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!

This pretty much sums it up for me.

Weight is the key; keeping it within the range for your height together with simple exercising, such as parking at the far end of the supermarket car park, running upstairs, walking to the shops for light shopping (not the weekly shop!), housework, etc, all counts when it comes to staying healthy.

Metabolic syndrome is real and yet the supermarkets are full of clearly overweight folk loading their trollies with Krispy Kreme doughnuts and the like - and even more worrying, feeding them to their very chubby offspring to keep them quiet while they shop.

Exercise doesn't have to mean running marathons, swimming or going to the gym for hours a day though. That's a really common misconception. It just means getting up and moving, being active and getting your heart-rate up. If you can do that as part of your daily life then obviously there's no real need to add specific forms of exercise on top.

Of course some aspects of our health are out of our control - things like diabetes, cancer and heart conditions can happen to all of us, but a lot if is in within our control. If you want to be a fit, mobile, active eighty year old then you need to start that lifestyle in your thirties or forties.

You've even said it yourself - your parents aren't couch potatoes. That will have made a huge difference to their abilities now they're in their eighties. Believe me.

Yes this.

Pounding the pavements knackering my knee and hip joints is not my choice.

Instead I swim for cardio and do selected exercises with weights for strength.

I do it for my mental health as well as future health, not for appearance.

I would love to get started on weight training as a mid forties woman, but I find all the trainers at my gym are early twenties men who aren’t the most clued up on our age group and exercise.
would be interested in any tips for online videos etc which others use?
thank you!

There is some research that suggests that joints don't wear out with overuse and that regular exercise can promote cartilage renewal.

Im on some reasonably hefty medication for autoimmune and other stuff, but the biggest factor that has helped my health is exercise. My rheumatologist strongly encourages me to keep doing it.

I have never stepped foot in a gym - they look scary/boring. Instead I cycle, go for muddy trail runs and walks and do online yoga. When my health conditions flare, I reduce the intensity and if they are really bad, I just do a little bit of flexibility stuff.

I don't do any of this because I want to look good. I do it because I want to feel good, both in body and in mind. As a result, I'm more flexible and stronger than I ever was in younger days.

Honestly, women often put themselves last throughout their life, deferring to the needs of their friends and families. If whatever campaigns are run give them "permission" to actually spend some of their time looking after themselves for a change, I'm all for it!!

I am 75,never been a runner,I swim 1,000m daily as a minimum and do an intense Aqua class weekly.I am fitter than anyone I know my age,most of my friends struggle with mobility.

The only walking I do is my dog walk every morning.

My friends who were runners have all ended up with either knee or hip replacements.

One of my sons is a runner and tells me the running shoes nowadays are much better for not causing damage to your joints.

When you’re in your 40’s and 50’s your 70’s feels a long way off,but boy does it come round quick! Use it or lose it!

Sorry I should be more clear. Jogging/running is not my favoured options. But walking, especially in nature, is very good.

We are built to walk, to move, to have endurance.

Maybe your aunts have always walked! I know many of my older family females never got the chance to learn to drive so walked miles, taking kids to school, bringing home heavy bags of groceries daily (no supermarket deliveries in those days!) walking to jobs, to go meet family etc.

One of my healthiest family friends has spent nearly every Sunday morning of her life hiking up a local hill before she goes back to make family lunch. She's still super active in her 80s.

I would also say that many of us simply don't get outside enough. We work in artificially lit environments for eight hours a day, then drive to a gym to work out indoors, home to household chores indoors.

The weather isn't great, a lot of us don't live where the outside space available is inviting, with traffic, etc. We just aren't getting a lot of fresh air and natural light. No wonder there's so much depression, we live like moles!

What's wrong with looking(and feeling) great? I have no intention of 'letting myself go' just because I've reached a certain age...

@pollyannamex
Look at the Herspirit website and couch2kilo classes. I haven't found a class yet but I'm looking.

I'm mid 40's and took up strength training at home this year at 4 stone overweight. It's changed my life. Never felt so healthy. I can easily run 5k now whereas before I've always struggled and I think my legs are just stronger and I'm a healthy weight now.

I may not live to a ripe old age, but if I do I'd like bone strength and to keep my independence as long as possible.

I think yoga, pilates, swimming , tai chi, walking etc is great as we age, rather than lifting weights

I remember seeing a magazine feature a few years ago on aging female celebrities and their fitness regimes.

IMO they all looked over-exercised, sinewy and gaunt apart from Liz Hurley, who looked amazing.

It was telling that all the others had very strict routines but all Liz Hurley did was go for long walks with her dogs each day.

I think you have to do something
This sums it up for me - she wants to be self sufficient, and if she falls she's likely to be able to get off the floor
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyWh5WXPy0K/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

@Pollyannamex Look at Caroline Girvan on youtube. She's also got an app.

My Dad (late 70s) thinks the whole idea of exercise is ridiculous - he’s never exercised and he’s got no issues!

We had this conversation one summer over his lunch break when he came in from 5 hours of gardening (with a 15 minute break about 9ish when my Mum handed him a cup of tea out the window) before he went back out to garden for another 3-4 hours.

Apparently 8 or 9 hours of hard physical labour doesn’t count as exercise.

The fact that even before he retired he would be out doing the garden in all weathers apparently also didn’t register.

My point is that a big percentage of fit and healthy elderly people who will tell you they ‘never exercise’ do more exercise than some regular gym goers.

They aren’t lying, they just don’t register exercise that doesn’t require a gym, Lycra leggings and pounding music.

I think what many young women involved in serious exercise do not understand is that the way that they feel NOW is not how they will feel when they are in their 60s or 70s. They think they know but nature is a bitch. I'm not only talking mentally here - I'm talking physically as well. No matter how much effort you put in things do get harder and you develop a mentality of "I don't want to get injured" etc. They haven't even gone through children, menopause and a declining BMR and all the issues they get with that. I'm the generation who watched Jane Fonda popularise all of this and have exercised for over 47 years. I also used to teach. I try to do my best as do many of my friends but we are not driven in the same way as we once were. I'm not saying do not exercise . I'm saying do your best.

I think vastly more concerning are the masses of young very overweight women you see routinely now on the streets with their legs and bellies squeezed into leggings and being fed the line of "body positivity". That's where the future Diabetes 2 problem lies.

Exercise is good for everyone - mentally and physical!

Sorry as I have just skim read this.

I'd just like to say on the weight thing, lots of posters saying how important it is not to be overweight, and that is true. But just as important is to try not to be underweight or if you are at the low end of BMI to make sure you're doing weight bearing exercise and or taking the necessary supplements to prevent osteoporosis.

DM has always been slim with not much interest in food and walked ate healthily etc. But now in her 80s she is crippled with osteoporosis.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzZEBGTISVL/?igshid=ZjI0YTZmZTMwMg==

This is a 60 year old PT on instagram that I find helpful

Running creates favorable bone metabolic activity. This means that runners accumulate a higher concentration of bone-building hormones and enzymes such as Calcitonin, Parathyroid Hormone, and Vitamin D, just to name a few. This translates to increased calcium uptake by our bones which ultimately increases bone density.

This is important for woman who are heading for menopause

Yep. I live in a beautiful rural area and got loads of fresh air and exercise by walking my dog when I worked part-time. Now I leave for work by car in the dark, spend all day in an artificially-lit building and come home in the dark and pay a dog walker.

I think vastly more concerning are the masses of young very overweight women you see routinely now on the streets with their legs and bellies squeezed into leggings and being fed the line of "body positivity". That's where the future Diabetes 2 problem lies.

Iagree. It's all very well being ' body positive' in your 20's but once you hit 40 or 50 it's an absolutely huge problem. However many of the ' body positive' Instagram infuencers are making money out of young people without telling them about their diabetes/high blood pressure/sleeping masks. When they decide to lose weight, they are accused of betraying the body positive movement.

Another thing to bear in mind is that you may never find exercise enjoyable but you still need to do it. I don't think I have an endorphin in my body. But I still run, do cardio and weights and carry heavy shopping home.
It's as essential, and dull, as loading the dishwasher or putting the bins out.