Does anyone actually manage to exercise regularly?

[Chloejane1]

I keep meaning to be more consistent with exercise, mainly because I notice I feel better mentally and physically when I’m moving more.

The problem is fitting it around everyday life. A walk is probably the easiest thing for me to stick to, whereas anything involving a proper exercise routine tends to disappear after a week or two!

Has anyone found a realistic way of keeping active that they’ve actually managed to maintain long term? Would be interested to hear what works for you.

Getting past the 2 weeks and making it a habit will make a massive difference. I'm not thin at all but I do manage to do 20-60 minutes exercise almost every day. Exercise at home makes in possible for me to fit that in. It is so helpful for my mental health that I have it as one of the most important parts of my day. Getting past the feeling it's hard because I was fitter made all the difference to me

I hated exercise until my 30s and now I do love it

I gym 6 days a week at 6am. Get up at 5.30. Work full time and 2 primary aged kids. Have done it consistently for about 7 years. You have to make the time. Treat it like a job and stick to it

Team Body Project -an online workout provider.

They have such a variety I can always find something that suits my mood and state of tiredness.

I’ve always walked a lot (about 15k steps a day) and for the last few years have done a weights routine with 5Kg dumb-bells every night. In January I started doing reformer Pilates and do at least one class a week, preferably two - it’s expensive but I’m not a gym person and like the routine of “my classes” that are just a regular part of my week now.

I do 30 day shred every night, 30 mins total including getting dressed etc.

i exercise 3 or 4 times a week. work full time, 3 teenagers and do majority of housework so not a lot of free time
things ive found manageable:-
for a few years got really into jogging after doing couch to 5k - a jog was always max 40 mins door to door so easy to fit it.
used to walk listening to a podcast in old job where had ro always be in office and so needed to get out and have a break at lunch.
now i go to the gym always x3 a week sometimes 4
i go before work on my late start, after work one day and while my son is at a club on a saturday.
when i was jogging and walking i listened to loads of podcasts (in a bit of a rut with these now but they were a great distraction
often read my kindle on my phone on the exercise bike - i thibk you have to add these little treats to make it more enjoyable

The last 4 months I have taken the bull by the horns and joined a gym with a pool. I'm in my mid 50s and had always walked a lot but been sporadic with proper excercise.

I go to the gym 3 times a week before work, i get there forvqbout 6.15 so I am home and showered before 9am. Then 2 days a week I swim, again before work. I'm mulling over taking adult swim lessons to improve my breathing and confidence.

I also go for a walk at lunchtimes and make sure I get my hear rate up.

I know I would not go back out after work, so getting up and going first thing works better for me.

I get up early every day and run, swim, spin or power walk for an hour

How much time do you actually have during the day/week?
Doing exercise I enjoy motivates me.
Signing up for classes helps plans your day.
Agreeing to do something with a friend - as above.

I started C25K in January, a, currently running around 40km a week across four days. One of them is parkrun, one is a social group run. I keep booking events, so I know I need to keep going even if I don’t really want to get up at 6am to run on hotter days. I also went swimming on Friday evenings, but that has become less regular now - think it’s mainly inconvenient timing as it’s at 7pm so not great to work around dinner (30 min walk to the pool and back again)., which shows for the habit to stick it needs to be “convenient” for me. (Gym would not work for me either).

Teens have expensive gym packages that I pay for which is good for me to know where they are and know they are getting exercise in but as I am driving them there a different times I also now have a membership and work out or swim or do classes rather than sit in the car or driving around waiting for an hour or two. It has surprised me how much I enjoy going now that I have gotten into routine.

Yes. With the school holidays and several more demands on my time I’m not as active but still managing 2 x 6k ish walks, a few shorter ones and 3 gym sessions a week. I

i usually do 3-5 workouts but have a gym with a crèche and kids club and my older kids go which helps. A few months ago I started a fitness app which essentially programmes all my workouts for me and this has helped with motivation. It’s reasonably priced to

I do the gym twice a week. Treadmill and weights. I’m 56 and realised after loosing a lot of weight on Mounjaro that I had no core strength and needed to tone up. I have no discipline to do anything at home so making myself go to the gym twice a week means I actually do something.

I think the key is planning something to fit into your routine - whether that's early/on your lunch break/after work etc. And a lot of that will depend on your job and age of kids etc.

I used to do CrossFit/weightlifting 4 times a week pre work, but got injured a few years ago and have never really gone back to it. Also have kids who are not an age where I can leave them, I work out of the house FT and DH works away during the week so I need something that fits easily into my week.

What I do now is cycle to work (averaging about 50-60 miles a week depending on where I'm based) and fit other exercise around that. So I try and fit in one or two strength sessions (either at the gym or at home with kettlebells) during the week and then go to a spin class and a pilates or yoga class at the weekend. The cycling has given me a good base exercise though and I recommend an active commute to anyone who can manage it!

Yes, five days a week. Monday evening: yoga. Tuesday evening: gym (weights and cardio). Thursday evening: spin class. Saturday am: yoga. Sunday am: open water swimming. DH comes with me Tuesday and Thursday. SIL does swimming with me and a friend also does yoga so this helps with consistency and accountability. I'm going out this Tuesday evening so I'll go in the morning instead. When I commute (3 days a week) I walk the dog early and walk to and from the station (20 minutes x 2) plus 20 minutes at lunch time. When I'm at home I walk the dog for an hour. So I still get 10-12k steps whatever.