People who say things like that are frenemies.
I was a pretty athletic kid, though not in a team sports sort of way. We skied in the winter and biked everywhere the rest of the year. No busses to school if you lived inside the city limits, and nobody’s parents would drive us so we walked 2 miles to school twice a day through high school. And two friends and I bought unicycles in 6th grade, which we taught ourselves to ride, and rode all over town for years.
I was lucky enough to live in a couple of temperate places for years when my kids were young, so we owned roller blades and jogging strollers, and added Burleys to our bikes. We rode to the local pool, to the playground and to the beach. We played with boogie boards and wet suits. we spent days at the zoo, where I ended up pushing the double stroller up the hills. I was in good shape, pretty effortlessly.
Between moving to a place that has winters, the years of “driving my kids and their friends to and from practice and games every day” and hitting menopause… Well ugh.
Not a runner. Never have been. But I’ll walk and hike for miles and miles.
Not a fan of the gym, though I like classes that don’t involve people yelling.
I do yoga-ish, which means I hated going to yoga classes, but I do some yoga at home. Mostly balance poses (that isn’t the right term, is it.) because I think balance is key to aging well. I do this most days, in the mornings, after coffee and before I shower.
I also do a short bit of HIT-ish most days, after the yoga-ish: 15 pushups, 25deep squats (while doing something with light hand held weights at the same time), 60 second plank (sometimes side planks), and 2 minutes of jump rope or something else cardio. Repeat the set four times. It doesn’t take long, and hits the high notes, so to speak.
I do yoga-ish and HIT-ish most days of the week, plus a 2-4 mile walk, or a Zumba class or a session on our bike.
And I have had to become more mindful of my wine/beer consumption. Darn it.
The best exercise is one you will do.
I have a few friends who went so far overboard on hard core exercise that they did real damage to their knees, feet, ankles, shoulders. (Different people, different problems.) I’m trying to keep in shape, increase my strength, balance and flexibility, enjoy myself, and not get injured…
I disliked exercise a lot during a time post-menopause, when I had put on about twenty pounds, seemingly overnight. I didn’t like the way my clothes fit, or the way my body felt when I moved, or how exhausting it was to exercise. That was a few years ago, But man it was an obstacle to get over. Just that feeling of my thighs chaffing when that had not ever happenned before, that was awful. I get why people hate to exercise.
@collage1 – you’re the one who asked about bike racks and hills, am I right? I actually bought a Mini because I love their bike rack! Easy to use for short me (5’2") when I want to go meet friends for a ride. However… I live on a hill and every time I bike anywhere I go down, then have to come up to get home! It took me two years before I didn’t have to walk part of the hill. My advice? Get a bike with a good “granny gear” (ask at your local bike shop) and just do it. It doesn’t take that long before you can bike up instead of walk up.
oh gosh, I realize you all thought I meant YOU people here on this board were going to be finger wagging…no, I meant “them”, “the experts”, the “gurus”, the professionals, health writers, etc. I mean, it’s fairly recent that everyone has pounded into their heads to exercise 150 minutes a week minimum. For a lot of folks, that’s a big commitment and they feel good about that only to turn around and now hear “oh no, that is not enough”. I guess it was bound to happen to folks like me who aren’t up and active as much as I should be in spite of going to the gym 4 days a week.
Dmd77, I got my Subaru for the same reason. I take my bike to a flat bike path, makes me happy.
I will say that I really like my adjustable work station that lets me stand a lot of the day. My sitting posture isn’t the greatest, for one thing. I don’t think you should stand all day, but going up and down has been really helpful for me.
@eastcoascrazy, I do what I call “TV yoga”. I have picked out a bunch of yoga poses that I can do and still see the TV (and my back doctor is okay with). Yes, I KNOW it skips the mindfulness part of yoga – but it also skips the boredom for me, and I still get some strength and balance benefits.
@VaBluebird, th current science based recommendations are in fact to get 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes a week of vigorous exercise to get the cardio-respiratory benefits needed to be healthy and fit. Moderate exercise can be characterized as it bring a bit uncomfortable to talk in a complete paragraph while vigorous is difficult to talk in a complete paragraph. These are not arbitrary numbers simply imposed by exercise tyrants but are based on laboratory studies of the adaptations which occur to your heart, circulatory and oxygen delivery systems in your body. Without sufficient intensity and volume of the exercise, these adaptations do not occur or occur to a very limited degree. The real tyrants are those “experts” on the reality weight loss shows who exhort overweight and out of shape people to submit to exercise regimens that are so inappropriate for them as to constitute abuse and who then belittle them when they falter.
Re: standing v. sitting. The recommendation is 20-10 min sitting, 10-20 min standing, and a 2-5 min walking break after every 30 min. A non-adjustable desk that allows standing only is sheer absurdity.
21 minutes a day = 150 minutes a week
or
30 minutes 5x a week
or
38 minutes 4x a week
or
50 minutes 3x a week
If moderate exercise.
I am just lazy, lazy, lazy, and I don’t like to sweat. My only saving grace is I live in a city where I can do a lot of walking. If a place is within 20 blocks of my place, I would prefer to walk than to take a transportation. I am kind of lucky that I have no problem in keeping my weight down. My job is fairly demanding, so I am stressed most of the time. But I have to say, few years back when I was going through a lot of personal issues, I tried to exercise more because it usually made me feel better.
Maybe I should have a meet up with MOWC, so she could jump start me on exercising.
I am grateful for this thread. I’m not really a fan of exercising, but like the benefits, so have started walking and standing more, thanks to this thread. I set my goal as 5000 steps and got H to join me today–we walked from our home to the mailbox at the shopping center to mail a tax return. Yesterday, walked to mail a bill payment. That’s 3750 steps and we fill in the rest with errands and whatnot. I plan to increase by 500-1000/week to get to 10,000. The nicest time to walk around here is dusk–warm enough but somewhat breezy and no sun exposure, so no need for a hat or sunglasses. Will also do some yoga balance and flexibility exercises and maybe some jump rope.
I know it’s way less than many others, but hey, it’s a start and better than being the slug and couch potato which is the easier path. Putting on and always wearing walking shoes encourages me to park further from my destination and walk further, which is an easy way for me to get more steps.
Interesting video on dealing with laziness http://www.businessinsider.com/lazy-psychology-focus-plan-2016-3
One trick I learned when I got the “can’ts” was to ask myself “Coukd I do it if I was paid?” That can help get you going past the too windy, too early, too cold, too tired voices.
MomofWildChild -that is partly why I teach exercise. I have to show up and do it. Some of the classes I teach I do the exercises along with the group -so it is a win win for me. I encourage anyone who has ever thought about teaching to look into getting qualified to do it. The pay is low -but you meet lots of people and usually there is a discounted or free gym membership that goes along with it.
Hey, no comparisons! On this thread each of us does what s/he can do, with our encouragement!
I hate sweating when it’s not controllable- in the gym, I can slow down. Or up the fan on the treadmill. Outdoors, in summer humidity, hate it.
But about how one paces: my trainer uses the car analogy. Driving moderately may burn X fuel (energy.) Driving fast may use more. But it’s the bursts of speed that eat the most gas. For exercise, she advocated a good pace with bursts.
MNK, an ardent gym rat friend (a 32 y.o.male, whose life is mostly about exercise) recently shifted to a routine where only one muscle group is exercised per day. Eg, today is legs, tomorrow is arms. I think it’s 6 days on, one off. What do you think about this?
Because my couch is really comfortable. Especially if I have a glass of wine in my hand.
Google Calendar can help you “find time” to get to your exercise goal! 
http://time.com/4292157/google-calendar-goals-reminders-app/?xid=time_socialflow_facebook