Does this count as 'fit'?

[awsedrftghyh]

Would you say that someone has a good level of fitness if they:

1. Swim (fast, mostly front crawl) for a full hour x4 a week (plus a 40 minute walk there and back each time at a good clip)
2. Do 30-40 minute dumbbell workouts x3 a week, on the days they don't swim
3. Walk or cycle everywhere they need to go and also walk for pleasure when time allows
4. Do yoga several times a week

And would you say there was more they should be doing for optimal health and fitness?

sounds amazing - I’m curious as to how you find the time, would you be willing to elaborate?

Awwww I thought we were going to get to vote on hot men/ women….

It’s sounds fit and unemployed, how does anyone fit that into a normal life.

Hi OP, it sounds like you’re balancing two kinds of things here that are both needed for long term health and that menopause transition you’re focusing on.
One is exercise and are you getting enough of it in terms of variety, load, minutes per week.
The other is relaxation and mental wellbeing and are you getting enough of that in terms of switching off, not worrying, not getting obsessive, doing things for pure pleasure irrespective of the fitness factor.
Both sides are important for longevity, health and menopause.
Right now it sounds like it might do you good to get a bit more on the relaxation side of the balance. And that might mean a little bit less on the exercise side of the balance. That kind of rebalancing might be good for your long term health.
Best of luck. I went through premature menopause and it has really reinforced for me how the second half of the balance is just as important as the first half - and needs just as much care, practice and attention.

I'm afraid I find the time by getting up at 5am everyday (and I don't have any children).
I'm also self-employed and WFH, split my hours across a 6 or 7 day week. My work is mostly afternoons and evenings and also very seasonal so I'm very busy from September to June and then barely employed in July and August

Why on earth do you get up at 5am then….

You’ve obviously never done a vinyasa class! Yoga can be extremely difficult exercise depending on the class, the level and the teacher.

It’s loads of exercise and yes I would expect you to be very fit.

The actual kg of the dumbbells isn’t important - the important thing is that you should really aim to be increasing it. There’s not much benefit to lifting something you find easy! As you get stronger you should be increasing the weights. I try to go up every 6 weeks. Generally that means I have to start slowly so I’ve just “gone up” which means resetting expectations that rather than 3 sets of 12 I’m going to aim for 3 sets of 6 with the heavier weight. Then each session try to add a rep until im at 3x13 then it’s time to go up again.

What’s VO2Max?

It’s a test to see the volume of oxygen your body can consume and then use. The better your body does this the more likely you’ll live longer as less likely to get heart disease, diabetes type 2

it’s the test you see with a person on an exercise bike with a mask on, they cycle at certain rates and it gets harder over time ( gears go up) the oxygen is measured

its a really affected way of measuring fitness and the levels can be changed by doing particular exercises over time. High intensity exercises along with low intensity exercises and weights will all increase V02 and it’s the combination of the 3 that will increase it the most, as they work different parts of the body.

age though is also a factor, with age v02 naturally decline, so exercise can help reduce the decline

some fitness watches will have a similar test, though they’ll not be as accurate as the mask on face test

there is other “fitness” test Cooper test

Id say in quite active but could never find the time for all that. Sounds obsessive. Yoga is boring af, I’d ditch that

I only get up at 5am for a flight. I used to have loads of time free pre kids but would always exercise early evening or lunchtime.

I do a marathon daily with 4 under 4 & work ft, you just need to prioritise.

you sound fit and healthy, but for optimum healthy fitness for a healthy old age, I’d change one of the dumbbell workouts to one that focusses on increasing the weight lifted. You may well not be able to do heavier weights with your current workout but with a different type of workout you can. Swimming is also not a weight bearing exercise that builds bone density but I appreciate that you love it. Adding skipping for even 5 mins at one end of a dumbbell workout would help there.

Are you the same poster who was asked to leave the water sports club because your excessive exercise and eating disorder made you a danger on the water (passing out etc?)

It's good for flexibility though, which is good as we are
I do Pilates rather than yoga but it's a similar vibe

You’re doing an enormous amount from an exercise point of view.‘Optimum’ health is an illusion imo. I would want to see some rest days in the week and good reliable sleep.

You’re posting like someone with a tendency to disordered eating. I’m not an expert on recovery from that so I hope that you are in touch with a therapist or support group.

It's the no DC then. Because people with DC are up at 4am and that certainly doesn't make you fit

Same 💪🏽

I think your doing plenty and hats off to you because i hate swimming.
I do four weight sessions (two upper two lower) and spin twice a week plus two short runs. I cant fit any more in currently due to FT work and two boys so am in the 5am club with you.
However I will say 5am is a peaceful time to excercise.
As long as you enjoy what you do thats what matters

My only suggested change would be cycling to the swimming pool rather than walking 40 mins each way cos then you could have an extra 20-25 mins in bed asleep! Proper sleep is vital for overall health and wellbeing so not entirely facetious!

You are doing more than enough to keep fit a healthy and I wish i could motivate myself to that level

you may want a rest and recovery day built in

the how much weight question is fascinating but I haven’t seen any evidence that going real
heavy has noticeable benefits , but I wonder how good the NHS line “gardening, carrying your shopping and yoga all count “ - is that a bare minimum ? But the other guidelines seem good so maybes you don’t need heavy at all

Sounds like the op is hinting at historic eating disorder, I imagine this has been replaced by obsession my about exercise. You don’t need to do any more OP. You are doing great

Please be careful about asking questions like this here. If you aren’t eating enough then. You are doing way too much exercise. Sending hugs

This: "the how much weight question is fascinating but I haven’t seen any evidence that going real heavy has noticeable benefits , but I wonder how good the NHS line “gardening, carrying your shopping and yoga all count “ - is that a bare minimum ? But the other guidelines seem good so maybes you don’t need heavy at all"

It's a really interesting point and key to what I worry about. There is so much conflicting advice out there and everyone who gives it sounds so authoritative that I never know how to be sure. I would be happy to try going heavier but it means either buying masses of new dumbbells (PP said go heavier every 6 weeks?!) or joining a gym. I don't know how I could do either of those both financially and in terms of avoiding obsessiveness.