Late fifties fitness..

[Namechanger1404]

Or lack of more like

I’m 57 and 3st overweight, I do zero exercise, I’m very unfit. Can anyone advise where I start to become fitter and lose weight, I’ve just no idea what to do, apart from the obvious no eating/exercise. What I mean is, how do I go from not being able to run across the road, to being able to run around the block IFYSWIM?

I highly recommend Couch to 5k. I did it in my early 50s & it's great. I'd advise taking it really slowly & leaving two days between runs - after all, we're not 25 any more - but if you want to start running for fitness that's the way to go.

Swimming, aqua fit or Zumba, all fun, start off slowly, work at your own pace.

C25K is great. There is a free nhs app you can download. Take your time. Repeat weeks if you need.

And walking is also good. If you are very unfit you could start with walking for a while before trying C25K.

Go for a walk every day. Start with a short one and make it a little longer every day. Do a few casual stretches before breakfast. Keep it simple, build slowly.

A male colleague of mine in his thirties was running a marathon the other day. About three miles before the finish, he was passed by a group of blokes who were all chatting to one another as they ran. They had t-shirts because they were all in their seventies.

I'd start with incorporating more walking into your routine and find a good Pilates class, if you can one run by a physiotherapist. Helpful if you end up twanging something due to the lack of exercise in the past. Also they tend to run smaller classes so they can give clients more individual attention which means they'll be checking you're using your muscles correctly. When you're confident about what you're doing then you can join standard classes.

Yy Pilates. Good to get some core strength going before trying anything more strenuous. My hips used to go (and then my back) every time I tried something energetic (ie running) and now I've done Pilates it doesn't happen anymore. Stretching is also good, even if you're just walking.

Thanks for the replies. Yes I think walking is a start, didn’t think about the aqua fit, I’ve done that before.

I’ve done a course of yoga, but not Pilates, so will look into that too. It’s so hard when you’re terribly unfit to even contemplate anything, but I must for my health. Thanks again.

Walk. Gentle exercise to start. Get good shoes. Do things that you enjoy.

Stretch after exercise. Get into that habit. Really stretch - start with calf stretching particularly, and do some yoga or Pilates to assist developing your joint mobility.

If you've never done much exercise, you won't have the muscle memory which helps your body move efficiently, so you'll need to give yourself time to develop that.

If you really don't do anything at the moment, I'd recommend a personal trainer for a few months, to get you started, keep an eye on your form & technique, and give you ideas for trying stuff you might enjoy. Also, if you're paying a fair bit of money (PTs in my area are around £35 a session) for a once a week or once a fortnight appointment, it gives you a structure.

People say they don't have time: try a week of making time for an hour long walk every day. Once you squeeze it into your diary, it soon becomes routine. It's amazing how you do have time1

I'll be 60 soon & I'm the fittest I've been since my 20s (and I've recently dropped two dress sizes) - I run, I weightlift a bit + Body Pump, I do yoga/Pilates, and I do several dance classes a week. I want to live a lot longer and this is how I'm doing it.

I imagine the best thing will be whatever sounds potentially funnest. Many people only manage to exercise regularly b/c they like to see their friends at the same fitness classes. Or me, I paid my membership darnit, I have to go twice a week to get value out of it, whether I feel like it or not.