another idea - try this:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/interactive/2025/7-minute-workout-science-original/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F4054456%2F67800312e179af1b45f7ef03%2F5de52122ade4e25a933e503e%2F22%2F55%2F67800312e179af1b45f7ef03

I hate running too.

I have smaller goals - 20 perfect pushups, finishing the lunge track in my strength group without stopping, with good form, 100 jumping jacks, etc.

Jumping rope is an affordable option you can do at home every day, and it provides a lot of cardio fitness.

Washington Post has a 7 minute exercise plan.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/interactive/2025/7-minute-workout-science-original/

You could try to complete a program if self motivation is tough. Caroline Girvan Iron is popular.

You could set a "time outside" goal - my crunchy friends seem to be picking 300 hours or 1000 a year - and try to make a lot of that time active in some way. That gives you flexibility, and sunshine.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need something to keep me motivated.

I don’t want to run a 5K. I don’t want to run ever. I don’t want to climb Mount Everest. Or any mountain.

But I think i need a goal — something tangible — that I can work toward.

Ideas?

Mid 50s, a little overweight, moderately out of shape

Why don’t you want to run a 5K? That might help us come up with a better alternative.

I agree. You can start by walking/running 5km three times a week, and build up over the weeks.

How about aiming for 10,000 step walks during the week?

I agree with the pp. also mobility goals. Can you get up off the floor without using your hands? Walk forward and backwards on a low balance beam? Touch your toes? There are lots of goals other than a 5k.

If you're starting from zero, how about just bodyweight for now? Build to 10 STRICT pushups (chest to floor) and 25 unbroken bodyweight squats with perfect form by, say, the end of March. Then figure out where you want to go from there. That could just be a starting point.

I'd choose strength and/or mobility over "lite" fitness like walking or running because we lose so much muscle mass at/after perimenopause. We all always walk, but strength work is so new to so many,

A full push up? A pull up? Able to walk a mile in 10-12 minutes? Visceral fat? Percent body muscle/fat? There are a million options.

Anonymous wrote:I need something to keep me motivated.

I don’t want to run a 5K. I don’t want to run ever. I don’t want to climb Mount Everest. Or any mountain.

But I think i need a goal — something tangible — that I can work toward.

Ideas?

Mid 50s, a little overweight, moderately out of shape

Why don’t you want to run a 5K? That might help us come up with a better alternative.

A century. Cycling 100 miles.

Anonymous wrote:I work on strength goals. This year is 225 squat, 275 deadlift, one real pull-up.

How are your knees?

Do you like to walk/hike?

I work on strength goals. This year is 225 squat, 275 deadlift, one real pull-up.

Get in a normal BMI

I need something to keep me motivated.

I don’t want to run a 5K. I don’t want to run ever. I don’t want to climb Mount Everest. Or any mountain.

But I think i need a goal — something tangible — that I can work toward.

Ideas?

Mid 50s, a little overweight, moderately out of shape