AIBU to wonder how non-exercisers cope with aches as they age?

[secretgoose]

This is a curiosity post not a judgemental post.

But those who don’t go to the gym and don’t do any exercises, what kind of ailments are you living with and how old are you?

I’m 32 and I’ve been going to the gym for 4 years. I have some problems with my health occasionally such as hip tightness. I went out with my friends who don’t gym and after so long walking they both complained their legs were aching and I wondered how they will cope when they’re 40,50,60…

this isn’t judgemental because I think we have a real huge problem with exercising for aesthetics rather than how it makes us feel (as proven by the uptake of weight loss jabs). My bmi is currently in the overweight category. To look at me, I don’t look like a “gym person”. But I know I feel 10x fitter than I did in my 20s and for me, that’s what counts. Just wanted to add a little explainer so people don’t roll their eyes at me.

Maybe having a gym free/weight lifting free life isn’t as bad as I think it would be in terms of health but yeah, judging by how some of my friends are in their 30s, I really worry about it.

I can tell you that I am very fit, I do a lot of exercise including lifting. I still ache at times at 56, especially when I get up in the morning.

YABU to use the word “gym” as a verb 🤮

Gyms are boring and full of sweaty smelly people. I’m 60 and have managed perfectly fine without one and have very few aches and pains. My friend who goes to the gym a lot and is a part-time fitness instructor always has some injury or another. I know whose life I’d rather have!

I'm 58.
I hate the gym. I also have spinal stenosis and arthritis.
I have an allotment which I dig and tend (I have been lifting 100litre bags of compost today), I walk the dog for many miles every day and I play squash several times a week.
My parents both had arthritis (one osteo the other rheumatoid) so I was probably genetically doomed.
Consequently I hurt. My hips and back hurt with every step for most of the day and if I'm driving for more than a couple of hours it really really hurts.

I am the same weight (BMI 20.6) that I was nearly 38 years ago on my wedding day, I'm active...and yes I ache like hell. Ageing sucks.

Judgemental much .. people can be active without the need for paid subscription gym

So many saying they hate the gym as if this was the only way to exercise. I hate the gym too, but I work out at home most days. I have 3 sets of dumbbells and a couple of resistance bands and that’s all I need. There are so many excellent trainers FREE on YouTube…

Lucy Wyndham Read
Heather Robertson
Caroline Girvan
Growingannanas
Yoga with Kassandra
Livinleggings

… to mention just a few

I’m 66, and am probably fitter now that I’ve ever been. I never used to be particularly fir and did little exercise.

I wasn’t good at sport at school so didn’t do anything sporty when I was younger - except occasionally I’d start an exercise class but usually gave it up pretty quickly. The only exercise I enjoyed was Astanga Vinyasa yoga but it was hard to find classes close by, and I didn’t care enough to look for any further away. So pretty physically lazy.

I do walk quickly, though and I was always naturally slim. I’m also pretty flexible and didn't have any aches until I developed arthritis recently, & recognise that I am very lucky.

I have though recently got into pilates - I found a teacher close by who’s very good, and have started doing another pilates class at work, and a separate weights class, and I find I enjoy them all, and don’t look for excuses not to go, which is very unlike me. I’ve just been away on holiday and did at least 20,000 steps a day for 2 ½ weeks, without any trouble. I like being this fit, and strong, and now do things like stand on one leg when I’m waiting for the train, to practice. Most unlike Old Me.

The critical thing has been finding classes I enjoy, I think.

Exercise definitely helps with the arthritis that started recently.

My neighbour who’s 80 can stand on one leg better than I can, so my aim is to be a good as her. She does 5 Pilates classes a week.

There’s a difference between aches and pains from age and not being fit enough for a walk (how long was the walk)? I have friends who have done minimum exercise and those who do it every day. We are mostly in our 60s and other than trying to run a 5k I don’t think there’s any difference in terms of aches and pains - in fact the runners do complain their knees are now shot. Of course the regular exercisers are undoubtedly fitter, and arguably may live a more mobile life as they age into their 70s and 80s, but if you’re 40 and of reasonable weight you should be able to cope with a walk.
@Gonnagetgoingreturnsagainsurely you don’t think only people who eat junk food are overweight? Eating too much of any kind of food will make you overweight.

All the people I know who go to the gym are needing to have knee and hip replacements and other medical issues because of breaks and sprains and other niggles due to the gym in first place or street running

Hmm
Over exercising is also not good I hear?
I'm nearly 40, do not exercise at all.
Not intentionally anyway, I walk occasionally.
I have no aches and pains
I have a teenager, a 3 year old and am pregnant now.
So, maybe plenty of people haven't felt the need yet?
I do want to at some point start a strength training programme, maybe twice a week as my older freind recommends.

I’m also 32 and have been going to the gym on a regular basis since my mid-20ies.

But I haven’t been able to exercise for 6 weeks (except walk) and I feel stiff and achy.

I did not know that exercise made that much of a difference!

@ChunkyMonkey36 as a fellow high BMIer , I think sometimes it helps to re-frame your thinking about what you are managing to do. For instance I could lose 65kg and still be in the just overweight category. I carry that 65kg around with me constantly, I don't get to put it down after completing reps. If I walk a mile, I do so carrying 65kg, which my friend isn't doing at a healthy BMI, if she was she might feel a little out of breath going up a hill or might need to stop and rest, after a mile

I don’t drive so walk everywhere but that’s it in terms of exercise. I’ve never done anything else, I’m 56 and don’t ache anywhere yet. My mother’s nearly 96 and doesn’t have any particular health issues either; her walking has slowed a bit in recent months but she’s never done any “formal” exercise other than walking.

The thing with "strength training" is that, especially if you don't have a particularly well planned regime, you're basically doing artificial movements that prioritise less-important muscles and that's why people get injuries.

In ordinary life, a huge percentage of work is done by the core muscles and those aren't glamorous to train, unlike bicep curls or whatever.

Ordinary lifting and carrying, pulling and pushing (like carrying toddlers or gardening or changing bedsheets) is a kind of strength training and it works out the core muscles more proportionately than the cable machines and free weights do. Plus are free of charge and can be done in the open air or at home

@Kingdomofsleep that's only true if it's bad programming. And day to day activities can easily lead to injuries too, always carrying the heavy bag in the dominant had, lifting from the floor and relying on the back rather than legs etc. Strength training teaches how to brace properly and how to lift with good form.

I think even if you are active you would need to plan a range of movement to target all muscles - but I’m not sure it’s an age thing as much as a person of any age will feel sore if they use muscles in a way that they are not used to.

I’m not active outside of walking and late 30s. I did a bit of painting recently, then the next day and a few days after I found the back of my thighs really painful but only when walking downstairs! I need to do something don’t I 😂

I don't like the tone of your OP as it's very judgy but you are correct.
I'm 68. I've always been slim and hated sport. At school sport / exercise was never taught as something that would give lifelong benefits and was very oriented to boys.
I saw exercise as something people did to lose weight and I didn't need it. This was the 1970s.
I biked to work for a few years in my 20s but I did virtually zero exercise for the sake of exercise until I was in my 50s.
I have rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. I might have got them anyway but they might have been prevented.
I've done Pilates for about 15 years and I go to the gym regularly and walk for an hour a day. I'm pretty fit and very supple now but still I have those conditions.

If I could give teenage me one piece of advice it would be to do some exercise to strengthen bones.

I'm in my 60s and have started exercising more in recent years. As well as pilates I go to the gym twice a week where I mainly do cardio, and go for longish walks (5 miles+) most weeks. I also walk or bike (e-bike) rather than drive wherever possible. My stamina has definitely improved as a result and I do have less aches & pains. I'm doing it because I want to remain healthy enough to go on active holidays and also remain fully independent for as long as possible. I'm quite fat, though - still working on that.

My dad, who exercised all his life, had far more ‘aches’ as an elderly man than my mum, who has never done any exercise in her life.

This I have a big problem with! Clearly OP has no idea what she’s talking about

Genetics can get you or accidents. Both have affected me. At your age I could hike 20 miles with relative ease in mountainous and very hilly areas including scrambling which is not climbing but close to it. My actual climbing friends hated it as no equipment. I have also had a lifetime of barely any alcohol and eat very well, my parents had a restaurant when I was young, so whilst I agree that its good to look after yourself don’t get too smug about it. One of my uber fit climbing friends died very quickly in her very early fifties from a very aggressive form of cancer. As I say to my preachy MIL you can’t out vitamin death.

My cardiologist says that walking is the most underrated exercise and sedentary lifestyle and then frantic workouts in the gym are not the be all and end all. My heart issues are genetic. My efforts have improved my outcome so it’s worth it but it was always bloody coming.

@Thewalrusandthecarpenter my cardiologist would love you and your Mum. I have walked for a total of 6 to 7 hours over the bank holiday weekend, flat and not strenuous but a decent pace. A serious back injury and then a relapse have caused huge issues over the last almost 2 years.

I am late middle aged. I used to exercise through gritted teeth to look good when younger. Now I have to exercise to feel good. When lockdown came I was diligently exercising, but when it dragged on by the second lockdown I almost became a hermit. My exercise regime became walking around my flat and sitting down a lot. The effect on my body was very damaging. You really do have to use it or you are at risk of losing it. I struggled to get up off the floor. Since then I exercise for strength and health - if I don’t I ache, I have less flexibility and strength and wellbeing. And I am pleased to say I can now get off the floor.

Curious what you have a problem with? I read it as the OP thinks society still pushes that women should prioritise being small above being healthy, and thinks it should be the other way round. The WLI can be hugely beneficial but in the media (which is mainly US focused) there does seem to be some frightening overuse, and more recently there are companies offering them in the UK to women who aren't really overweight (BMI 25)
For people who are overweight the benefits of WLI for their health outweigh the side effects. That isn't necessarily the case for people who are thinner and don't have weight related health issues.

Because it’s a ridiculous sweeping statement, many people use it for health benefits.

I think many people use it for health benefits. I think the marketing around it is very much pushing it for aesthetic benefits!

I do think there should be more ongoing support for people using them too, to ensure that they're not swapping one set of health issues for another. I've been really surprised by how little has been offered to some friends who have got the private prescriptions (I think in the rare cases the NHS provide it's a little better as they're under a specific team)

My reasons for exercising has changed in recent years. In my 20s/early 30s it was all about improving how I looked. Now in my late 30s I'm more concerned about being mobile if I live long.

I have a neighbour who is nearly 90 and she is my inspiration. Out and about every day, carries her shopping and walks for miles. Lives alone and manages the stairs etc perfectly fine.

On the other hand, I see in-laws around the same age housebound with poor mobility. If I'm going to live another 40/50 years then I want to be independent.

Use it or lose it (and yes I know there are other factors to take into account but I'm talking about mobility due to lack of muscle mass/bone etc which I can maintain!).