You've Gotta Move This

A Friday open thread on how we work out—especially as we get older and more concerned about arthritis and risk of injury.

Via Wikimedia Commons

Readers,

This morning my 84-year-old mom did water aerobics at her condo’s pool. Yesterday she sweated through an online weights class. Often when I FaceTime with my 89-year-old dad, across the country, I find him on an exercise bike or other cardio machine. He does Zumba a couple of times a week, too. It’s inspiring.

What am I, six weeks shy of 59, doing for exercise? Nothing. Nada. Zip.

I have an excuse: a long-injured, arthritic hip has recently worsened. In June, ratcheting things up a notch, I slipped a disk. Two weeks ago I officially failed physical therapy. (To clarify, I didn’t fail, my gluteal tendons did. My physical therapist worried the treatment might have been contributing to ongoing fraying, and so he sent me back to my orthopedist. We are talking about possibly pursuing Platelet Rich Plasma.)

I mean, I do move my body a little—mostly walking, and swimming in the pool now and then, but it’s so brief and infrequent, it barely qualifies as exercise. I did a little gentle yoga recently at the pavilion at the Mohonk Preserve, but had to modify or skip several poses. Whatever I do, it results in pain, so for the moment, I’m essentially benched.

But I don’t like being this sedentary. I’d like to move my body more, once I can. And as everyone knows—and the National Council on Aging confirms—exercising regularly is key to aging well. It’s good for all your systems, and through the release of endorphins, elevates your mood.

I thought I’d ask all of you what kind of exercise you enjoy doing and get the most out of—while also not injuring yourselves. In the comments please tell me:

How old are you? How long have you been exercising? What kind of exercise do you engage in? Have you gotten into exercise fads over the years? How have you modified your approach to exercise as you’ve gotten older? Do you enjoy exercise, or do you trudge through it? What’s your motivation for doing it—muscular fitness, heart health, weight management? Do you have a healthy relationship to working out? Does fatphobia (or anything) lead you to overdo it? Answer as many or as few of these questions as you’d like. (*Please, no judging anyone else for their choices.)

To be perfectly honest, at first I didn’t mind being off exercise, because in the past I’ve had an unhealthy relationship to it. I did too much of it, with a punishing attitude toward my body.

I waged war against my short, curvy physique, exercising mainly with the goals of shrinking and reshaping it. That ruined for me: running, biking, swimming, pilates, vigorous yoga, working out on cardio machines, and taking exercise classes, all of which I made myself do anyway. I had the sense that I needed to earn my daily food intake, and if I skipped exercise, I felt I didn’t deserve to eat.

Jane Fonda from her aerobics video days in the 80s, and Sweating to the Oldies exercise guru Richard Simmons, who died recently: two ‘80s exercise influencers who, we now know, were privately struggling with their own body image issues. Getty Images

I’ve come a long way from the worst of that behavior and mindset, but it’s difficult to eradicate it altogether, in part because it’s baked into our thinness-obsessed culture. Once I heal my hip and spine, I’ll have had more than enough time on the bench to further shift my attitude—and to remember that when I’m not in pain, I actually really enjoy a good sweat (especially while listening to music), and an endorphin spike.

Now, in the interim, to find some gentle activity that doesn’t aggravate my hip injury…

Okay, your turn:

How old are you? How long have you been exercising? What kind of exercise do you engage in? Have you gotten into exercise fads over the years? How have you modified your approach to exercise as you’ve gotten older? Do you enjoy exercise, or do you trudge through it? What’s your motivation for doing it—muscular fitness, heart health, weight management? Do you have a healthy relationship to working out? Does fatphobia (or anything) lead you to overdo it? Answer as many or as few of these questions as you’d like. (*No judging anyone else for their choices.)

The headline to this piece comes from a lyric in this 1991 Technotronic song:

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On another note, yesterday Oldster Magazine officially passed the 50,000 subscriber mark, and it feels huge. I’m so grateful to every one of you for joining me here—for reading, commenting thoughtfully, and for all of your support. 🙏 Thank you!

P.S. On August 31st, Oldster will turn 3! I can’t wait to celebrate. 🎂🎂🎂

-Sari