Be honest, how much exercise do you REALLY do?

[JMAngel1]

I think I need to up my exercise game - I'm 51 and noticing I can feel out of breath climbing four flights of stairs at work whereas I would skip up them a few years ago.
The exercise boards on here are really intimidating with everyone claiming to run followed by a swim or a HIIT class every day then yoga at night! I don't know anyone in real life like this so not sure what "normal" is I suppose.
So if you're a full time working mum like me, how much exercise do you really do each week? And how do you fit it into your days?

I swear the ironing after Pilates hits different I think that the household jobs I immediately do after exercise someone are easier to get through and also that they must be more beneficial because I am in post movement mode. I have absolutely zero scientific evidence to back this up and have never bothered to research it ...

Somehow not someone **

Very little to none. I'm 44, luckily not overweight
and hate any kind of sport or "forced movement".
That said, I'm a "support person" for my husband, who is three decades older, physically working around the house and garden (cutting grass with the help of a scythe).
Neither of us "work" (landlords) and I'm child free.
I think this is highly individual and cannot imagine
using a gym or equipment, unless necessary for survival.🙂

I like “Movement Snacks”
Mmmm snacks.

57. Most weeks I'll do 4 weight sessions and 2 x 1.5-2hr fast paced walks. If the weather is terrible I might swap a walk for a Pilates reformer session or a yoga/intense stretch and mobility session.

Of course a small walk daily. 15-30 mins

Otherwise I'm a bit of a sloth.

This I feel guilty taking time to exercise and feel guilty not taking time to exercise, so mostly I’m catching up on house/self/family and end up in swings and roundabouts between the two.

I’m 44 and work four days a week. On day off I do a ballet class. At weekend I do a 1 hr circuits class and go for a run (between 3.75km and 6km depending on how I’m feeling). During week I try and get out for a couple of 45min walks at lunchtime.

I'm 43 and work 4 days a week. I do two evening dance classes and then a pilates class on my day off. These are all very sociable as well as fun for me. I do these because I enjoy them.

I was also managing to walk 3 x week but I'm having joint issues in my feet so I've had to stop that.

I go to the gym 2 to 3 times per week and do 45 mins fast uphill walking on the treadmill followed by 15 mins on bike or leg press, then some weight machines for my arms.

I try to go for at least 1 long walk at the weekend (walking for at least 2 - 3 hours)

It's hard to fit in much more as I work full time. I play badminton with my Husband from time to time and also plan to start swimming at least once per week, I just need to find the confidence to wear my cossie!

I pay netball 3 times a week. That's made up of 2 matches, and 2 hours of training. I also do two 55 min body combat classes a week, and 1 kettlebell class. I've also been doing a couch 25k programme since the start of the year and ran my first non stop 5k for 5 years last week. I'm 56.

The time people on here use for exercise I’m already up at the crack of dawn and mucking out. The rest of it we are renovating or working.

Surely mucking out and renovating are exercise?!

I've definitely decided lots of walking is the way forward (literally and metaphorically ). There's a guy locally who was very, very overweight. He's a cook, and a beer drinker. He apparently decided he needed to sort himself out, so he just started walking miles every day. I know theoretically it's all about food, but apparently he hasn't really changed his diet or lifestyle apart from the walking. He looks like a completely different person now. Not just half the size, but looks younger and healthier.

I do at least 30 mins of yoga a day, run about 5 k a week and walk miles and miles every day. We do not have a car and live in a third floor flat at the top of a steep hill, so I am up and down those at least twice a day. Plus I carry heavy bags of shopping up at least once or twice a week.

I work full time and aim to run, ski or swim every day. Probably actually manage it 4-5 days a week, more in summer when I’m less busy. I manage it because I don’t ACTUALLY work full time, so take time out during the day. I WFH full time. Some of the skiing in winter is for work too so that helps. Will walk 3-4 miles with a friend in an evening once a week too but I don’t really count that. Usually hit 600 move calories on my Apple Watch every day.

These threads are so meaningless.
'I do it and work full time' ok well for a start are you sitting at a desk or a charge nurse on a ward doing 12 hour shifts?
'I have kids too!' Are any of them autistic meaning they don't sleep and can't be left on their own?
'I'm a single parent' family living close by, army of friends or no support network at all?
Do you have health problems?
Do you live close to a safe place to walk or run?
Are you worried about being abused in your local gym due to previous trauma?

Basically good for you if you do exercise.
Do not beat yourself up if you genuinely can't.
I could get up at 5am to exercise in my house, (if I tried really carefully not to wake anyone else up and if my neighbour didn't bang on the wall at the slightest sound). But I am exhausted. I work full time out the house, I have two young kids, no partner, no money. So I don't. I don't feel bad.

I am a 36 year old single parent to two children aged 16 and 8. I go to the gym 4 times a week. One of those is with a PT. Mostly strength training but I do walk on the treadmill too. I was diagnosed used with cancer at 34 and never did any exercise until after my diagnosis. I take my health so much more seriously now and I'm in the best shape of my life. I prioritise gym sessions over other things. The large age gap between my children means that I can put my youngest to bed and then go to the gym as my 16 year old is at home. It wouldn't be possible if I had two young children on my own. My youngest also stays with his dad 50% of the time so I have a lot more time to exercise when he's there. I work almost full time- not quite managed to build my hours up yet.

I am absolutely obsessed with strength training now. It is my coping mechanism after cancer and divorce. I feel incredible every time I exercise and has worked wonders for my physical and mental health. I still have some chemo side effects and my feet are particularly affected so I am hoping to start adding in more cardio once that has settled down. I also do yoga at home sometimes but find it much harder to motivate myself within my house. I like the social aspect of the gym too.

I became disabled during my cancer treatment and I will never, ever stop being grateful that I'm able to move like this again. You don't know what you have until it's gone!

I'm working full time and have one child. I go climbing 3-4 times a week for about 2 hours plus travel time. I've just got really good at doing housework/food shopping after work on my non-exercise days as I made it a priority three years ago to look after my health.

It's fun which helps, it never gets boring as there's always something new to do.

I'm 55, work full time (WFH 3-4 days) & have 3 teenage kids. Covid & WFH haven't helped my fitness. Before Covid I worked in an active job, opposite a gym which ran exercise classes at lunchtime, so I would routinely do 10-12k steps per day, and 1-2 exercise sessions every day.
The PP is right about fitting in what you enjoy & what fits your timetable: when the kids were younger, they started martial arts, so I started too - it's definitely good for fitness, but now I'm more experienced I end up teaching more than doing the hard aerobic workouts.
We also don't have enough space in our house - I don't have anywhere large enough or away from people to do home workouts (I used to do Les Mills on a Sunday, but now everyone's around). I try to do kettlebell or resistance band workouts if I'm in a meeting where I'm not on camera, but need to add a lunchtime walk back in. Most days I manage 5-9k steps.
Current exercise is Saturday parkrun, then 1.5hr kickboxing. Monday & Weds 1hr martial arts, maybe also Tuesday & Thu.
I'm size 16, 85kg - put on 8kg over lockdowns when I couldn't do much. Doing IF to cut down calories, but just need to move more, more often.
However, I'm very strong & very flexible, so just need to drop the weight!

I currently do a mix of running, MTB, bootcamp fitness sessions once a week, walking, and the odd home workout. Running is my main thing at the moment im really new to it but enjoying it and iv already signed up to a 10k race! MTB is what I love doing most but with a little one I try doing different things that work best around my schedule. I do genuinley love exercise and try fitting in as much as I can!

I'm nearly 68, and have a dog that needs to be kept fit. So we walk every week day, and DH gets the weekends, when I do housework. Usually about 5km per day, plus 2 x Pilates. I am fittish and in decent shape but not an athelete; cardio score would not win any prizes. But the Pilates classes are run by a great instructor and there is always a hard core section.

I try to walk every day. I also follow a stretching or pilates video every day (15-20 minutes, nothing very long). And then I do a bootcamp twice a week and run 2-3 times a week. I used to run more, but decided that I needed to do more strength and mobility work.

I need to do this 👍

I'm 54 and I work out every day. I also try and get a 5k walk in every morning if I can. I'm lucky that I'm in the office only one day a week which means I can walk for an hour after the kids go to school (teenagers, so I don't have a school run any more) and be at my desk by 9. Then I do a HIIT style class every day - mixture of cardio based sessions and weights only sessions. I do those 7 days a week. Sometimes I'll run too. I absolutely love exercise, the sweatier and more out of breath the better. I do it for the physical benefits but another huge reason for me is the mental health aspect.

Amazing! You are what I'd like to be like 👍

So you exercise basically every day? Quite a lot then!

I think losing through exercise is easier for men than women. I have no scientific proof of that, but I'm silently convinced of it.