Help me stop hurting!

[Catsarefatflumps]

I’m a nearly 50yr old woman and I am so unfit. I’ve not exercised in about 20 years.

But now I’m sick of always hurting.

My shoulders and neck hurt all the time. My hips and bum hurt if I walk a long time. My knees literally crunch when I walk.

I just want to feel good again and know I need to get fit. But where do I start when I feel so sluggish and achey all the time?

Start slowly. Do a 10 minute exercise routine (ideally pilates initially) every day for a month (there are many online). Then move to 15 minutes after a month, and so on until you are at half an hour.

Once your posture is fixed you will hurt much less. Then you can move onto weight assisted exercise to build up your muscles.

The key is to do it every single day. Think of it as brushing your teeth.

Watching something inane at the same time helps me get through it.

Do you have any online Pilates recommendations? I actually looked at signing up to a local studio but it was like £250 a month!!’

How far can you walk before it hurts? Do that every day, if you can, every other day if you can't.

Are there aquafit classes near you? They are low impact, e.g. won't make your joints worse, and not high intensity. And you almost definitely won't be the most unfit there.

Low intensity yoga could help, but you need to get the right class, so speak to the teacher first, to see what level it's aimed at.

Otherwise, go to a gym and ask for a very gentle programme. Usually little and often is better than a big push right at your limits once a week. A good gym will be able to give you exercises that will help strengthen the muscles round your joints, and stretch the others.

But it might be worth seeing your GP too- my sister (51), after years of asking, has just seen a specialist who told her her hips are trashed, so she's now on the list for replacements. I've known people our sort of age who need knee replacements, too.

I like eleni fit's youtube channel. Because I don't like being talked at, I prefer to follow along while listening to a podcast/watching something else.

Tom Morrison - have a look at his free videos on YouTube and Facebook. But this SMM program is fantastic.

His thing is about improving and retaining range of motion and strength. His programs have helped solve people’s chronic pain and injured (including his own very significant back injuries).

https://tommorrison.uk/shop?orderby=price&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23693529279&gbraid=0AAAAADAbqSFxaoWPxzSeD8EhrPLKys-WN&gclid=CjwKCAjwhe3OBhABEiwA6392zFvw5FuXc44enieERkDLwTcM1jS9r0FhykiEQmlm-QsztbC2hFsDoxoCMF0QAvD_BwE

I agree with the first post to start small! I fucked my back recently by going back to the gym and doing too much. I am only early forties and not totally unfit, but even still I ruined myself, had to take three days off work and could barely do anything at all.

Joining a pilates studio would not be (imo) worth the money as (ime) they have whole classes full of students and they cannot offer you much support and the classes also (near me) are a whole hour long. I did a couple of classes at my gym and swear it was part of the reason my back was so bad. Also bodypump shakes fist and swimming breaststroke.

Breaststroke shoukd be avoided if you have a bad back or bad knees.

Start by seeing your Dr. Lazy as lazy can be you shouldn’t be in pain doing nothing.
Next I’m a huge fan of Walk at Home (online/smart tv/even some old you tube episodes under the olde name of Leslie Sansone) check out the free you tube stuff first the annual subscription fee isn’t much.

Are you prescribed HRT? Joint pain is a menopause symptom. I didn’t know this and HRT has helped massively.

Firstly what do you enjoy? Or what do you least hate?

start there. No point starting Pilates or running or gym training if you hate one of those.

once you determine what you find most tolerable then formulate a plan to incorporate that into daily life.

What is most tolerable for you? Classes? Solo stuff? Walking/running/gym/studio stuff like yoga or Pilates?

IVF helped massively.

Any beginners' yoga classes in your area? I go to a class that is £10/hr or you can get a multi-class pass for a discount. All different abilities, ages and fitness levels in our class and I'm sure it might be similar elsewhere. You might even find a chair-based yoga class around, if balance and mobility are tricky at the moment.

Fuck not IVF! HRT!

With brain fog like that I may have to up my dose!

Definitely avoiding now! I'm scared to go back to exercise now other than walking. But I will maybe start some easy going cardio at the gym. Classes are my nemesis as I push myself too hard in them. Trying (and failing) to be a teacher's pet

If you get the app Nextdoor there might be people who do Pilates and you can ask questions on there.
Many church halls have Pilates classes.
start by walking short distances and then gradually push yourself more and more.
if I need a few things from shops I will walk half mile to them.
Join local cycling for short rides.

Just start by doing some kind of movement. Start with 15 minutes and build up. I am a little older than you and I started out by doing walking workouts on YouTube following 'Get Fit with Rick'.

Lucy Wyndham-Read is also very good for beginners apparently.

Once I was fitter, and used to moving daily, I started adding weights into my workouts and I now do 3 full body dumbbell workouts a week and still use Get Fit with Rick to do some walking workouts in between as well as daily stretching. All of this is done following YouTube workouts.

I will say that, as with any exercise, its important you find something that you enjoy doing. That way you will find the time to make it part of your life.

Once you get into it, and stay consistent, it can become quite addictive, and I get grumpy now if I have to miss a workout for some reason 😂

Hi,
Does your local leisure centre have a hydrotherapy pool? Warm water, jets and shallow depth can offer mental and physical benefits. Sessions often have restricted numbers so there is space to gently exercise or just be in the water.

You could speak to your GP or practice nurse as some areas offer free classes. If you've not exercised in 20 years, they may want to see you to discuss safely building up an exercise routine.

Modifying exercises to suit your current fitness level is a good start - short walks, chair based exercises, water workout etc. Anything that is low impact on your joints.

would really recommend Pilates as a starting point for strength and mobility. Can you have a look to see if your local authority gym / sports centre / YMCA gym run a class? These are normally good value. I go to one in a church hall which is great and £7 a pop. Theres also one that runs in a school hall. So maybe look at ‘local’ or small offerings for good value and being welcoming options for first timers.

another good starting point is swimming.

the old cliche of finding something you enjoy really works too.

I know what works for me is some community and continuity - I sign up to the same classes each week, pay in advance and just don’t give myself the option of not going. It’s friendly and out the house which I need. I wouldn’t log on to an online one. I have no motivation alone!

I also have a dog that gets me out the house. Try to incorporate some exercise/walking into your daily routine.

good luck x

Is it?! Thanks for that - I was wondering why I was getting pain all of a sudden 🤦🏽‍♀️ at the same time as twigging I’m probably peri

As a 52-year-old woman I would urge you to go and see your GP as your first port of call. If you are in pain, that's your body trying to tell you something. You may just be achy and stiff from lack of exercise and stretching. Muscles shorten and get stiff if you spend a lot of time sitting and never stretch them out. So if this is the case he or she will be able to give you the go ahead to start doing GENTLE exercise to start with e.g. joining a beginner's Pilates class, yoga, stretch, etc. But don't spend £250 on a form of exercise you've never even tried. You might hate it!

Are you on HRT? I was very achy and stiff before I went on it at age 46. If you can take it, I highly recommend that you give it a try, if you're not already on it. My aches and pains were much better within 48 hours of going on Oestrogel. But the advice for anyone thinking of starting an exercise regime, particularly after a long break, is to see their GP first. You don't want to exacerbate an existing injury or make things worse. Get checked out first and given the all clear.

Yes! I had no idea, thought my hip pain was from the awful office chairs we had 🤦‍♀️

Invest £45 in a sports massage to get all those little muscles released. I swear by it!

I did some yoga Pilates to inclickba bad hip. I stopped going cos I couldn’t keep up, but it really helped. I’m 46 and also have knee OAbadly.

I recently spent a lot of money on an osteopath that did wonders for my back/hip pain and with the exercises from there helped me regain mobility and exercise more @Catsarefatflumps

HRT or not, I'd still start with gentle stretching - I used to do a great stretch class at my gym. Much more gentle than yoga and less technical than pilates. Then gentle swimming or even just walking up and down a shallow pool. Followed by sauna or steam, building up your exposure gradually.