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 do at least one class a day,mix of aerobic body combat and Zumba plus 3x Pilates , 1 yoga. Do some weights at home. Walk the dog every day but don’t count this as dog is old and slow. I am retired now and did very little while working apart from getting in at least 10,000 steps a day due to active job

I walk a lot but it's mostly meandering with the dog.

3 gym sessions a week - but often only make 2. One pilates session.

I started exercising again in my mid 50s as realised I was getting out of breath going up stairs, my blood pressure was through the roof, and I was 3 stone overweight. Up to perimenopause I'd been reasonably fit.

I'm much fitter, still got a stone and a half to lose though, and need to do more.

I want to be in my 60s in reasonable shape.

I love these replies!
I'm 37 and just finding my way back into exercise meaningfully for the first time since having my daughter 3 years ago.

I try to do 10k - 20k steps a day at least 5 days a week.
I do one Les Mils weights class a week on Wednesday lunch time.
I run 6km with my running club every Thursday night (rain or shine!)
I also do at home workouts with 6kg dumbbells but these are a bit sporadic tbh.
I sometimes join my running club for a longer Sunday session, but weekends do tend to be very busy with family things so that is a bit tentative.

My partner is a PT. He says you are all heavily overtraining. He also thinks its a myth that over 50s need weight training - he said the absolutely best exercise is swimming cos its all over body conditioning - and 4 times a week (which I do) is perfect cos it gives you break days. He doesnt like sharing this too much with clients cos it talks him out of a job 😁

Anyway, I feel better talkign to him cos this thread was freaking me out that if i didnt up my game I was gonna be weak and pathetic in a few years. Im 52 and I really dont want to be old before my time.

@seanconneryseyebrow I think people can do as much as they want if they really want to but I don't think it's essential like we all know someone who does the marathon, but we don't all have to do it

If you find it fun, great go ahead

Oh dear. I think he doesn’t understand what’s over training is, or he was just trying to make you feel better about yourself.

Lifting 3x/week - Core training x 2/week - Brisk walking @ 3.9mph for 5 miles 3x/week

Why?

Because I don't want to be bed bound and relying on the media to feed me my reality while the real world passes me by.

Gosh, is he even qualified?

I think I will go with what my trusted trainer (and so many others!) say rather than a random post! The benefits of strength training for women are hardly top secret

He also thinks its a myth that over 50s need weight training - he really needs to do some research then about the benefits of resistance training. Swimming may be nice, but does little to combat sarcopenia and osteoporosis.

I'm so freaked out by sacropenia. I am watching my PILs waste away by refusing to eat protein (everything is carbs due to cost or sugar for taste) or do anything outside of sitting in a chair. It's scary!!

Really? God damn it. It was definately what I wanted to hear. Never even heard of sarcopenia. Scared to look it up now.

And yeah hes highly qualified. I think its his genuine opinion - hes pretty honest. Maybe hes a shit PT. I wouldnt know or care tbh. Not with him for his job. :)

Or his fitness knowledge by the sound of it.

Well honestly no. Why would I be? He has other skills. 😉

@seanconneryseyebrow well yeah I do lweight as part of my class, but I wouldn't go as heavy as some people I know just because I don't want to it makes me hungry

Anyway, sarcopenia I have a relative with it and his worked physical job all his life lifting etc it's really sad but nothing is a guarantee. You just have to try to keep healthy and hope.

You use the word ‘claiming ‘ as though you don’t believe what posters are saying
As others have said , people who respond to this type of post will be those who do a lot of exercise . I do loads of exercise because I love it .and would do more if I could
I am disciplined and dedicated to keeping fit.
Whilst others may enjoy sitting at home watching Netflix , I would rather be doing a reformer class at my gym .
I am slim and toned and this makes me happy

Why would weight training make you hungry? as long as you eat well there is no reason for that!

to be honest any cardio makes me much hungrier than very heavy lifting does.

sarcopenia simply means muscle loss. We start losing our muscle mass in 30s and if we don't do resistance training (i.e lift weights), we lose about 8% of muscle mass per decade between 30-50, and 10-15% after 50. Reduced muscle mass means lower strenght, reduced independence.
With regular strenght training, it is possible to maintain and even increase our muscle mass even when we age. Swimming does not expose muscles to mechanical stress and progressive overload and is therefore not enough to preserve muscle.

Walk the dog every day for 1.5 hours and run 3 times a week. Averaging it out it’s about 2 hours 20 a day

With respect your partner doesn’t know what he is talking about regarding resistance training .
It is one of the most important type of exercise you can do particularly for older women

I am 53, I predominantly weight train, 4-5 sessions a week for 1.5-2 hours. Open water swimming once a week and yoga 1 or 2 times a week. Also try and fit in 1 or 2 5-8k walks in a week. I was running 3-4 times a week and weight training 3 times a week but had a OA flare in March and haven’t been able to settle back into running since.
I know I do a bit more than most but am prone to carrying additional weight, am still overweight according to my BMI with all this exercise. Also I want to increase muscle mass to support the joints I have OA in and reduce my risk of osteoporosis. I also really enjoy weight training, love hitting a PB and the only person I am competing against is myself, which feels really healthy in the age of social media comparisons.

I walk dog most days though this is often a slow walk. Aerobics class once a week and swim for an hour 3 x week.

Dog walks every day but she’s a sniffer so we don’t get very far or break a sweat.

I’m a teacher so in term time I easily do my 10k steps a day but out of term time barely anything.

I am the cliche of ‘I just don’t know how to fit it in’ and also being overweight I am intimidated by any gym, class etc.

Ugh. Here is my issue. Im autistic and HIGHLY sensory. I cant bare being sweaty and so you can imagine how bad I am in menopause. So I avoid all cardio and even weight training gets a sweat on for me and I cant bare it. Swimming was my thing because I can get the heartrate going, its helping this bloody frozen shoulder of mine to loosen up, and after initially making it way worse, now the aches and pains of age are getting better.

If I dont weight train am I really going to suffer? I just hate it.

@seanconneryseyebrow I’m a qualified PT too (although I actually just teach classes because PT is not active enough for me). I don’t agree with him tbh. My classes are absolutely full of women (including my heavy weights classes). A good proportion of these women are in their 60s and 70s and are already reaping the benefits of weight lifting in real time. My participants with arthritis tell me how much it helps.

And even if you don’t believe in the bone density benefits, surely you can see the benefit of being able to get yourself up off the floor when you’re in old age?

I do agree with your partner that swimming is excellent exercise, but probably not really enough on its own (especially as so many women seem to swim very slow breaststroke with their head out of the water. That’s not challenging exercise unless the person is very unfit to start with.)