I'm not that far from the Yorkshire 3 peaks, so go up there mid week and speed march up them, usually rotating them or doing slightly different routes. It sometimes includes a stopwatch for some sort of timed challenge for the purpose of trying to keep me interested and wanting to go back.
fair weather bike commuter (on the canal, usually driving part way and cycle the last 6 miles)
I still do a bit of climbing/bouldering indoor and out, but don't really consider that exercise.
I do a lot of circuits/bootcamp/HIIT+conditioning stuff. I run a week daily morning workout for a few people over zoom. Do bootcamps 3 times a week, running a couple of times a week + footy. I have also been competing at a few Hyrox fitness races and train once a week specifically for that. So with the cycling I manage to do about 12+ workouts a week. My body is tired and broken a lot of the time, but its addictive!
Blimey, now I feel like a completely lazy slob!
Here you go, some inspiration 😀
GET MOVING!
Walking and indoor rowing, which I do outdoor so only on good days.
I find running just causes me knee issues, I’ll gravitate back to weight training as I find I drop it for a year or so then go back.
I think it’s hard to find a low impact sport like cycling (if you don’t like water)
Road cycling and Zwift. They count as different sports right...?
Force yourself out on the bike and find your favourite type of riding - sweet single-track, tech, steeps whatever.
You'll then remember it's more fun than the alternatives
The trails are running sweet at the moment btw, maybe a little too loose, but hey....
I've always been into running and came from running to MTBing and then road cycling. I'm 41 now and try to make sure that I always keep up both running and cycling in parallel rather than switching between blocks of the two. In fact, I have a duathlon scheduled for this weekend.
Also, I find that in terms of being able to do events and race people/socialise a little, trail and fell running races are so much easier logistically than cycling events and its cool to just drive to a race with a pair of trainers and a waterproof in the boot and set-off and be done in 2hrs.
I do a bit of bodyweight conditioning at home but don't think that counts and its purely to try and ensure I can keep running and cycling past my 40's.
I do think I would love to try bouldering but have really short hamstrings and poor posture/flexibility and am pushing 42 now, not sure if its too late?
Karate.
Depending on what we do in the session it can be a proper work out. Always a 15 minute warm up. Lots of cardio and core.
As a bonus half an hour beating the shit out of a pad is a good laugh too.
Surprisingly mentally tough at times too.
54 years old. Going for my Dan Grade.
Never too late to start bouldering. Learning good technique is everything to start with before physical limitations such as poor flexibility will be limiting factors. And you can always work on flexibility at the same time. See if your local wall has an introduction to bouldering session you can go along to.
Lose the gears! Singlespeed makes you re-assess your riding.
That and yoga keeps me svelte. I would swim in the sea too, but its full of shit!
I do a bit of bodyweight conditioning at home but don’t think that counts and its purely to try and ensure I can keep running and cycling past my 40’s.
Surely it counts if it ensures you can keep doing your other activites? Basically doing anything is better than sitting for long periods every day. Keep moving.
I have been watching The Bioneer on YouTube and he talks about micro workouts that he can fit in to his busy schedule a few times every day. Makes sense to me.
Park Run - trying to break the 30min barrier (it's hard 😑).
Walking the dog.
I want to do some yoga for flexibility (I'm like an iron-bar atm), but don't know where to start or anything about it.
I'm 54 soon.
Running, but never more than 6k.
Indoor Rowing, use Concept2 at work and a WaterRower at home. Can become obsessive.
Kettle bells, much more fun than normal weights.
I quite enjoy running from time to time but find after a few weeks it breaks my shins and knees so I often give up. Problem is that my cardiovascular fitness is far in excess of my running form and structural strength so I run too fast too soon.
@creakingdoor if you are already enjoying Park Run, there may be a Park Yoga popping up in your location, it’s free, outdoors, usually Sunday mornings and great for all levels of interest
I quite enjoy running from time to time but find after a few weeks it breaks my shins and knees so I often give up. Problem is that my cardiovascular fitness is far in excess of my running form and structural strength so I run too fast too soon.
Yep - I think that's the problem for most fit cyclists (see all the "sore knees" comments in this thread). It can certainly be frustrating if you are curtailing your running when still feeling you can run further. It just needs a gentle build-up to distance. I'm currently trying to improve my running technique and that is also introducing a few niggles.
Weights 2 times a week
swimming 1 or 2 times a week
cycling 2 or 3 times a week
In summer the weights are just maintenance workouts so I am not fatigued for the bike riding, in winter that tends to reverse.
I really need to find some time to throw in a little bit of mobility work 2 or 3 times a week, that is something that has been getting progressively worse as the years roll on.
I recommend you get a copy of ER Dr Doug McGuffs “Body By Science”. You can find him on YouTube doing his “big 5” but the book is worth buying.
There’s a lot of science behind his approach of, basically, 12 minute workout once a week. 5 exercises.
When I started the leg press (90 seconds under load per session) I was amazed that 10 weeks later (so that’s 15 minutes time under load total) I doubled my leg press max. Amazing
It’s all about recovery. Big muscles and frequent workouts aren’t bringing fitness, some experts hypothesise that in that case muscle size is largely inflammation
Doug represented the US for BMX in the Olympics. He said he takes 10-14 days after a heavy workout to recover before any race.
The big 5 is very hard when you do it right - knackered for days til you get the hang of it.
Gyrotonic Expansion System is rather good too.
This is my teacher: http://www.lauriebooth.com/gyrotonicr-training/
Oh and Eric Goodman’s Foundation Training Brings much needed posterior chain activation to the party. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=12WFqi7uWHY
I want to do some yoga for flexibility (I’m like an iron-bar atm), but don’t know where to start or anything about it.
Just search for local classes, yoga is so popular there are bound to be classes near you. Hatha yoga is a gentler form. I do it at my local Buddhist centre and there are new people (and not very flexible people!) turning up all the time, so there is no need to feel self-conscious the first time you turn up, ime.
I also go to qigong classes, usually 3 times a week and with three unconnected teachers - so very different styles.
Apart from that I try to do one longish 10+ mile ramble/hike per week or a couple of shorter ones. Cycling is mostly, but not exclusively, road these days, and 1-3 rides per week, usually 50ish miles per ride.
I do want to get back into Park Run though, keep putting it off.
I’ve struggled with bike mojo for the last couple of years, luckily it’s coincided with the kids having a go at my old canoe club which got me back into it and now Mrs Prawny has joined in.
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">
It’s satisfying my competitive instincts, without the chance of serious injury of most other sports for adults. I’m getting out on the water 4/5 times per week at the moment, racing locally quite often, although the summer break is coming up soon sad times. </span>
If you’ve got a canoe club locally I’d definitely recommend having a go at marathon racing. If you’re in the London area you’re spoiled for choice.
Not a lot really, I take the dog for a walk probably 5/7 days a week covering 2/3 mile ensuring I keep pace between 3-4mph, purposefully take routes that have hills and steps. The other day or two when I'm stretched for time she just gets taken to the park to chase a ball.
I try and do at least 2x mtb rides a week one pretty intense endurance based doing as much climbing and distance as I can but at a steady average pace of about 5.5-6.5mph, the other a different kind of intense where I just go as fast as I can and kill myself on the climbs over a much shorter distance trying to average 8mph+
For me, to excercise I have to enjoy what I'm doing, the kind of excercise where you kill yourself and only get enjoyment at the end of it never lasts long with me, I have to have fun whilst doing it which is why mtb and dog walking works so well, I do enjoy a hike here and there but after 6 miles or so my hip starts to seize up.
I've thought about running but whenever I've tried it it kills me and I don't get any sense of achievement or fun out of it, I used to like playing Squash years ago but trying to find a group for that has been hard, I come and go with Yoga I tend to more do it when I'm stiff, I used to be big into weight lifting years ago but an inguinal hernia put a stop to that as deadlifts were my favourite thing and the consultant swore me off surgery so I sort of don't see the point anymore for me as I done it more for muscle size increase than toning, also gyms are way more busy now than they were in mid 2000's and it puts me off going.
I have been tempted with golf as a few friends are into it but that's essentially just more walking, however the day after I've been to a driving range I feel like I've been hit by a truck so it's definitely using some lesser used muscle groups.
I used to do field archery which was good fun, but similiar to golf is just walking round the woods excercising a specific muscle group.
I've always fancied trying surfing and I live on the coast near a popular surf spot but I'm still carrying too much weight to not feel embarrassed in a wet suit, so might try that once I've dropped another 4 stone.
Weightlifting (as a catch all term for powerlifting, stronglifts, Olympic lifting, strongman, etc. But not just generic cross training or bodybuilding).
Ticks all the boxes of being as geeky as you like it to be with kit choices, training techniques, or actually learning movements if you go down the Olympic route. You can periodize the training just like cycling (hypertrophy, strength, peaking). It's progressive so you don't feel like you're doing the same thing each week. Time on the bike pays off in the lifting too so there's an incentive not to stop too completely. There's other things to do as supplementary training for it, e.g. you can't do much overhead without having decent thoracic flexibility, whereas most cycling 'flexibility' training is focused on doing the bare minimum to make riding comfortable or undo the worst of the damage.
The downside is I've found that while it's beneficial to cycling, you can't do it as training on it's own. Physiologically I didn't lose any muscle over the pandemic years and either being ill, knackered or too busy working to ride, but the muscles lost all their cardiovascular fitness. So now I hit a brick wall at about 16-17mph on the road with my heart rate at 130-140bpm. The muscle's there, it's not even struggling with lactic acid, it just doesn't have the capillaries to deliver the oxygen and fuel to develop any more power.
The other downside is gyms, you either need to have a good one locally or buy your own kit. I eventually gave up as all the gymgroup/puregym/anytime fitness places are stuck in an 80's cardio business model and oversubscribed for freeweights. There's 20x treadmills, enough that even at peak time you can leave a polite 1-treadmill gap between you and the next person. Yet only 2 squat racks, one lifting platform and one half rack/platform. The gym where I lived whilst working away on the other hand had 7 racks/cages/platforms and 2 treadmills 😁
On the upside I rode a 200k Audax on Saturday, and spent almost the entire way on the front of our group. And barely felt fatigued for it. I just don't have that ability to put in a hard surge on the front, then drop back, recover and wait my turn. All I could do is drop back to a slightly slower group and then sit on the front for the remaining 160km keeping the pace just inside my own limit.
My power "curve" is a joke, it's just a hard L shape. A mediocre FTP, then that surging feeling you get when you overwhelm the turbo's resistance for 30s 🤣, there is no "curve" to it.
Another vote for swimming, but it can be a difficult activity to keep interesting. I swam competitvely with a club as a kid - wasn't oustanding, just failing to make the national squad etc. Restarted with the local club in January after a 23 year gap. The first half-dozen sessions were probably the toughest swimming sessions I've done, I genuinely thought it was a mistake! A few months later and I'm really enjoying it though: being in the club with others - plus having a coach we occasionally pay attention to - is a great motivator. Only managing 2 x 1.5hr sessions a week, or 1 session when the weather's as nice as it's been (biking still trumps it).
It helps that mini-a11y's both swim with the club so I'd be there anyway. Certainly beats sitting on my arse while they swim.
It's quite a list .. I run, play touch rugby, airsoft, snowboard, hike, table tennis & paddleboard.
Have you tried walking football or rugby?
I'm 45 and try to do at least three exercise sessions a week. Managing to get out on the bike a fair bit atm which is ace but also run (5k) as it's quick and easy, go to HIIT/Core/Boot Camp at the gym and have started to have PT sessions for upper body as it's always been a weak point.
Used to think biking kept me fit but when fitness tests started at work I realised I'd not been doing enough so had to vary it as it's too easy not to go for a ride, especially with young kids and not enough time.
69 next month, and I haven’t ridden for a few years, basically I lost all my confidence after a stupid walking-speed off had me on the tarmac with a knee impact that’s resulted in osteoarthritis in two places in my left knee, but I also hit the side of my face on the ground, and only the fact I was wearing my helmet stopped me suffering an even worse head injury. I’ve still got the bikes, and I’m thinking about d3o soft knee protection to regain my confidence.
I haven’t been bothered by lack of fitness, because my job over the last 4-5 years has been pretty physical, lots of walking sometimes 7-8 miles a day, but I’m retired now, so I’ve signed up to something I haven’t done since school, somewhere over 50 years, and that’s archery. There’s a long-standing club in town, and they run beginners classes over three days, a couple of months each year, and I’ve nabbed the last slot for this year.
Looking forward to it, I’ve still got my kit from school, so I’m donating it for kids who’re starting out. Not much running around, but lots of walking backwards and forwards collecting arrows for a few hours a day.
Busiest time of year for me at present, working at least 5 days a week, plus another day catching up on online orders and other jobs. I’ve only been on the bike a handful of times this year but I do try and run a couple of times a week. If the weather is good, then I’ll try and get out in my kayak or maybe a hike into the hills. I was far fitter working 9-5 as exercise was an escape from the drudgery of work.
