50+ what exercise do you do?

[Floofydawg]

Inspired by a thread on AIBU, I'd like to understand from fellow over 50's what exercise they do. Interested to see if my activity is above average and whether I should be doing other stuff. I tend to gravitate towards what I enjoy more as that means I'll keep up with it. Conscious I should probably do some weight training but I find it boring. So here's what I do in a typical week.

At least two swims of at least 1k
2-3 45 minute spin classes, one of which is followed by a slightly shorter swim
A 30 minute dog walk most days

I have a gym membership so could do anything - lots of classes available.

What do you do?

I WFH, my job is basically tied to my desk from 8.30-6 so virtually no steps except going to the toilet and making a drink
After work I do spin/strength/yoga
My daily steps can be less than 2000

How do you have time for all of this?

I'd love to exercise more, having a desk job is killing me, but by the time I start work (I'm not a morning person) then finish and then cook and eat it's about 7 and I'm about knackered.

@Curriedpeanuts as many on the thread have said, it’s about prioritising yourself and your health. Jillian Michaels once said that if we are not strong and healthy we won’t be able to look after the people we care about. I want to be there for my daughter as she grows up - I think being 40 when she was born helps keep me motivated! I also see exercise as a gift to myself and my body, it’s about self love - I love myself and my body enough to prioritise exercise and health. I once read a motivational poster which read ‘Exercise because you love your body, not because you hate it’ and I really feel inspired by that sentiment.

So a typical Monday to Thursday is wake at 7, catch train at 8, desk at 9. Walk to the station is 25 minutes, similar at my destination. Go for walk at lunchtime, it’s not intuitive but doing this WILL increase productivity, so ignore the presenteeism culture if your workplace has one. Leave work at 5, back just after 6. Make dinner and put in oven, exercise 6.30 to maximum of 7.30 pm. Downtime from 8 pm. Friday or Saturday is rest day, with two runs either Friday night/ Sunday morning, or if I run Saturday morning I run Sunday evening.

Once it becomes routine it’s really easy to manage.

I hope you find a way to make it work for you - taking up exercise has been a revelation and game changer for me.

Yes I can walk. We do live in a fairly hilly area but there is a flatter stretch nearby. I used to walk every day during the pandemic (was very poor at it at first but quickly became able to walk for around 15 minutes. Don't know why it gradually petered out, maybe poor weather put me off then I didn't go again. Thanks for the prod! I do also have ankle weights, I think I'd use them round the house for short periods rather than outdoors, though.

I'd love to exercise more, having a desk job is killing me, but by the time I start work (I'm not a morning person) then finish and then cook and eat it's about 7 and I'm about knackered.

The main thing that struck me from your comment is that you're knackered at 7pm, after having a desk job and cooking dinner. I don't think you should be too tired to do something for yourself, so maybe have a look at improving your tiredness levels (sorry, that sounds really patronising).

I'm 51. I've been doing YouTube workouts and fitness DVDs before that, since forever ago. I joined a gym this year because I was bored with trying to make myself enjoy dumbbell squats and wanted access to barbells.

I WFH and go four times a week at lunchtimes to weight train. I do a home dance cardio or run on one of the other days and a zumba class on another day. One complete rest day. About 8000 steps a day on non cardio days.

I do yoga most days and an actual class once a week. I do an aquafit class. Sometimes swim (2000m if I have a full hour.) I do need to do some more aerobic exercise

I'd love to exercise more, having a desk job is killing me

When I was still working, I kept a mat and Pilates bar with elastic ropes in the basement and used it every lunchtime and took two short quick walks during the day, in place of coffee breaks.

I worked from home in the two years before I retired, so I bought a standing desk and would do heel raises or balancing on one leg exercises throughout the day. I also had one of those small cycling units under the desk and used it when sitting. Every little helps!

Rebel2023 I WFH too and have had to work hard to get the steps in, take the dog out first thing, try and do a dog walk during lunchtime, walk to collect my youngest. Dog walk at night...when I wasn't pushing myself I could easily do only a couple of thousand. Now I get a minimum of 10000 and highest this week is nearly 18k.

Ankle weights are usually an injury waiting to happen unless you are exceptionally careful about how you use them. Wrist or weighted vest far preferable

I just don't bother I guess. Do lots of exercise but just not walking
Before work is a no go (health issues mean I'm constantly tired)
Lunch break is 25 mins and it takes me that time to eat, wee and make a drink!
Finish work and do a 30-45 min spin class or yoga/Pilates/weights
Can't take other breaks during the day except 2 x 10 mins which are make a drink/toilet ones

@CrunchyCarrot I too have a bad back and would recommend Pilates over yoga (I've done both) as it will help you more in developing a strong core. My back surgeon actually agreed to let me continue pilates as an alternative to spine surgery.

I would suggest starting with a proper hands on, physio based teacher and not a gym class, in order to learn proper alignment and how to isolate the different muscle groups. Technique is everything!

Rebel2023 your doing great. I have had to really work hard to increase my steps. I can have some days where I am in back to back meetings and hardly get anything more than a couple of hundred in. So it is definitely not something I am just doing although going into the office once a week is definitely a bonus!

It is hard to find time. I work full time with a full on job (50+ hours a week) so I get up at 6am and run or swim then. It wakes me up and helps give me that "glow" and most importantly an inner sense of peace.

Long runs on the weekend are my true meditation time and I love them! In a slow plodder not a fast runner so i zone out. I try and have a route which lets me go for a swim in the sea afterward (not in the UK!).

I feel so down if I can't exercise.

I'd love to exercise more, having a desk job is killing me, but by the time I start work (I'm not a morning person) then finish and then cook and eat it's about 7 and I'm about knackered.

If you've been sitting at a desk all day, chances are that you are mentally rather than physically exhausted. Exercising might actually give you a second wind!

Maybe try one of the low impact tabata workouts by Growingannanas? Even if you have to split it in half and do it over 2 days - it's a start.

I didn't mean to start a row with my comment about doing 3/4K steps a day and I really do admire those of you who do much more. My dad is 84 and has always been super fit, and throughout a few recent major health challenges every. Single. Doctor. Has said his unusual levels of fitness are massively helpful and mean he's coping with some quite serious stuff (vascular surgery, early Alzheimer's) much, much better than an 84 year old man should. It's really brought home to me how much this stuff matters.

But yes I'm just naturally sedentary- I absolutely hate the sensation of physical exertion, it makes me really unhappy, genuinely! I WFH so walk around the house, occasionally to the supermarket that's over the road from me. Not much else most days but can go up to 15/20k steps on the days I'm looking after my dad's dog!

Ankle weights were originally recommended to me many years ago by a personal trainer and I've been using them off and on ever since, both for walking and exercise. I have never injured myself. I doubt that using them for half an hour's walk a few times a week would be a problem for most people.

Some information about ankle weights here:

www.yourhousefitness.com/blog/the-pros-and-cons-of-ankle-weights

Ankle weights are a tool, and excessive use of these can cause serious problems. Because of this, it’s recommended to use them sparingly and/or moderately

Anyone with physical issues should consult with a doctor, physiotherapist or qualified personal trainer before embarking on an exercise regime.

I think it's useful to remember that phrase about not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good or whatever it is.
We all have different physical capacities and lifestyles and whilst it is interesting and can be very inspiring to hear what others do, it doesn't negate the benefits of what you do do, even if it's less than others. And for someone with a currently very sedentary lifestyle, or underlying health problems, a target of 3-4k steps a day might be a very reasonable target. And people are far more likely to stick at it and progress if they set themselves achievable targets. 10 000+ steps every day might be the ideal (though I actually read something the other day saying that the scientific evidence actually supports 8 600 being enough but I can't remember where I saw it) but if it's not as if anything below that has no value.
I have had a torrid few years with recovery from some serious injuries followed by surgery that went badly wrong, and I have more operations to look forward to. If it's taught me one thing it is to pace myself and celebrate small wins. There was a time when walking 300 steps in a day would have seemed like scaling Everest single handed to me, never mind 3k. And I know I will sadly never walk up a mountain again in my life, or do a really long distance bike rid, but I can walk into our village and back now, and ride 30 miles on my bike fairly comfortably. Yes, I feel sad and sometimes a bit inadequate when I hear what others are up to, but I know that I am doing the best I can and that's all that matters. We are competing with ourselves not other people.

I do bootcamp 2-3 times a week. I walk 14k steps about twice a week. Used to do 4 bootcamps and yoga but work patterns changed. I am now very overweight and really need to overhaul diet and exercise as 2-3 bootcamps and a couple of walks clearly isn't enough.

Definitely
And I don't think it's an issue if you walk 2000 steps a day but then do say spin classes, weights, swimming etc
Just means you exercise in a different way

I have a very full-on job, with responsibilities to others & work long hours (probably around 55-60 per week). But I couldn't work those hours if I didn't exercise. It just goes into my diary along with meetings etc.

I fit it all in by not eating in the evening (I always have a large lunch!) and going straight from work to the gm, or getting up early and doing exercise first (which is my preference). I also work & exercise on the weekend.

And I don't think it's an issue if you walk 2000 steps a day but then do say spin classes, weights, swimming etc
Just means you exercise in a different way

Don't I know it. I'm daft - I joined a 10,000 step/day challenge for Jan (and Feb because I didn't learn). I have a sedentary job and some days I might swim or go on a bike ride, which are obviously good exercise but don't make up my steps.
I also might do under 10K one day and then have done 12K by 9am the next morning cos I've been for a run. Or a 4 mile run doesn't make up 10,000 steps but is obviously better (cardio wise) than walking 10,000 steps.

I might win a tenner though!

I run 3-4 times a week with a 10k at the weekend, box with a bag, which I think I’m going to have to give up due to dodgy elbows, strength training twice a week. Exercise is my happy place.

Strength train 5/6 times a week, once with PT at the weekend and the other sessions mostly weekday evenings (swap which muscles I train so they recover in between sessions).

Run (or sometimes other cardio) 3/4 times a week, mostly lunchtime run (I wfh), occasionally something at the gym after strength session.

Lots of walking at weekends and non-working days. I wfh PT (tho some weeks close to FT, others much less). So last week total steps were 168k, this week will be much less as I have lots of work. I prioritise strength training and running when work hits, and dc have left home.

I've also done park bootcamps, and boxing and circuits classes and enjoyed them too.

I totally agree with pp about doing what you enjoy.

Am nearly 55. Each week I do:

• running - between 30 and 50 miles, depending on if I'm training for something specific or not
• Pilates class - 1 x 60 mins
• Strength & conditioning classes - 2 x 60 mins, about to become 3 x 60 mins
• Climbing - 1 x up to 2 hours
• A walk of around 1-3 miles each day that I've not been running and sometimes as well as running
• In summer, around 30 mins of open water swimming x 3

I also do a fair bit of hiking.

I'm self-employed so have found it pretty easy to fit it all in. DH does at least the same level and our lifestyle has always been based around exercise and being outdoors. It's a priority for us.