How much exercise do you do each week, and why?

[Blissybop]

Bit of a debate with a friend about how much the average person exercises so I was wondering if you were being totally honest how much do you excercise? Not just the gym but any sport, class, hiking etc.

And also why? As in why do you/don’t you?

At the moment I do a hot pilates class (5 times a week usually), mat pilates or yoga class every day . I was doing a bikram class every day in addition at one stage this year.

I usually do a lunchtime walk too. I frequently cycle to work and back (around 10km each way).

I think possibly the people posting on this thread are not the rule - I don't know anyone who exercises as much as me. I started pilates to strengthen my leg muscles as I have bad knees, and now just really enjoy it. My class uses weights so I've seen huge improvements in my muscle tone. I'm mid 50s.

@NineFouryes I was quite shocked to read how unhealthy “boomers” are. I assumed they would be pretty good health wise because of the fact they are wealthy/shorter working lives (yes, not all boomers) & would have had healthier childhoods in terms of less UPF and playing out.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/oct/07/baby-boomers-living-longer-but-are-in-worse-health-than-previous-generations

Well I think it depends on which lifestyle issues you’re talking about. Certainly loss of bone density and muscular strength can be countered by lifting heavy weights. Other issues like diabetes are more likely linked to poor diet and lack of movement in general.

sure, people who did no exercise will have more issues. What I am thinking about are all the women who do a lot of exercise and think they have done their best for their health. They may also eat well and be healthy weight, also great. But they run, do yoga, a few spin classes, maybe some bums and tums with no weight. They are missing out on resistance training benefits - muscle that protects bones, supports joints, keeps metabolism healthier, and helps us stay independent as we age.

Exactly @HeidiLite. There are/were a lot of women in my family (Dad had 7 sisters). All of them had/have osteoporosis in later life, despite all of them being sporty and active throughout life. Some of them were competitive athletes and sportswomen in their 20s, all of them did loads of walking and gardening, none of them were ever overweight. They were anll active but none of them did any weights work (they were of the generation where they feared they would bulk up or seem unladylike). Their general health was very good, but their bone density was awful. I’m well aware that the condition probably has a genetic element, especially considering ALL of the women on that side of the family have been affected, so I might be susceptible to that gene. My hope is that my weightlifting will counteract the worst of it.

On workdays I do 57000 steps and repeatedly lift 60kg weights for 12 hours, I work 4 days a week.

My days off the only exercise I get is opening the fridge door.

I run 3/4 times a week - currently training for a half marathon, then a spring marathon. I also try for a couple of strength training days and a yoga class. I’m meant to do 10-15 mins of mobility per day too - running makes me so stiff - but that frequently falls by the wayside.

Yeh so Im spoke to partner. As suspected, he was just being nice to me, and it was kinda advice just for me rather than generally. So I have gone from zero exercise 3 months ago, I have a severe shoulder injury and I absolutely loathe exercise and Im autistic so Im super weird about sweating - so he was saying for me I should carry on doing what Im doing (4 swims a week). He does think I should try some strength training but minimal, but he knows I wont.

I asked him what he thinks generally, for people over 50, and he is adamant people should have rest days - complete rest days - only exercise 3/4 times a week. He thinks some strength training is good - he thinks if no injuries then the ideal is 45 mins 3 times a week. Plus the swims. But on same day (so training followed by swim). He said a lot of his clients ignore him and do daily (without him) and they often have injuries or cant train cos they are so sore due to DOMS which frustrates him.

So thats what he said. Well more than that he titted on about bones and showed me a video which was super boring 😜. He is now trying to persuade me to do a few strength sessions a week modified for my injury and is now researching a programme for me. Shit. I really dont want to so Im annoyed with myself for asking now.

I was feeling ever so smug for swimming 3/4 times a week and now apparenlty thats not enough! Ugh.

@Candleflakeswhat's your job?!

Sorry but your partner is talking bollocks. I compete at masters rowing, my squad down the club is a large mix of 40 somethings through to 60 somethings. We compete at local regattas, head races and every year we have a crack at Henley Masters and Masters National championships. As alluded to above we are training 6 days a week, a mix of on the water sessions, weights and ergs. We do that because that is what is required to be competitive and the opposition crews we are racing against will be doing the same. Your partner seems to have a very low opinion of the capabilities of the 50s. Sure if you have done no exercise for years you need a sensible programme to ease yourself back into it to avoid injury but once 'fit' there is no reason why you cant train way beyond what your partner is suggesting.

I'm so intrigued, @seanconneryseyebrow , does "complete rest days " mean ... what? Could the person walk the dog for half an hour twice on a rest day? Could they go for a leisurely 2 hour cycle ride or attend a yoga class? What is "complete rest" according to your partner?

I think subsequent generations will follow that downward trajectory - poorer and more Processed diets, increasingly sedentary lifestyles. I think boomers are the first to be hit by this double whammy both of which continue to accumulate with their children and grandchildren.

Do you really though? There is a lot more awareness now about the importance of being active and to avoid UPFs.

Most parents I know cook from scratch and are really careful about what they feed their children.

I dno't think it's much of a shock really - if I think about my mum and her friends - none of them did any exercise in the 80s or 90s beyond having a period when she tried a step class. Perhaps a bit of Jane Fonda at home. There wasn' t a fad for running (although I ran when I was at home), yoga, weights or pilates for grown up women in the 80s. It's much harder to start exercising in your 50s and 60s if you haven't done it previously. Plus of course diets were pretty crap.

60% of the food that uk eat is ultra processed. That goes up much higher in teens. So no, I don’t think it’s getting better.

I go to the gym 3 times a week for an hour, plus I do either 20 mins of yoga or interval exercise in the morning. Mostly because I've seen what a difference exercise makes between seeing how my parents (non exercisers) and my in-laws (exercisers) makes as they approach their 80s. Also because since hitting the perimenopause I think I would put on a lot of weight if I didn't exercise, plus I have a bad hip which will deteriorate faster if I get overweight. And because I don't want to have to replace all my clothes and I don't want to diet permanently because I find it a miserable experience.

At least 30 minutes brisk walking a day. Aim for 5k but some of that is walking around the house, office shop etc

I do a 60 minute weight session 3 times a week, and hypothermia in company whenever I can. As long as I get the shakes afterwards it's a successful session either way. Nothing like bobbing in the North Sea looking at the Coquet Light and feeling the calories draining away.

I need the weights because of a calcium loss problem spotted during chemo (I'm male) and also because my surgery took six inches off my waist. It would be ungrateful to bloat up again.

A 'leisurely 2 hour cycle' - wtf. How is that even a thing?

I feel like I must be so weird.

Well I think he meant no exercise that day. So you can rest your muscles.

I do 2-3 runs a week, at least one of those will be at least a 5k but I am training for my first 10k race so trying to build up distance and stamina.

I also do 1-2 pilates classes a week, have been doing mat for about a year and recently started reformer as well, so I'll mix and match those.

I try to walk as much as I can on lunch breaks etc and do bits of yoga at home or in a class.

I am 35. About 18 months ago I was in a low place with my mental health and I'd also put on weight (I've always been very slim) particularly belly fat. Exercise has been life changing for me - after doing very little for most of my life (thinking it wasn't for me etc) I now see it as a non-negotiable for my wellbeing. It helps me keep a baseline of mood and resilience and I'm now seeing physical benefits as well - I'm getting stronger, some of the belly fat has shifted, and I've got a bum for the first time in my life!

Trick for me has been consistency. Sometimes I don't feel like running but I go and do it anyway even if it's slow or not for a long distance. Sometimes in a pilates class I struggle next to other people and the little voice in my head that's been there since I was the awkward kid who hated PE pipes up with some comment and I say to her (in my head!) 'thank you, but we're not doing that any more.' I pat myself on the back (literally) every time I leave a class. It is a good feeling, finally showing up for myself again and again.

62, active job.

Steps on average 20k a day

PT - 3x a week -45 mins work outs

Park run if no Gym session

Cycle when I have spare time

I do carry a shoulder /neck injury hence the PT. She works me hard , protecting the injury but building the strength . Huge expense but Im feared of going into old age decrepit

Like if you go out with your kids somewhere & they spend half the time off the bike poking sticks in the mud or chasing butterflies. Obstensibly, you were out for 2 hours on the bikes. all the same...

I'm taking "no exercise" means not even walking the dog for 20 minutes twice a day, and probably no housework or gardening either. Basically sitting around waitng to die, I think. OK actually, I can imagine reading books and doing sod all for a full day very very occasionally, but not once a week or 2 days/week or whatever the boyfriend meant, assuming they literally mean someone else has to walk the dog or do any gardening that day, anyway. I'd go spare if you made me try to do so flipping little movement 2 days every week.

Personally I have never counted such everyday activities as exercise and of course dogs still get walked even on my rest days. Rest for me is not doing heavy lifting or intense cardio on that day. Walking, yoga, housework etc are fine.

Im 52. Daily exercise.

i walk 30 mins at lunchtime 5 days a week (nothing else to do)

gym 3 times a week straight after work to do weights

i have a step at home and do old fashioned aerobics on it. And most nights i walk 3 miles.Even in the winter. Lovely quarries and hills.

i enjoy it, and i want to be strong as i get older.

Obviously yes. Just stuff that isnt going to aggravate DOMS.