Whats the best exercise for a 38 old who has never exercised and starting to?

[agustuscrown]

I am planning to start exercising to be healthier as i move into my early 40s. Not a fan of variety and Hate exercising. I would prefer to have a solid 2-3 exercises that i can do every day for rest of my life to improve overall body strength and mobility without equipments (if possible). Any suggestions.

Hmm, strength is key, you can google how tp do this without weights. So things like planks, squats, lunges etc.

are yoy willing to try running? I’m a huge fan, it’s weight bearing and great die cardio health, burns a lot of cals, and is good for weight management.

The XBX plan is like 10 exercises for 10 minutes and you follow the chart as it slowly ups the amount you do till you find a level that if right. It starts very gentle and if you follow at the right pace might help. There is a pdf book but I found an app that does all the timings which made it super easy to follow. Some people have done YouTube videos of the earlier ones as well but I prefer the app.

If you enjoy music and dancing then I like up to the beat fitness on you tube - there are beginner workouts which I’d recommend starting but I find them more fun that just exercises. A lot of the workout are just walking to music with a few arm moves to keep it interesting but there are more intense ones as well.

It's not really possible to suggest 2-3 exercises for you to do for the rest of your life. a) you need more than 2 or 3 exercises; and b) your body changes as you age, plus you need to work around injury etc.

What sort of things do you LIKE doing?

or

What are your goals?

For example, I could just prescribe you running, but to run well & safely, you also need to learn to stretch & mobilise, and to support your knees and back (which take most of the impact) by developing glute and quad muscles, as well as keeping an eye on ankle strength and mobility.

You probably need to think about this differently : if you want to keep your body healthy as you age, you need to move, in all sorts of different ways. You need to challenge yourself. You need to build muscle. You need to improve aerobic capacity. You need to have strong bones.

All of those things can be done in multiple ways. 2-3 exercises that you do over & over, hating them all the while, just won't cut it.

I took up Pilates in my late 30s and it has definitely made a difference to my balance and core strength. I do a class once a week and have started trying to note my favourite exercises from the class so I can do a mini daily routine at home. I'm not a fan of cardio, but I like to swim (and need to do it more often) and walk a bit.

I find opening those big bags of crisps builds my core strength, that and using a proper cork screw (avoid screw top bottles - they won't help at all).
And resting - that helps.

What are you most likely to enjoy/not hate? Would you rather exercise at home/outdoors/with a group?

I like jogging on a home treadmill (bought gently-used for a fraction of the price) because I can do it whenever I'm in the mood, no need to wait for a class or good weather, and I can listen to music or a podcast. I'm still not "a runner," but I'm much fitter than when I started.

I just walked, and walked and walked, aiming for 10k steps per day. I've lost 8 stones so far, but it's taken many years to do it. "Slow and steady wins the race". I've tried to be as consistent as possible, walking whenever possible/feasible. Never bothered doing jogging/running etc., and only occasionally cycle and/or swim.

To build upper body muscle, I have a couple of dumbells - 5kg each and I do a variety of exercises with them 2 or 3 times per week. Again, I try to be consistent and make myself do it. Probably only 15 minutes a time, but you can clearly see skin firmed up and muscles showing.

Joe Wicks 15 minute beginner work out

Literally any exercise is a great place to start and strength training is probably one of the most important ways to keep yourself strong and healthy, especially as a woman. You can improve your strength to a degree with no equipment but generally you will need to use challenging loads to really improve strength, which is hard to do with a minimally equipped home gym. Is there a reason you’d only like to work out at home? Eg time, a bit intimidated by the gym?

You have to enjoy it or you won't do it.

Swimming and yoga keeps my arms toned, gives me good core strength and everything flexible. The yoga is particularly good as a lot of the positions require you to weight bear your own weight.

Neither require excessive sweating, running around the streets in the rain or fecking up my knees.

I do it at a hotel gym mostly frequented by lots of ladies in their 70s who are ladies who lunch so im not surrounded by typical gym bods and I get a free coffee as part of the membership which is a good incentive to go.

I am a very similar age to you (well a bit closer to 40!) and I am not a natural exerciser. I am doing a mixture of couch to 5k and Team Body Project videos - plodding along is pleasant in this weather and the videos are very easy to fit in at home.

Honestly the cheapest and easiest way to get exercise into your life, is to walk. Replace short car journeys with walking. Do it daily, and eventually you will not only lose weight, but build up bone matter. Some days you will end up walking too much and feel exhausted, but in the long run, it is the best gentle exercise that anyone could incorporate without buying equipment. Walk with any sport shoes that are comfortable (and put your nice shoes into your rucksack for when you arrive).

you can do it! ⭐️

Reformer Pilates mixed with hiking or walking

I’d say Pilates but also a bit of cardio. If you just do 2 or3 exercises you will only work certain muscles

So, what do you enjoy? Or think you might?

What are your overall goals, what does "healthier" mean for you? For a lot of people, having a specific fitness/activity goal can really help too, so you can see progress and work towards something.

Are you wanting/needing to do things that dont cost, or can you afford to put some money into it, even if temporarily? If so, whats your budget? E.g. gym membership, sports club membership, personal trainer, coaching etc.

Strength training is way more important for women than a lot of people realise.

Whatever you choose, it needs to be something you enjoy for it to be sustainable. If you dont naturally "like" exercising (which can quickly change btw!), having a commitment to others can help - like booking into a gym class, or joining a team sport, or 1:1 training.

I started with walking and Zumba and built it up from there.

I’m now pretty fit and do body combat and spin.

I need to do some steelwork though

I do you tube exercise videos sometimes, trying to get back into doing them regularly. It is easy as can do at home and around kids or whatever else you have on. I find Lucy Wyndham-read good. She has loads of different exercises, some short ones for certain areas of the body. Also ones for beginners, older people etc and some walking exercises. Obviously not tried them all but they are not too hard for someone just starting.

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/physical-activity-guidelines-for-adults-aged-19-to-64/

NHS recommendations.

You can meet the cardio one by .brisk walking. Or loads of other options.

The most effective way to meet the strength ones is to train strength IMO and IME. Otherwise, you will need to spend longer to "work all the major muscle groups".

So at home, that will be stuff like push ups with the easiest being a two armed off a wall or the stairs, through to one-handed on the floor or with feet raised! That's chest ticked. And so on. You need a home calisthenics programme but it is hard to do back muscles without a bar.

However, if possible, I'd suggest finding classes or a trainer for however you want to tick the strength box, so you use your time effectively and progress safely.