To hope that the exercise I do now will help mobility when I'm older

[facelace]

My mum is 60, bad knee, bad back etc etc. I don't want to be like that.

I'm 38 and weight lift 2/3 times a week. Aibu in thinking this will help me when I'm her age?

My mum has never done any exercise past childhood.

Yes. Although I'd be a bit careful about the heavy lifting we are apparently supposed to do, I don't want to end up with prolapsed pelvic organs. Everything in moderation.

I'm mid/late 50's, work out 3/4 times a week including running and weights. It's a compromise between doing enough and not causing too much wear and tear to your joints, as they have to last hopefully another 30+ years. I also ski and my knees get a bashing.

Whereas in my 30' I would've taken the lift, I take the stairs every time.

Definitely moderation. I know it's not necessarily meant to be like weightlifting championship amounts 🤣 I've heard even pilates can be sufficient alongside swimming.

Do whatever you can. My mother is 71 and can’t walk very well now and has frequent falls as she is very sedentary. Mil is 5 years older and out almost every day with her friends making use of her free bus pass. Husbands uncle is about 72 and still plays badminton every week. It seems that being active is so so important.

Do you do any mobility, balance and flexibility work? At my gym, so many of the people who do weights have really bad mobility / balance / flexibility. These three things become more important as you age. You might feel you are ok now, but menopause is brutal. That's what you need to plan for. I wish I had realised it sooner.

A lot of the younger people doing weights at my gym just don't look that fit. I think there are some who only do weights but couldn't run for a bus. I definitely need to do cardio as well for all round fitness and yoga is great for mind and body, all round flexibility and balance.

i work with the elderly and there does seem to be a theme that people who are 80 plus and most mobile/ independent always say they were sporty/ cycled/ walked etc.

I also dip I. And out of a yoga class full of retirees and hoenslty they’re so much more flexible than me in my 40s.

having said that a lot of people who cycle a lot/ play lots of football etc do also have knees etc that cause problems.

also some people get injuries that mean they can no longer do these sports…

So I guess it’s about being active and mixing it up and not being too intense with it 🤷‍♀️

I used to run with a running group. The coach also ran another group for retirees (and one or two joined our group also). There were some people who had never run until their 70s, but usually who had kept active with tennis say, finding out they were pretty decent runners.

When I did my fastest ever 10k time and I was about 26 I was still passed in a sprint finish by a grey haired woman club runner!

Looking at people I know from early 50s to late 60s, I would say the biggest difference is between those who have always walked everywhere every day and the sedentary car-dependent ones. Walking seems to make more of a difference than sports or gyms or running, but it needs to be a daily habit.

God that's me fucked. Rural location and home working means I rarely walk.

Used to walk and cycle everywhere!

I think it's also easy to think 'ooh, that's a bit sore, I'd better rest up' and then just never get going again.

I have arthritis in both feet. However, having been checked out by the doctor, it's not going to get any better, so I still run five days a week on the grounds that I'd rather be fit with arthritis than unfit and still have arthritis.

Maybe. I used to walk and run for miles. Then I contracted a long standing illness that has poleaxed me.

I teach dance 25 hrs a week and my knees are basically fucked to the point that I need a knee replacement on one knee soon and the other one doing in the next 5 years or so, and I have ongoing shoulder issues too. I can’t lift weights, ride a bike or go to the gym, so if I give up dancing I’d be screwed- and I absolutely hate swimming. In my case, exercise has knackered up my body.

That's lovely but not all illnesses are like that. I am under very strict instructions not to push through my symptoms which is beyond frustrating as I am a "pushing through" person by nature. But pushing through tends to land me in hospital so I know my dr's are right. Sadly willpower isn't the solution to everything.

@WindsurfingDreams I agree completely. Have also ended up in hospital after pushing through.

I know I'm fitter at 55 than my mother was, but I don't know how much of that is down to what exercise I do.

I've been doing karate for 21 years. Used to train 4 x a week, now only once or sometimes twice. A lot of those in my class are in our 50s, having trained together all that time, so we're all very aware of our limitations and what we can do to mitigate them. For instance, karate can be very hard on the knees, so we take care to do more thigh-strengthening exercises. We keep working on flexibility too- although it can go very quickly if you have a couple of weeks off!

To continue thigh-strengthening and add in cardio, I cycle a lot with ds2. I also do long walks as and when I can fit them in (decent pace, not an amble).

Then other physical challenges such as a mountain climb, or building an extension!

I do know that I was shocked recently when my friend, who is the same age, told me that she can no longer put on her pants standing up. Obviously balance is fairly key in karate so I have no issues putting on knickers standing up, but it did make me wonder what the general standard is for my age group.

I think a rounded mix of exercises is probably our best bet- lifting weights is great, but you probably should have some flexibility stuff and cardio in there too.

I think a rounded mix of exercises is probably our best bet- lifting weights is great, but you probably should have some flexibility stuff and cardio in there too

Yes, at the moment I run 3 times a week, do a strength session once or sometimes twice a week, walk every day with a view to getting at least 10,000 steps (averaged out across the week and including my runs - this week I was away so have done twice that) and follow various routines on a Pilates app. I hope the combination, along with an occasional swim, will keep me functionally fit into my old age.

They say exercise is the 'magic pill' for a good old age

Absolutely, it will help strength, mobility, protect bones, mental health etc
Also stopping smoking, drinking, drugs, keep weight down
I've seen and known a lot of ill older people, through their illnesses/diseases/disabilities and then death. Life is much much harder if they don't look after themselves.
They say "we're a long time dead"
I see so many people who are also a long time ill before they go. No quality of life for years sometimes decades

I'm in my 60s. So far no aches or pains or lack of mobility. But I've exercised regularly for over 40 years. A mix of cardio, walking, dance, Pilates and yoga.

As PP have said weight training is great for strength and bone density but you need to mix things up to maintain flexibilty and also endurance.

It's always a gamble, though exercise tips the odds in your favour.

But my Dad (70) has always exercised and been very active all his life he now has knee and back problems and this is limiting what he can do.

My grandma (his Mum) is 95 and never exercised - she has the reputation in the family as being the one sat 1/3 of the way up the mountain and then sitting down to picnic while the others went on. Whilst she is now slow and frail, she can still walk, can still drive and mobility has not been a particularly limiting factor in her life.

This is a very true devils advocate, there is a balance isn't there. I know people with constant injuries with running hard. But hopefully gentle cardio, yoga/pilates and weights would be beneficial throughout old age

I think weights are great for bone strength but actually it's regular movement and not sitting too long that is key.

For example, and I appreciate you aren't doing this but, lifting weights 3 times a week is not as good walking, gardening, swimming in old age.

You lose muscle mass and fitness very very quickly once you stop so consistently consistent is the way to go.

It's good, but you need to keep doing it - and once the children are older and you aren't running around after them you need to increase your cardiovascular exercise. It's important not to stop exercising!

I take the approach that exercise benefits me now and building it into everyday life will give me as good a chance as I can have about keeping fit into old age. Lots of our health we can't control but I can do something about how much exercise I get!

I think weights are great for women and weight bearing exercise has been shown to help with bone density which is important post menopause. I have to be very careful not to lift things that are too heavy (prolapse after having DDs that I don't want to make worse!) but I still go to the gym and use the weight machines twice a week (high reps on a lower weight setting for my personal circumstances.)

I also do a quick yoga workout of around 15 or 20 mins every day. I really love yoga for having some time out and mindful activity and it's really important to keep flexible and able to balance. I really enjoy Sarah Beth yoga videos as you can pick different lengths or yoga for different purposes e.g. "15 minute full body stretch" or "20 minute yoga for neck and shoulder pain" etc. So I find it easy to fit into everyday life doing little and often. She has a few standing yoga videos that I sometimes do on my lunch break at work in a meeting room as I don't have to have a yoga mat with me.

My grandad lived until he was 94 and was physically fit until the end, when a heart attack finally got him. He walked for an hour every day and would do gentle mobility exercises in front of the TV e.g writing the alphabet with his toes to keep flexibility in his feet, standing on one leg etc.