AIBU to think the pressure for ‘older’ women to exercise is wrong?

[StitchInLime]

So as a woman in my late 40s, I keep getting told (via ads, from some people in my life, via tv and so on) that I need to do strength exercises and cardio if I don’t want to suffer later in life. And yet, it’s the woman I know who did f-all exercise at my age and before who seem to be thriving in their 60s/70s (eg my aunts) and the ones who did more exercise at my age now have issues with knees, hips etc. I find it difficult to find the motivation in light of this. If you have opposite examples, please share as I really need to motivate myself!

Running is fine for your joints. Just go gently and don’t overdo it

The current much older generation of women also would have had a lot of strength training built in to their loves naturally. More physical house work, more people had manual jobs, lower car ownerhip meant women in particular were walking and carrying shopping more etc...

Yoga is a easy way to start strength training as you are using your own body - all those planks and leg lifts!

Stop talking sense! Don’t you know that you are a powerless pawn, manipulated by the mainstream media and patriarchy but also have been sucked into a political rhetoric whereby being healthy and taking responsibility for your well-being is just letting the government off the hook!

Do you genuinely not understand the concept of probability?

Women who don't exercise are more likely to have health problems as they get older. That doesn't mean that all women who don't exercise have health problems, and all women who do exercise don't have health problems. It's infinitely more complex than that.

The fact that you know a handful of women who didn't exercise but remained healthy as they aged, doesn't prove the medical establishment wrong in their scientific conclusion based on analysis of massive data sets; it just shows that we can't control all aspects of our lives, and that we're all just making the best decisions we can, based on the evidence and resources available to us.

You've sort of contradicted yourself there - yoga can be a form of strength training using your own body weight, as is swimming and walking. It's all about building and maintaining muscle and flexibility.

Just because she doesn't do it in a gym doesn't make it different.

I know I should probably exercise more. I have an active job and walk a lot, but the idea of a gym has no appeal. It's expensive, you are stuck indoors, it's a time-suck.

I am a healthy weight, etc, cardiovascular not bad although I am deffo not a runner.

Problem is, I do find exercise for its own sake a chore. I prefer to get it incidentally, through work or the joy of being outdoors. I am not sporty at all.

Why does it annoy you? It's scientifically proven that muscle mass reduces after age 30 and therefore keeping strength training makes you stronger as you age to replace the lost muscle. Sounds like good advice to me - in the same way they tell you not to smoke or drink etc

I think you don't like the message because you don't like exercise but that's a you problem not the actual message itself.

So yes, YABU

Well your mum’s 10k steps a day IS cardio, as is swimming if she goes at any kind of clip.

Yoga and walking also help with bone density because they are weight bearing. If she doesn’t have a propensity to osteoporosis that might be enough for her and lifting weights might not be so important, but it’s very helpful if you do.

It’s true that capitalist enterprises take advantage of our insecurities about our physical attraction to sell exercise products. It’s also true that recent governments have tried to push individuals to take more responsibility for their health for ideological reasons.

But it doesn’t follow that the solution to this is to sink back into the couch with a big shrug and do sod all to protect yourself.

Theres unequivocal evidence to support the idea that people who exercise tend to live healthier Iives for longer than people who don’t.

Youre shooting yourself in the foot if you ignore that just to say “fuck you” to the government and capitalism. And honestly the less the state invests in our health the more we want to be doing to protect ourselves.

OP there are many things we do nowadays to optimise health and wellness that weren't common in previous generations, like not smoking, using sunscreen etc. Some people won't bother with these and do fine, but as a general rule it's a good idea to optimise your health chances as best you can.

It sort of sounds like you don't want to do it (which is your choice) so you want to convince yourself that it's not worth bothering with at all. That's up to you, but the fact is that exercise as a general rule is beneficial to our health.

Of course if you overdo it, you can end up with injuries etc. so like anything it should be done in moderation, but to discount it altogether is a bit silly. Just find something that works for you.

There are female personal trainers, you know!

I have never met a PT who gets their clients to throw themselves around.

I play tennis at my local club. There are women in their 80s still playing in the teams. They play 3-4 times a week and have done all their lives. That's what I aspire to.

I disagree. It’s not about looks, it’s about having the healthiest life you can as you get older (you just need to make sure it’s appropriate eg swimming is better than jogging to avoid joint pain).

I don't think it is essential to go to the gym. I think the best exercise is the one you can actually sustain. I hate going to the gym, so I walk everywhere, swim and will shortly take up yoga.

One thing that irks me is that all cardio based exercise classes nowadays are so intense. HIIT and all that. I don't want to feel like I'm in a boot camp and being pushed to my very limits. Bring back the 1980s keep fit/aerobics. I'd be much more likely to do that

The most motivating thing I have seen was 70+ year old women bent in half in a yoga class I went to, they looked incredible because they looked so flipping healthy, they were more flexible than me. It has really given me the motivation to look after myself to try and keep my health and mobility for as long as possible.

Growing up in the 00s it was all about being as skinny as possible, what I love about the impossible to follow beauty trends of today is that they are at least largely healthy! The women in my gym look so healthy and strong. I want that to be me. It's not able getting into size 0 jeans any more, it's about being strong.

So yeah there is pressure to exercise, but that's a healthier mindset than a mindless pressure to be thin I think. We all know the aches and pains are coming, I for one want to offset it as much as I can and I know I will have to work for it.

Walking is strength training. What you need to do for strong bones is weight bearing exercise, which is what walking is ( your own weight). Do you do as much walking as they do? If not, then start walking. You dont need to go to the gym or life weights. I walk my dog, but know that isnt enugh. I also enjoy gong to exercise classes. I hate the gym so dont go because I know I wont do it. There are 60+ women in my Zumba class with huge amounts of energy and flexibility.

You’ve never done an army style boot camp or circuit training I presume?

Hahaha what a stupid post.

You have no idea if the “old ladies” you see on the street are physically active or not. Nor do you know how healthy they are just by casting your gaze over them.

I used to work in a council leisure centre and some of the senior customer that we had in the building 3/4/5 times a week may not have been toned but they were definitely more active, healthier and fitter than I was at 18. Some of them walked with canes or frames but could zip about in the pool like nobodies business, lift heavy weights etc. But see them doddering on the street was a different story. It didn’t mean they were lazy, unhealthy slobs who had gotten old. It just meant arthritis affected their walk or they had balance problems or other ailments. But you could look at me at 18 and think, slim, toned young woman looked healthy and active. What wasn’t obvious to random woman on the street judging was my chain smoking, binge drinking / drugs, eating disorder and chronic illnesses.

You know anecdote is not science right? Do you also know that 60s and 70s aren't particularly old anymore? People can live well into their 80s and 90s and they can live to those ages either barely able to get by until they die following a minor fall. (Minor falls being one of the leading causes of death in the elderly.) Or they can live at those ages able to run around, lift weights, squat, jump, dance, skate, turning cartwheels and doing tumbles. There are no guarantees that you will definitely become the latter if you aim for it. But it is guaranteed that you absolutely won't if you don't.

This. Exercise in later life is v sensible if you want to stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible

Being in your forties is older? I can’t wait for my birthday next year…

In the meantime I go to the gym 3/4 times a week, and I do lift weights, and I love it. It’s been transformative for my mental health and confidence. The gym isn’t for everyone but thankfully exercise comes in many forms. The trick is to find what works for you. The evidence of the benefits of exercise can’t be denied. If you choose not to then you don’t get the benefits.

Also, female PTs do circuit training. At least at my gym they do. And they’re pretty intense.

I've always wondered whether this applies to unhealthy people.

I was diagnosed with three major illnesses by the time I was 21. It's been a struggle all my life to just walk places and keep up the energy needed to daily life.

I hear all the time that exercise and weighed and running helps ward off illness - but what if you already are badly ill? Does it help then?

Asking for me

I think this is true, to an extent; luck plays a huge part. I know people who did all the right things in terms of diet and exercise and who got struck down prematurely, and others who abuse their bodies and somehow make very old age. However - you can live a long life but be unhealthy and disabled. I'm strength training because I figure it can't do any harm and may well prove helpful as I age.