To ask for your help developing an easy exercise routine

[crochetmonkey74]

Been ill and down for a while, I am also 47 and perimenopausal.
I feel achey, not in my body and tired.im much weaker than I was, and quite depressed
I know I need to build my strength and my fitness level. I'd like to do an at home routine.
I've seen some things on you tube like "15 minute easy workout for beginners" and I thought I could start there. For strength building, I'm torn between resistance bands and dumbbells, which is better?
I really am not up to going for an outside walk every day, think of this as a recovery exercise programme. I could manage a weekly swim so count that in. Anyone got any tips or guidance? I've googled but as I am a bit clueless- I am struggling to narrow down the good stuff. Can anyone help?

Try ballet or specifically balletbasedmovement.com. it's for over 50s but will suit you if you are struggling to build up strength. It's also fun and the trick is to find something you actually enjoy. Try to go outside even if you can't walk very far. Swimming is excellent. Try to build up to more than once a week.

Try the Joe Wicks HIIT workouts on YouTube. They're a really good starting place and only 20 minutes. You can add in dumbbells or other types of weights if you want to make the routines more challenging. Because they're so short I've found I'm better able to motivate myself to do them.

I will give the ballet a go. I think it would be good to try a few different things.

I'm currently trying to build myself an at home exercise programme that's fun so I'll actually stick to it. I've earmarked the shortest easiest beginner routines from :

Joe Wicks
Popsugar
Yoga with Adriene

NHS Better Health Get Active also has lots of useful links.

These are definitely too hard for me at the moment. I did them in the first lockdown but my fitness is much less now

I will check these out

Do you do them in the morning or after work?
Are you going to add weights? My arms need strength and toning

Op I am in the same boat

What do you think you are going to do?
I sort of need a mix between a personal trainer and a physio, but haven't got the funds right now !

@crochetmonkey74
I don't do them at all atm, these are my good intentions for when I come back from holiday! I've had sciatica recently and Adriene Yoga for Sciatica did help shift it. My current exercise is walking my Ddog and also doing a brisk 30 min walk whenever I can.
The ones I mentioned are often recommended on here and look like fun so I'll hopefully stick to them.

I'm hoping to add in weights in the future. Caroline Girvan is often mentioned on here but would be too much for me atm. You could have a look at her videos.

I was just hoping to save you some time trawling the net, because I've already done this myself recently. There are also subforums for Yoga, Weights and exercise on Mumsnet which would be worth a look

Good luck OP

There's two sides of things for fitness - there's working on your aerobic fitness, your stamina and 'heart health'. You can build that up by doing anything that raises your heart rate and makes you breathe harder - doesn't have to be full on running, you get aerobic benefits from brisk walking, or cycling, dancing, or vigorous gardening, etc. That would fall within the 150 minutes of moderate physical activity the NHS recommends you do a week. If you are really going for it, and your heart rate is high enough, where it is 'vigorous' activity that makes you out of breath, you only need to aim for 75 minutes a a week. But to start gradually - 150 mins is 2.5 hours. That's half an hour Monday to Friday, or just over 20 mins a day every day of the week. You don't have to go from 0 to 150 straight away, but a couple of half hour brisk walks, and twenty mins of dancing in your living room or some gentle aerobic type exercise video activities, would get you started in building back aerobic fitness.

Then there are activities that strengthen your muscles and joints and help to maintain your bone density. That is what helps you to carry children around, to manage several bags of shopping back from the car, to open that stubborn jat yourself! And also helps to keep you active and independent into later life - able to maintain your balance, to lift and carry things. The opposite of age bringing increasing frailty and vulnerability. That's the area women tend to be less inclined to focus on, versus the cliche of men in the gym lifting weights. But even activities like yoga and tai chi can help, and you don't need a dedicated set of weights to do simple bodyweight exercises. Search on youtube for bodyweight exercises for beginners and give it a try twice a week, see how quickly you can improve.

www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/exercise-guidelines/physical-activity-guidelines-for-adults-aged-19-to-64/

If you’re not in a good place then these videos can be a good way to start. I did the ‘Emi Wong’ YouTube videos - short (maximum 30 minutes, most shorter) and there are some that are more challenging for when you’re ready, but others easier. You don’t need any equipment and also you notice improvement in yourself REALLY fast.

The biggest change I made to my life was to cycle instead of drive/use public transport. It takes me 1 hour to cycle to school each day and 1 hour back, that’s 2 hours of easy and relaxing exercise every day and it’s really enjoyable with a good podcast or some music! I literally don’t even register that it’s exercise anymore but I honestly feel pretty great every day. Loads of energy.

Another good idea is swimming as it’s similar to cycling in that it’s slow and relaxing but has a really big impact on your overall health.

Try fabulous50s website and utube videos not just for over 50s . Annoyingly attractive swishy blond Aussie woman 😃 but great workouts !

Hi just to say , make sure you get hrt asap.
In perimenopause your declining oestrogen really impacts your energy level, your heart and circulation. Replacing it early can make a massive difference to your energy level.

Have a look at the 2 vagina documentaries on all 4 for more info about it!
Good luck x

Davina! Not vagina!
Autocarrot!!

i would just do one calisthentics move and challenged your self to the same thing everyday for a month.

a very simple burpee (with no jump) would be good to start. 30 a day every day with very slow increases so add a jump, or half push up etc.

by the end you should be able to move to youtube 10/15 workouts by the end of that month. sounds boring but building a daily habit around exercise will be beneficial

I struggled with both dumbells and bands because I'm not well co-ordinated, but get on very well with strap on wrist and ankle weights. I also wear a rucksack with a brick in it and go for a really fast walk.

I’m in a similar position after long covid. I am slightly amused by the idea of doing 30 burpees a day or cycling an hour or a 20 minute HIIT workout. The op says a walk everyday is too much, so it really needs to be very gentle at this stage.

I’m going to check out the ballet one and the EMI Wong workouts.

The website seems to have some good ideas on starting exercise. weareundefeatable.co.uk

If you go on youtube and look up Sarah beth yoga you will find tons of yoga videos by an instructor that are really good. Start with the beginner and 10 minute ones and work you way up. The power yoga 30 minute ones are actually really really intense.

I started these about a year ago as well as diet changes and I'm now doing the harder routines daily for 20 to 30 minutes. I feel exceptionally strong compared to how I used to feel and my balance is amazing, its honestly night and day, I feel much sturdier on my feet and doing everyday tasks. Hugely worth the benefit imo and the only thing you need is a yoga mat/exercise mat so very cheap and easy to get into. You could tack 10 minutes in the morning or evening onto your existing routine and do different exercise as well. Don't be deterred by poses you can't do, I never thought I'd be able to manage some of them but I do them now with ease, it's amazing the change its made for me. Just be consistent with whatever you device and you will see the benefits.

thought I would update you- I stole my break back at work today (I'm a teacher so getting out at breaks feels impossible/naughty) I did a 24 minute walk (all I could fit in as break is 30 mins)
Have also ordered resistance bands which are arriving today and will look at the yoga videos etc

Went to docs for my low mood and my blood pressure was high so I am determined to improve this (also having a major anxiety spiral about this) so waiting for the antidepressants to kick in - god I feel like a right mess!