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?

I average an hour per day.

this could be walking, gym, running, gardening. Some form of movement.

i do it for
mental health
physical health (current) (40’s)
physical heath (prep for old age)
something to do with my time
fun / enjoyment
trtong to keep weight balanced

I swim 1km at least twice and usually 3x a week. Other than that just dog walking 4x a week.

Why? Because I am 56 and a year ago I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol and low HRV (average was mid 20s) Now I weigh the same or maybe a little more, but I have normal blood pressure and cholesterol and a better HRV (average is high 30s and it even goes up to mid 50s some days).

I am on meds as well but I didn't want to be unhealthy and relying only on meds. Clearly I needed to prioritise my health more.

I walk the dogs for an hour every day.

Aqua class on Monday.
Swim at the pool Wednesday and Thursday.

If I’m at my caravan at the weekend, I sea swim every day, and walk 2-3 hours, at a leisurely pace. I rarely do long walks or mountains anymore 😕.

I have arthritis, and Hashimotos/hypothyroidism, so I need to pace myself, or I’m out of action for a day or two

My current schedule is a 3 mile power walk every morning either outdoors or on the tread as well as walking the dog twice a day, so my absolute minimum daily steps is about 15000. Reformer Pilates 3 times a week, 2hrs of open play pickleball 3-4 times a week, which sounds less impressive when I say if I'm playing badly I spend just as much time standing around chatting as playing! I also do a 20 min Peloton row class every morning Monday-Friday. I'm in my early 50s and fell back in love with exercise for the first time since I was a teen when I was about 47. I also now have plenty of spare time to do all that. I didn't when my kids were younger.

Nothing at all! Apart from general activity that probably everyone else does, I do no formal exercise. I just don’t enjoy it, I find it a chore. I’ve tried a lot of stuff in the past, but have never really got on with it. I like swimming and skiing on holidays, but that’s not an everyday exercise!

At the facility where I teach my classes, membership is £50 a month which includes unlimited classes (and we have 8 centres so there are 100s of classes a week- cardio, weights, dance, yoga, Pilates…), There are also several gyms, 3 swimming pools, tennis courts, badminton, saunas, steam rooms… I think it’s excellent value for money. Family membership works out even cheaper per person.

I average 15,000 steps a day on work days (walk there and back) and do a reformer Pilates class twice a week. Every night I do a short routine with 5KG weights. I used to run but knackered my foot and got plantar fasciitis which took a load of expensive physio to sort.

I live a ten minute walk from my local town and also from my railway station. My husband and I always walk to these which averages a couple of times a week. When we had our house built we had the loft reinforced with metal beams to accommodate weight machines, it’s now our gym. We work out in our gym 3 times a week. We use free weights and a bench, this usually takes about 45 minutes. On these occasions we also do HIIT on our static bike. In addition to this we go ballroom and Latin dancing once a week and I have a once a week yoga class.
Why?
My husband is 65, I am 63 neither of us welcome decline nor do we expect anyone else to care for us when we haven’t cared for ourselves most especially our children. We have no intention to give in to old age which can sod right off!

@MissConductUS I'd love to know your stretching routine if you are happy to share. 😊

I run 4-5 times a week, 20-30 miles in total depending on what im training for, 1 strength/weights session. I walk to the station and back each day but its only a 10 min walk each way.
I like running and it helps me de-stress, weight/strength training i hope will help me with mobility in older age.

Physio exercises morning and night. I've had two new hips in the last 10 months so I'm rebuilding my body after three years of progressing pain and infirmity.

I don't know how some of you fit in work, family hours of exercise and house work. Well done for keeping all those balls in the air.

Just in case anyone else is reading this thread and feeling utterly inadequate, I want to point out that the vast majority of women I know don’t do this much exercise. If you have young children and work full time or nearly part time then I think it’s often impossible to make it work. I am a healthy weight, enjoy good health (touch wood) and am on my feet as much as I can.
those of you who do two reformer Pilates classes a week plus weights plus walk the dogs…good for you. For everyone else who feels like they are not doing enough…you probably are.

4 gym classes/week. Weight based, heavy strength training

self directed gym sessions 2/3 times a week on top. Usually bit of cardio some weights and yoga/stretching.

dog walks- everyday. About 6000 steps.

I have a sedentary job and apart from getting up and moving to hang the wash out or such have you I need to make time to move!

reasons-
both parents dead from poor lifestyles and genes before 70
vanity- I like being slim and toned
mental health. I notice when I don’t exercise as I am grumpy and low.

i hate running and burpees and refuse to do either.

Currently I run 4 times a week, about 50km in total including one very long run as I am training for my first marathon. I also do strength and conditioning sessions, so yoga, Pilates, lunges etc with dumbbells.
I'm early 60s and enjoy the training and getting stronger. My parents were unfit, both smoked heavily and father drank in the pub every night. He didn't make it to 60 and my mother was always unwell with COPD from her late 50s onwards. Neither did any form of physical exercise although my Mum walked to shops daily.
My brother passed away last year aged 60 after many years of ill health caused by addictions to drugs and alcohol. I started running in lockdown. Prior to that I did Karate 3 times a week for 20 years. I think the key is to find something you love. I've made some lovely friends through running.

Up until 18 months ago I did no exercise whatsoever and was morbidly obese. Then I went on mounjaro, started to lose weight and took up exercise. I couldn’t do much at first because I was so heavy, but the more weight I lost, the more I was able to do, and I absolutely fell in love with it. I lost 13.5 stone in total, have been maintaining now for 6 months and I exercise every day. I run 5-8k 3 times a week, walk 5k to work, hike up to 25k at weekends, and do at least one class a day, a mix of yoga, Pilates, strength class, bounce class, dance and barre. I don’t do every class every week but do at least one of them a day. I also start each day with a short yoga session at home, and I walk absolutely everywhere, usually doing over 20k steps a day.

I originally started because I wanted to lose weight, now I do it purely for enjoyment and the social side of it. And obviously for the health benefits as well.

Currently, I run three or four times a week and on the other days I go for a three-mile walk and/or do a 30-minute dumbbell workout.