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?

@Gwenhwyfar no, separate topic but single and can't socialise in winter due to covid. Also health issues mean prioritising, I run out of energy/spoons

Half hour brisk walk four times a week. At least I was doing this until it got colder. The cold goes right through me and makes me wanna wee!!

Looking forward to spring to resume this but need to do this all year round somehow.... Very enjoyable too.

I try to do up to six 45 min aqua classes a week. Then a 15-30 minute swim afterwards as well. Apart from if I’m not feeling well or if I’m going on holiday.
some weeks it’s less but usually a minimum of 3 classes/swims a week.
I’m in my mid 60’s. I like doing Zumba as well at home but at my club I’d have to pay a lot more, so just stick with the pool membership.

Lots of hardcore exercisers here! I was a bit of a gym bunny in my younger days but struggle to fit in exercise now. I'm not quite in the 50+ category yet (late 40s) but I find my biggest challenge is time. Before having a child I used to regularly go to the gym after work. But if I did that now I would never see my child during the week. So yes, also priorities.

I manage to run 2-3 times per week and do a couple of yoga sessions but that's it these days. Tbh I'm bloody knackered. I miss exercising more but don't have the time or energy to fit in more at the moment. Maybe when my daughter is a bit older.

Run 5k two or three times a week, martial arts class on a weekend, speed walk to the office once a week.

In the summer I cycle with ds as well.

Caroline Girvan strength and weight training every day for an hour at least. Run 3 x a week 30 miles. Cycle and swim sometimes and walk the dogs 5 miles every day. I'm 56.
I used to run every day, over 50 miles a week but following foot surgery realised how bad it was for me and how much fitter I was doing strength training with CG that I'm definitely not going back to running everyday. Too much cortisone and it depleted my ferritin so hair was always thin. Not to mention the risk of prolapse which I'd always ignored! I'm 57.

Caroline at least an hour a day!!! I'm impressed, @samthebordercollie !

There was a time when I often did 2 of her workouts back to back, but I found that it didn't leave me with enough time and energy for HIIT/cardio and dedicated abs work.

I try to run more, but I don't enjoy it as I'm always on the lookout for obstacles that might make me trip or twist my ankle. I used to run on the spot at home while listening to the radio. Maybe should try to get back into that. But to be honest, I'd just rather do a session with the lovely Anna (Growingannanas).

@FlowerArranger i only do half an hour on the days I run and never her legs only workouts 🤣🤣🤣

You mean the lunges, don't you. Those workouts are pure evil!!

😂

I’m not over 50 myself, but I’m in a mountain biking club & we have several ladies aged 60+, and yes they ride proper fairly technical singletrack trails, not just the easy tracks ! One of them rides an e-bike but two of them ride normal bikes

50. At the moment 2x 60 minute yoga classes , 2 x 60 minute dance fitness classes, 3 x 60 minute body conditioning classes. A couple of 1 k swims.

Once the weather gets warmer I'll do a lot more cycling and swimming as our pool is a heated lido and much nicer in summer months!

Hate running and the gym is boring for me, I am more motivated by group exercise.

@FlowerArranger yes those lunges! And all of her HIIT workouts are evil. I do them, but not to the number she achieves. She's a machine. But very motivating!

Just wanted to say to all the walkers and runners that sunscreen is a must. A dermatologist told me to even use it indoors if I was working near a window. I can recommend the Korean KAHI aqua balm (50 SPF) which I bought on Amazon. It's a stick, so no more suncream in the eyes or on your fingers when you need to reapply.
Apologies in advance, as I know this isn't the Style & Beauty thread!

Neah, don't buy that.

@lljkk If you have a better recommendation please share as I'm genuinely interested. I get a reaction like hives when exposed to too much sunlight, hence why I consulted a dermatologist. That's the reason why I now stick to gym classes and I have to cover up like a mummy for a simple walk along the beach in summer. 😩

DS had hives once (not sunlight, we don't know what caused them, on his legs under trousers on a cold grey day at beach). Sympathy on that one.

You're not saying that everyone will get hives in response to sunlight thru a window indoors if they don't use sunscreen, right?

A lot of people who fit it in simply have more time.
If your life is full already, you can only really fit it in by sacrificing another element of your limited leisure. So by getting up an hour earlier, swapping it for your TV/reading/chilling time. The most successful at that are those who have found excercise they actually enjoy, so it feels like they're still having leisure time.
What worked for me was to build walking into socialising wherever possible, so carrying on the lockdown habit of a walk rather than lunch or coffee, but it does require like minded friends!

I live in London and don't have a car. This is the only way DH and I manage to exercise as we both have sedentary jobs and hate the gym. Walk everywhere. Still not enough I know but it's something

A lot of people who fit it in simply have more time

No, we still have the same 24 hours a day.

But yes, we choose to use some of that on exercise because (to nick an awful advertising phrase) "we're worth it"

It's good for mind, body and soul, and I think that as middle age beckons, the realisation that your unhealthy habits (if you had any of course, and lack of exercise is an unhealthy habit) really catches up with you. But you can still make a huge difference if you're as young as 50, and worthwhile difference beyond that.

I do have more time now as my children are older, but I always prioritised exercise and got up at 5 am to do it before work while my children were young as too tired in the evenings. I don’t watch tv at all though, so happy to spend my evenings in the gym.

I met up with my friend yesterday who has a small child and is knackered. She doesn’t do any exercise and I can’t help thinking she would feel so much better if she just went for a proper long walk every day. This working from home has made people even more sedentary.

This working from home has made people even more sedentary.

Or in my case it's gone the other way and given me more time to exercise. There's not a single day goes by where I don't at the very least walk the dog.

'More time to themselves' then if you prefer.
I completely agree that excercise is important but there is a huge difference in my ability to fit it in now I'm 53, no dependent children and working from home than when I was 33 and my busiest, out of the house for work 11 hours a day for work, and the rest of my time prioritising essentials like childcare, meals, laundry etc.
There's a huge difference between using what is maybe the only hour you have to yourself to excercise, particularly if you don't enjoy it, and it being just one of the things you have time to do.

I swim every morning before work and do yoga at the weekend.

I couldn't have trained the way I do now when my dc were little, but I did always exercise, because I prioritised it. Although I work PT and they have left home, I still mostly exercise evenings and weekends because it involves other people and that's when they are free (classes, PT, gym buddy, walking with friends). If I wanted to prioritise a different sort of socialising and just keep fit generally, I would do something like Les Mills at Home, which can be done any time and in say 30 mins you get a good workout. There is so much available online now.

I run streets, parks and commons, never had any problems. After dark, I stick to streets and the roadside of the common.