Staying active as you get older: I don’t think we talk about this subject often enough.

As the owner of a local women’s gym and now in my 60s, I have been extremely active for over a decade, teaching Pilates and fitness classes and taking part in many others. I also love to cycle.

You’ll often find me on my bike, pushing up the steep hill to the racecourse, or tackling various cycling challenges. Last year, I cycled Hadrian’s Way from Silloth to Tynemouth, a total of 123 miles. This year I recently completed the Way of the Roses, a 170-mile cycle route and one of Britain’s best “coast-to-coast” journeys between Morecambe and Bridlington! The Way of the Roses took three days, and I really struggled with the days I was riding 65 miles on the bike, featuring lots of steep hills.

Being honest with myself I’ve now realised that’s an unrealistic fitness goal for me. I love a challenge, but really it was far too tough and uncomfortable for my knees. A more realistic goal would have involved a slightly shorter day of 45 miles and moderate hills.

The challenge set me thinking about my own fitness, and other activities that now feel are more unrealistic for my body. As a lover of being in the great outdoors, I’m no stranger to hiking up a few mountains and hills in my time, but I would now also class climbing Snowdon as an unrealistic fitness goal for myself.

I’m also needing to adapt to my knee problems (arthritis moderate – which isn’t great). A lot of people tend to STOP moving altogether when they develop arthritis. The same mindset is common among many who are getting older. We tend to assume that there is an age at which we must one day STOP. Sadly, many people never even start their fitness journey, and some believe that because a certain physical and mental decline with old age is inevitable, “why bother trying to do anything about it?” This is like never doing maintenance on a car because “one day it will break down and rust”. Of course, one day it will – but if you don’t do anything about it you’re just going to speed up the ageing process!

And you’ll be driving around in a rusty, rattling car (ie. body!) for a long while to come... Yes, I have arthritis in my knees, and though I need to steer clear of certain exercises, I know I must keep moving the joints in a safe and appropriate way.

And this is the key to staying active as you get older: modify what you do, but never stop moving entirely. For my own fitness, maintenance, and improvements (yes, we can all still improve and fortify our bodies, especially as we get older) I now do all “lower level” fitness classes – for me that means no impact, reduced lunge depth, light weights due to an old shoulder injury, and so on.

Just to make a distinction: there’s a difference between the muscle aches you’ll get after a good workout and a longer-term pain or irritation that may need addressing over time. Some people can get put off coming to fitness classes by feeling unfamiliar discomfort or pain, but if you truly listen to your body you’ll know when it’s “productive” pain, such as DOMs or that post-gym stiffness, and when it’s “bad” pain, in other words when you’re doing too much and you’re going to cause long-term injuries and issues.

I believe that giving up is saying you are going to get fit and attend classes regularly... then regularly finding reasons not to do so...! Setting unrealistic standards for yourself is only going to end in disappointment, or injury, or no positive change at all. Instead, I think being honest and realistic with yourself is a much better approach.

To me, being realistic looks like being consistent with regular exercise most of the time, occasionally having a “wobbly” week (with unavoidable reasons not to attend classes) but then booking in for the following week and making that visit a priority to get back into it.

Two of the original members of my gym, Zest, are ladies in their 80s and they still attend multiple times a week. Both ladies have various aches and pains and long-standing conditions, as is very normal for people their age, and now and again they may choose to take a week off to aid recovery – but they will come back. That is realistic for them, and I believe they are a winning example for us all, no matter our age.

Modifying exercises, taking breaks, but never stopping, and never giving up.

Pauline Lacey,

Oswestry.