Realistic fitness in your 30s

[Anonymous]

Also weights and varying HIIT.

[Anonymous]

Hiking and walking in your lifestyle. As you age and as you have kids, you may not have time for marathons but you can take your kids out for hikes and walk a few miles a day (routinely with them). You don't have to run marathons to be healthy. Now in my forties it is my crazy in shape friends who have been hospitalized for embolisms.

[Anonymous]

I have worked hard too and maintained my strength and fitness level in my mid 40s. Our bodies are strong and can do more than we think, though there are adjustments.

. But your focus on keeping your figure and your stats...is this really a question about fitness or vanity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
. But your focus on keeping your figure and your stats...is this really a question about fitness or vanity?

Honestly it's both. I like working out and I like looking and feeling great because of it. But I'm not so vain as to become less of a wife, mother, friend, or career woman out of being too obsessed with it. Balance is important, which is why I'm asking what is "realistic." Of course I'd like to keep my figure or statistics. Who wouldn't? Knowing however that the average person doesn't, I'd like to gauge how much of that is avoidable excuses vs unavoidable reality.

Example - I know it's not realistic to hope for a 25 inch waist the week after pregnancy. Or to have a boss that lets you take random workout breaks throughout the day. But I do imagine that just because you're an average working American you don't *have* to remain seated at your desk all day and you don't *have* to get takeout dinners that often and you don't *have* to plop on the couch when you get home.

Forget appearance and weight... I'm 30 years old and I *feel* amazing. Even when I don't get enough sleep I'm always energized, no aches and pains, I don't take any medication for anything whatsoever and I never get sick. Aside from bad genes or bad luck from injuries, I wonder how many of my friends who say "Yeah, but you're 30...it's all downhill from there" are making excuses. Basically I want to know how far hard work can get me and what is inevitable with age.
OP

[Anonymous]

Oh man. I could have said the same - that I "loved my body" - at age 30. I'm now 36, and have had 2 kids in the last 5 years. I'm 5'5", 120 lbs, 25 inch waist, and I do competitive powerlifting, so I'm quite dense and strong. BUT I do not look the same that I did at age 30 with the same stats. Not. At. All.

You need to accept that your body WILL change. I look in the mirror and I'm like, why is this skin getting kind of soft and flappy?!?! My bodyfat percentage is still low, I'm still in great shape. And YET.... it is still happening.

My advice is just to keep it up, a mix of weight training (HEAVY!) and cardio (I also just got a Peloton and love it!), and some yoga for flexibility. The key, really, is whenever you find yourself in a "slump", find a way to get out of it. I've had several slumps over the last six years - mostly related to pregnancy and the stress of parenting - and I've been committed to getting back into it so I feel good again. Oh, and it helps that my DH is super into working out and being active as well!

Also, eating really well ultimately pays off. I eat mostly Paleo, and almost entirely unprocessed foods, and I have since my mid 20s. Although I no longer look like I did when I was 30, I still look substantially younger than my friends who are the same age!

[Anonymous]

OP, you've gotten a lot of good advice, from me and others. A lot of people don't have the discipline to sustain daily workouts, but even that is a privilege. Assuming everyone is healthy, reasonable work hours and commute, etc., there's no reason you can't workout hard for an hour each day and maintain a reasonable diet.

But there's luck involved, as there is with everything, both in how pregnancy and aging change your body. No one can predict how far hard work will get you and with is inevitable, because it really varies with each individual. I'll work damn hard in my workouts, but I won't go so far as to eat a very restrictive diet because I think that's terrible modeling for my kids. Like I said, you've gotten strategies for maximizing and maintaining through the years. You do your best with what you have.

[Anonymous]

PP again.

Speaking of my DH, I wanted to add: if you're not currently in a relationship, the BIGGEST thing you can do is find a significant other who is into fitness and health. It becomes really hard to find the time and effort as you get older (and have kids) and I think I wouldn't be where I am now if my DH didn't respect health/fitness as a major priority in our lives, for me and for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP again.

Speaking of my DH, I wanted to add: if you're not currently in a relationship, the BIGGEST thing you can do is find a significant other who is into fitness and health. It becomes really hard to find the time and effort as you get older (and have kids) and I think I wouldn't be where I am now if my DH didn't respect health/fitness as a major priority in our lives, for me and for him.

I agree.

OP, don’t be a b*tch about your older friends who are “making excuses.” I am a 38 YO former D-1 athlete and I have always maintained a rigorous fitness routine and gone on to compete regionally in road racing. Age is likely going to bite you in the ass so cut the sh*t talking on your friends. You will get cellulite. You will get injured more easily. You will have to fight muscle loss. For me after 34, even the 6 day a week routine wasn’t having great effects. I was running 5 days, including hill work and track interval workouts and continuing to lift twice too. Don’t think you’re above the aging process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP again.

Speaking of my DH, I wanted to add: if you're not currently in a relationship, the BIGGEST thing you can do is find a significant other who is into fitness and health. It becomes really hard to find the time and effort as you get older (and have kids) and I think I wouldn't be where I am now if my DH didn't respect health/fitness as a major priority in our lives, for me and for him.

To present a different perspective: I very much appreciate that my DH is healthy, but not as rigid about his need for daily exercise as I am. For one thing, it can be a real pain to balance both of you working out daily once you have kids. For another, it can also be useful for kids to see different ways of being healthy. DH supports what I do, and I am grateful for that and for his non-obsessiveness around fitness.

[Anonymous]

I think if you will remain healthier and 'intact' if you don't birth any children. Childbearing takes a negative toll on women's bodies. Not just the stretchmarks and the aesthetics but you are at a large risk of pelvic floor issues, incontinence and prolapse, which also affects your capacity and attitude toward working out. Women are gonna jump on me for saying this, but don't shoot the messenger.

[Anonymous]

Basically I want to know how far hard work can get me and what is inevitable with age.

Hard work and a lifetime of fitness will get you far, but what is inevitable is that you will have to accept changes - to your body, your looks, your performance. It is also inevitable that you will be more injury prone eventually and will have to adapt your workouts and expectations. What is also inevitable is that things will happen to your body that your lifestyle and fitness level will not be able to control. Eventually your skin will get saggier and flabbier even if you maintain weight and muscle tone, especially if you have kids and then again after menopause. Your joints will have wear and tear, so you will have to be smarter about how you maintain your fitness level. You may end up with osteopenia or osteoporosis even if you lift weights. You may develop high blood pressure unrelated to lifestyle factors by a certain age.

These are all things that I've seen or experienced in either myself or others who have been fit, lifelong exercisers. In my experience, however, the biggest changes come in your forties. Aside from some luck-of-the-draw pregnancy and child bearing effects, you can probably maintain your level through most of your thirties.

I think best way to maintain fitness as you age is to workout smarter - more HIIT and low impact work, more careful weight training, greater variety of workouts, incorporating things like yoga/pilates/barre in which there is strong emphasis on good form and control, instead of long sessions of highly repetitive explosive exercises.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Basically I want to know how far hard work can get me and what is inevitable with age.

Hard work and a lifetime of fitness will get you far, but what is inevitable is that you will have to accept changes - to your body, your looks, your performance. It is also inevitable that you will be more injury prone eventually and will have to adapt your workouts and expectations. What is also inevitable is that things will happen to your body that your lifestyle and fitness level will not be able to control. Eventually your skin will get saggier and flabbier even if you maintain weight and muscle tone, especially if you have kids and then again after menopause. Your joints will have wear and tear, so you will have to be smarter about how you maintain your fitness level. You may end up with osteopenia or osteoporosis even if you lift weights. You may develop high blood pressure unrelated to lifestyle factors by a certain age.

These are all things that I've seen or experienced in either myself or others who have been fit, lifelong exercisers. In my experience, however, the biggest changes come in your forties. Aside from some luck-of-the-draw pregnancy and child bearing effects, you can probably maintain your level through most of your thirties.

I think best way to maintain fitness as you age is to workout smarter - more HIIT and low impact work, more careful weight training, greater variety of workouts, incorporating things like yoga/pilates/barre in which there is strong emphasis on good form and control, instead of long sessions of highly repetitive explosive exercises.

If by lifting weights, you mean 5-pounders...then yes, you will suffer bone density loss. I think it's possible to be fit and age gracefully. Just look at J. Lo, Angela Bassett and Halle Berry...these women show that it's totally possible.

[Anonymous]

Angela freaking Bassett is goddess goals

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP again.

Speaking of my DH, I wanted to add: if you're not currently in a relationship, the BIGGEST thing you can do is find a significant other who is into fitness and health. It becomes really hard to find the time and effort as you get older (and have kids) and I think I wouldn't be where I am now if my DH didn't respect health/fitness as a major priority in our lives, for me and for him.

I agree.

OP, don’t be a b*tch about your older friends who are “making excuses.” I am a 38 YO former D-1 athlete and I have always maintained a rigorous fitness routine and gone on to compete regionally in road racing. Age is likely going to bite you in the ass so cut the sh*t talking on your friends. You will get cellulite. You will get injured more easily. You will have to fight muscle loss. For me after 34, even the 6 day a week routine wasn’t having great effects. I was running 5 days, including hill work and track interval workouts and continuing to lift twice too. Don’t think you’re above the aging process.

Hey, I'm not sh*t talking my friends, I'm simply asking. You may very well be right, but in some cases I think people are making excuses... or they do accept changes and stop trying altogether. As I said before, you don't have to spend your free time on the couch, and I think some people who say they are "just too tired from a long day at work" to do a workout or cook a healthy meal, ARE making excuses or not trying hard enough. YES it's hard but life is hard.

I have a partner who does workout but is more moderate about it than me and that is fine. Some of his friends though are still addicted to video games....after 30...

OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP again.

Speaking of my DH, I wanted to add: if you're not currently in a relationship, the BIGGEST thing you can do is find a significant other who is into fitness and health. It becomes really hard to find the time and effort as you get older (and have kids) and I think I wouldn't be where I am now if my DH didn't respect health/fitness as a major priority in our lives, for me and for him.

I agree.

OP, don’t be a b*tch about your older friends who are “making excuses.” I am a 38 YO former D-1 athlete and I have always maintained a rigorous fitness routine and gone on to compete regionally in road racing. Age is likely going to bite you in the ass so cut the sh*t talking on your friends. You will get cellulite. You will get injured more easily. You will have to fight muscle loss. For me after 34, even the 6 day a week routine wasn’t having great effects. I was running 5 days, including hill work and track interval workouts and continuing to lift twice too. Don’t think you’re above the aging process.

Hey, I'm not sh*t talking my friends, I'm simply asking. You may very well be right, but in some cases I think people are making excuses... or they do accept changes and stop trying altogether. As I said before, you don't have to spend your free time on the couch, and I think some people who say they are "just too tired from a long day at work" to do a workout or cook a healthy meal, ARE making excuses or not trying hard enough. YES it's hard but life is hard.

I have a partner who does workout but is more moderate about it than me and that is fine. Some of his friends though are still addicted to video games....after 30...

OP

You sound horrible. Everyone is different. Some people just don’t have the time, money, or good health to work out. Your body may be great but your mind is ugly. Fix it