How I did it
Starting at the Gym
When I had my second child in 2005, I started going to fitness classes and I can definitely say they saved my sanity. Before that was I a sporty type of person who exercised regularly? Definitely not. It did not really occur to me to have an exercise routine before children arrived. In my 20’s and 30’s I had been a spasmodic gym attender at best who ocassionally went for a swim or a run (though I hated running and still do).
Going to the local gym gave me a couple of hours every week when I had some structured time for myself (with my baby daughter safely in the creche) and the endorphins produced helped me with the mental stamina I needed to get me through the day, with two charmers under five. It also enabled me to start working on areas of my body I wanted to maintain. I knew from my mother’s experience that I was going to lose muscle tone dramatically post menopause, and I wanted to avoid that if I could.
I love Pump
I did pretty much any class on offer, step, legs bums and tums, dance aerobics and then I discovered the infamous “Pump”. Before pump classes it would never have occurred to me that women lifting weights was an exercise thing. But I soon discovered they do, and that they are good at it; not in a hefting a massive bar with a grunt sort of thing, but they are good at reps, they have stamina and they don’t easily give in. It was always amusing when a man did turn up to the class, loaded himself up with far too much on his bar and within ten minutes was a puffing exhausted mess, while the women around him left him for dust.
So that’s another example of gender stereotypes. Woman A expects to be bad at weights but is prepared to give it a go and with determination learns to do a full hour. Man B turns up expecting to be top lifter in a room full of women, over estimates how much he can cope with, and crashes and burns.
So pump was really the first thing I got into. When it became less convenient to attend classes I bought my own set of weights on Amazon. Prices seem to have gone up a bit since I bought mine, or it might be increased demand for home gym equipment during the pandemic. Anyway on the left below is a solid basic set. I’ve had one like this for about ten years and its never let me down.
So I had a routine to follow, I also bought the set of DVD’s from Les Mills pump on the right. (These days you can access much more varied content online by subscribing to their app). Either way I recommend Les Mills pump. Its the business, and I’ve not found any good reliable pump workouts on YouTube for example.
Dancing queen
Then after my husband died and I moved house, I started a couple of local dance classes. The first one was the Chantraine School of Dance. If you live in the UK or France (where it originated) I highly recommend trying this out. Its a form of dance based on ballet but with a modern twist (you don’t wear shoes), and its whole basis is nurturing the person. Anyway I can’t recommend it enough and its great for women over 40 as the exercise is as gentle or vigorous as you want it to be. I’m very enthusiastic about Chantraine so I’ll be writing another more detailed blog post about it.
After that I started Classical Ballet. I’m lucky that the local ballet school that both my children attended, with varying levels of enthusiasm, also holds adult classes. If you have never tried ballet I do recommend giving it a go. Its great for strength, flexibility, toning and posture (hence the popularity of Barre based exercise classes) and over time you will be amazed how much you will pick up. I started with some basic knowledge and am now, three years later (almost) keeping up with young adults who in the past completed amazing grades like 7 or 8. Anyway here is a plug for the ballet school I attend, Redbridge Classical Dance Studios
Back to the gym
About a year ago I got made redundant, which was not great… but what was great was having a more flexible lifestyle which also meant more time for the gym. Therefore I joined our local chain of gyms and pay a monthly membership fee. Again these deserve a plug and if you live in London I would highly recommend Better. They are down to earth, happy, community minded places, where no-one shows off their perfect booties in the latest outfits. (Mind you the part about outfits is sort of a shame as I would like to have more of an excuse to buy cute workout gear).
Anyway the membership means I can book any number of classes per week, in one of a few locations. It also means that I really have tried everything and as I am working from home, its also a great reason to leave the house.
So in the last year, I’ve discovered a few things. Firstly – I can do all of the classes, even the ones that sound impossible like HIIT (High intensity interval training). Secondly – I am fitter relatively than I expected to be for my age. While I am buy no means super fit, I have stamina and can keep going, and sometimes for longer than those signicantly younger than me.
In fact with the UK now in its second lock down this is one of the things I find hard – having to motivate myself to switch on the TV and do the exercise by myself!
So what have I learnt, and what are my top tips for having an exercise routine and sticking to it?
Top Tips
1. Focus on the mental benefits. This a major thing. Regular exercise is really important mentally. Its great if you are feeling low and it can give your day structure and a reason to leave the house, which for some of us can be a real issue.
2. Focus on the physical and health benefits: Exercise is also important physically for so many reasons. It really does seem to slow down the ageing process. It means that we stay flexible for longer, it increases our bone density, it keeps our muscles strong. It also improves our balance and co-ordination, all of which naturally decrease with age. And of course – we don’t only feel better when we exercise regularly, we look better too.
3. Try Group exercise as its a great motivator, and you might make some new friends. I am naturally quite a curious and sociable person, so I much prefer to exercise with other people if I can. I also really do prefer it to have someone else do the hard work of telling me what to do and when. A great instructor makes all the difference for a satisfying workout.
4. Invest in some basic equipment. You don’t need much or anything to get started. However a few key investments are worth while. Here are my top ones
- A set of bar weights and hand weights too will give you more workout flexibility. (I would recommend bar weights up to 20kg, and hand weights from 1-4 kg each depending on your experience
- A good quality exercise/yoga mat.
- Some decent workout gear, in particular leggings. My favourites are Sweaty Betty’s power leggings, they are comfortable and genuinely sculpting.
- Some decent trainers. I’m really not a trainer expert. I used to swear by Nike Airmax. However my feet are fussy and the trainer needs to fit just right especially near my toes to be comfortable. My. most used workout trainers these days are a pair of basic black ones by Puma . These are also pictured below and are in the highly affordable category.
5. There is great exercise content free online:
If you can’t get to the gym, and many of us are limited at the moment in leaving the house, or if you are also strapped for cash – then this is a great option. In the first UK lockdown I put together a YouTube workout list and here are some of my favourites.
- Fabulous 50’s has lots of great lifestyle tips and is especially good for over 50’s getting into back into fitness. I’ve linked an introductory video below, but there are also great abs, arms and aerobic workouts which will suit beginners and improvers.
- If you are into ballet and want some basic routines to follow along with online, then Kathryn Morgan is very clear, and caters for beginners and professionals. The barre video linked below is a great place to start.
- My favourite online yoga is Yoga with Adriene – I’ve linked a getting started video below, but if you already do yoga then I particularly enjoy this one hour video designed to be a full body workout.
6. Vary your routine – This is my final tip. Aim to exercise more than once a week and try and do different kinds of workouts when you do. People who know about fitness always advise testing your body with different types of exercise. And put simply not all workouts are made equal and they won’t do the same job for us.
So I’ll have a go at anything as I said – but ideally I would do one form of dance, one aerobic routine, one weights routine and either a Yoga or Pilates class per week.
Also bear in mind that if you are a little older like me, its probably not optimum especially to workout every single day. I find that if I try and do this I get over tired and I don’t really get the benefits. Perhaps interspersing an hour of workout on day with a walk outside on non workout days is ideal.
