out and exercise a few times a week instead of medication.

Because of my DC disabilities, even going for a short walk with her is difficult. Am thinking about getting a special disability buggy (too big for regular buggy) so I can get a decent walk in for myself.