Exercise?

I took line-dancing lessons this summer and swam a lot. Not very good at either, but it's the movement, however graceless, that builds up your muscles, heart and lungs. 

From "Refuse to Regain":

"Aerobics, bowling, curling[?], hiking, racquet ball, skiing, soccer, squash, tennis, ballroom dance, boxing, fencing, ice hockey, skateboarding, snowboarding, softball, surfing, volleyball, basketball, competitive Frisbee, folk dancing, martial arts, skating, snowshoeing, spinning [indoor biking], actual biking, tap dance."

At my age, most of these activities are too strenuous. But swimming, walking, biking, and aerobic classes are available almost everywhere at little cost. The trick is to find something that you like (or learn to like) that you can do throughout the rest of your life.

psychoticparrot

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the support...... I am going to dance now!

I'm not a huge fan of exercise (esp strength-training), but it's like flossing my teeth - I just have to make myself do it.  I know it's good for me, and I do feel better when I'm doing it regularly.  I don't go for super-athlete things because I know I'm not a natural-born gym rat, and I know I won't sustain that pace for long.  I go three or four times a week and stay for 30-60 minutes.  That seems reasonable to me.

I do like yoga.  Water aerobics is OK.  I do both most weeks.  As for other activities,  I try to mix them up every week to keep it fresh.

I love to exercise!  I have been doing a structured weight lifting program for 4 months and lift heavy, I love it and look forward to it 3x a week, and then on off days I do cardio (walk, ride my bike etc).  You have to find something you love and if you stick with it, eventually you will look forward to exercise.  I actually plan my appointments around exercise now.

I can't do zumba or any organized class.  I am not coordinated for that!  Spinning is the exception..I love spinning!

I've always hated to exercise as well, and I'm not coordinated enough for dance-type stuff.  Exercise never really helped me with weight loss so it was always a seemingly pointless endeavor.  However... after surgery (2.5 yrs ago) I knew that I had to exercise to help with healing and keeping muscle, etc. so I had to get my butt in gear.  Here's what I have done M-F pretty much every morning since surgery:  30 minutes of walking as fast as I can on the treadmill in my basement (worked up to the highest incline setting). It could be very boring, but I use my ipad and catch up on TV shows, watch movies, or read ebooks so time goes by pretty fast.  After that, I alternate between doing either upper body work (I use 5-15 lb dumbbells to do various moves) and overall body stuff (push-ups, planks, squats, leg lifts, etc), and then I do sit-ups every time (20 used to be really hard, now I can rattle off 60-70 with no problem).  This seems to be a doable workout for me long-term - it's not super tough or painful, and seeing some muscle definition and graduating to heavier weights is a nice feelings.

Here's the key for me though:  long-term fitness.  I've watched my parents and my husbands parents as they age into their mid-80's.  My parents have always been quite active (hiking, gardening, sailing, and my 85-yr old mother still does workouts with a couple of friends in her basement several times a week).  They're still going strong.  My husband's parents have never been active (recliners and TV are their best friends), and they have aged much much worse, and are very limited in what they can do.  I want to be strong and flexible and able to participate in life as long as I possibly can, and I use that as my motivation (rather than for weight loss).  Seems to work since i've been sticking with it for waaaay longer than any other exercise I've tried.

Good luck, and keep trying to find something you can live with!

Thank you !

Exercise bores me to tears!  Officially, I've not exercised AT ALL since I had my surgery 11 years ago.

I did find that as I lost weight, I became much MUCH more active.  Find an activity with purpose to enjoy, not an exercise that gets you no where.  This can be wandering, gardening, etc.  There has to be a point to it for me to embrace it.

Prior to surgery I did not like to exercise and was very sedentary which was very unhealthy. Now I am using an activity tracker everyday and try to walk more and more everyday. Also try to take stairs more and not always take the elevator while at work. That is the only exercise I am getting now but that may change in the future as I lose more weight and increase my fitness/stamina level.

Have a nice day.

This is what I do, still, 4 years later. Exercise would be nice, but activity is great.