Exercise advice for an unfit 50 year old

[KeepOnCleaning]

I don't know which board to post this on so I'm putting it here for traffic. I'm 50 and I'm really depressed about the state of my body and I need a starting point to sort myself out. I'm about a stone overweight (size 14) but it's more that my weight has redistributed so much that I no longer know how to dress myself to look decent. I'm going to subscribe to a fitness app to get me started. I know there are free videos I could access, but I figure that if I pay for it, I'm more likely to use it because I won't want to waste the money. So my questions are, what apps/videos are best for this? I'm thinking Joe Wicks or Davina McCall. Any other suggestions? Also, if I buy a set of dumbbells as a starter, what weight do I want to start with? 1kg seems too low. Or is it? Should I get a set? Do I start with 2kg? Any help to get me started would be great.

What about a few personal trainer sessions to show you what to do to develop a good routine? I need my PT to keep me motivated and focused on what I need to work towards.

This is ideal - start at the beginning and do it every day. Work up until you find your level. Takes about 15 mins. http://fit450.com/HTML/5BX_Intro.html

A few years ago I had a personal trainer for about a year. It was too expensive to maintain, and then I would only exercise that one day a week when I saw her anyway. I can't afford to keep up a personal trainer for a length of time, unfortunately.

I agree with pp, if you’re serious and you have some money to put towards it, get a personal trainer for a while to get you into some better habits and help you to understand what’s most beneficial.

Beyond that, do active things that are fun and sociable. Walking club, for example. Or go line dancing, if that’s your thing. Decide from the start that you will never feel foolish for trying to get more fit or for doing something enjoyable - I think many good intentions fail due to worrying what others might think.

Obviously diet also needs looking at but that’s a whole other discussion.

Oops sorry for the cross post!

Swimming. It's fantastic exercise and I love the feeling of improving my stroke and getting better.
Gym I'm not keen on, but it's whatever will keep your interest. I also go to classes at the gym which are enjoyable (apart from line dancing, that was vile)

Make exercise something you enjoy then you'll stick to it. I have a bike, I love it especially in the summer, as I like being outdoors. I also get out and walk every day now.

I used to love the gym, but I've lost my love for it this year because the repetition of doing the same things got boring (and I wasn't seeing any results). However I've signed up for an outdoor bootcamp which I start tomorrow so hopefully I'll enjoy it.

I would try building more exercise into your day, so it could be going for a walk during your lunch break every day and logging it. Can you cycle to work or part of the way? Otherwise it is fitting it in every day and perhaps try something different each day, e.g. swim, gym, walk, cycle, kayak, run, climb, trampoline, exercise class etc.

Another way to motivate is to log what you do. I upped my exercise by having a loose 1000 mile a year via any means aim which actually is more about logging each type of exercise over a year, but then found the following year I did more. I now aim for just more of each category over the course of a year.

Weight wise the only thing that will help is diet.

I started at 50 too, & had no idea what I was doing.

I couldn’t afford a regular personal trainer, but I found one I liked at the local gym, explained up front that I couldn’t afford a session every week & got her to do me a workout plan, then booked a session every six weeks or so to check in.

It made all the difference because I could tell her what I needed & she could tell me what to do. She’s moved now, annoyingly, but I’m carrying on with the plan & just upping weights & reps as I feel ready.

Would that work for you?

I joined pure gym. It’s pretty cheap and classes are free once you’re a member. I don’t enjoy going to the gym but if I’m in a class I make more effort. I like being told exactly what to do and I also enjoy the music side of it.
Once you’ve booked a class you really need to go . I wouldn’t have the motivation to keep things up without this.

Another vote for PureGym! One also recently joined and I'm really enjoying it, especially the classes. I go with my DD (18) and she shows me the equipment etc and how to use it, we have a real laugh doing it together too. Well worth £24 a month.

I also go to PureGym. I'm also 50 and overweight. Currently doing couch to 5k which I'm enjoying plus strength training in the gym. I've become conscious in the past few years of the need to incorporate some weights at my age to keep strength and prevent injuries. I go to a weights based class plus use the weights machines

I like Caroline Girvan's app. She has a load of free videos on YT as well.

The thing is there's no magic bullet, getting in shape is hard, it's work, you don't always feel like it, you have to do it most days for the rest of your life, there's no point at which you've "completed it", it just keeps going, forever.

So with that in mind, take it one day at a time. You're not going to be perfect. You will miss some sessions. But you're doing this for the rest of your life, so it's OK. You've got 20, 30, 40 years to get through. One day is one day. So if you skive, just get back on it the next day. Start slowly. 10 mins a day is all you need. Once you've got that down, you can add more.

It's a lifetime's project, you have time. You don't have to solve this in a week. Best of luck.

Can you walk where you live? You could walk to the supermarket and carry increasing amounts of shopping back over a few months to get your fitness up.