Do I really need to go to the gym?

When exercise after fifty is discussed, the gym is often the first image that comes to mind.

We picture a room full of machines, weights, mirrors and people who appear to know exactly what they are doing. Some walk around carrying water bottles the size of fire extinguishers. Others seem to spend more time adjusting their phones than adjusting the equipment.

But do we really need to go to the gym to remain physically fit?

No.

The gym can be extremely useful, but it is only one of many options. What matters more is finding an activity that challenges the body, suits the individual and is not so boring that we abandon it after a few weeks.

Movement Is Not Always Training

All movement has some value.

Walking, gardening, dancing, playing with grandchildren or taking the dog outside is better than sitting all day.

But there is still a difference between moving and training.

To maintain or improve endurance, strength and physical function, we usually need to place some demand on the heart, lungs, muscles and balance. The effort does not have to be extreme, but the body needs a reason to adapt.

If we always walk the same comfortable route at the same comfortable speed, the walk may be excellent for the mind and the joints without improving physical capacity very much.

The same applies to many other activities. They can be enjoyable, social and beneficial without necessarily providing complete physical training on their own.

The ideal activity combines enjoyment and companionship with enough physical demand to make a difference.

We Do Not Have to Train Like Twenty-Year-Olds

Many men played ball games when they were younger, and some continue well into later life. Others take part in recreational football, where the enthusiasm may still be twenty-five even when the Achilles tendons are approaching sixty.

A man may already be picturing the spectacular bicycle kick he is about to perform, even though nobody else in the sports hall considers it a sensible idea—only to find himself tangled in the wall bars a moment later.

As we move beyond middle age, fast ball games may not suit everyone. Sudden changes of direction, sprinting and physical contact place different demands on the body from walking or controlled strength training.

That does not mean that we have to stop playing.

Cycling, swimming, skiing, cross-country skiing, dancing, badminton, tennis and newer racket sports such as padel and pickleball may suit many people. Martial arts can also remain accessible later in life, particularly when people can control their own pace and intensity.

Mountain walking and more demanding hikes can provide considerable endurance and strength training.

Running works well for some people.

It has never worked particularly well for me.

I was an old-fashioned centre-forward when I played football. I sprinted during counterattacks or positioned myself inside the penalty area and left most of the running around to the others. I have never understood the attraction of running aimlessly around town counting lamp posts.

Running and other high-impact activities also place repeated stress on the joints. Anyone choosing this form of exercise should therefore pay attention to the condition of the knees, hips and feet—and make sure that the shoes are suitable for the activity and provide adequate support.

Runners often seem to have little interest in swimming, while regular swimmers are frequently equally unenthusiastic about running. I am not sure why these two groups should be so firmly divided, but something may be changing with the growth of sports such as the triathlon.

A triathlon certainly combines the two—along with cycling—but it is not necessarily the most obvious starting point for an older person returning to exercise.

A man does not need to run a marathon, complete a triathlon or count every lamp post in town to prove that his cardiovascular system still exists.

There are also gentler forms of activity such as tai chi and qigong. Their value may lie more in balance, coordination, movement control and mental calm than in high physical intensity.

No single sport is right for everyone.

The problem begins when we assume that the activity we enjoy most must automatically provide everything the body needs.

And Then There Is Golf

Golf has become increasingly popular. Friends, couples and families can enjoy a day outdoors together. Players walk a reasonable distance, get fresh air and company, and practise concentration and coordination.

All of that is good.

I have simply never had enough patience for golf.

I have even owned a set of clubs and used to visit a driving range. I would buy two baskets of balls and hit them like a madman for half an hour. At least I returned to the car sweating and with the distinct impression that something had happened.

An ordinary round of golf, however, takes a long time. A course may not be close to home, and the sport demands both time and organisation.

Golf can provide useful physical activity, particularly when the course is walked and the clubs are carried or pulled. But I am not convinced that a leisurely walk between shots, with long pauses in between, provides most people with enough exertion to constitute complete physical training on its own.

Many modern professional golfers train strength, power, mobility and endurance away from the course. They know that playing rounds of golf alone does not make them elite athletes.

About thirty-five years ago, some colleagues of mine assessed the physical condition of several of Iceland’s best-known golfers at the time. The results were, to put it politely, not quite ready for export.

I hope a great deal has changed since then.

I suspect, however, that the ordinary golfer may still convince himself that four hours on the course are equivalent to four hours of physical training.

That depends partly on how far he walked, how quickly he walked and how long he later sat in the clubhouse explaining what went wrong on the sixteenth hole.

Golf can certainly be part of an active life.

It just may not be the whole of it.

The Gym Is a Simple Solution—At Least on Paper

For someone who has been inactive for a long time, the gym is often the most obvious place to begin.

The early fitness centres were mainly places where people lifted weights. Later came cardiovascular machines, group exercise and a wider range of training options. Today, many gyms offer specialised sessions for older people, strength training, circuit classes, yoga, Pilates and other activities in which both companionship and accountability can be valuable.

The gym has many advantages. The resistance can be controlled, the whole body can be trained and the weather is largely irrelevant.

The most difficult part of the workout, however, may not be the workout itself.

It is getting out of the house.

We have to pack our things, travel to the gym, change clothes, exercise, shower and travel home again. A one-hour workout can therefore consume a considerable part of the day.

Many people do not really attend a gym. They subscribe to one.

The monthly payment continues to leave the bank account even when the owner of the membership card has not passed through the gym door for weeks. Cancelling the contract may require several months’ notice. Some continue paying because autumn is approaching and others because New Year is just around the corner—both traditional occasions for promising ourselves that this time we really will begin.

Years ago, I was involved with others in running a fitness centre where professional considerations were intended to guide the work. With support from a trade union, we developed an ambitious and subsidised six-week programme involving doctors, physiotherapists and psychologists.

The participants received far more support than an ordinary gym membership usually provides.

Even then, the dropout rate was considerable.

That experience taught me that knowledge, professional support and a reduced price are not always enough. People may sincerely want to change and still find it difficult to turn that intention into a lasting routine.

Some people benefit from exercising with others. Two training partners can encourage one another.

When three people train together, the arrangement can become slightly different: one lifts while the other two discuss national politics. Then they change places and continue the discussion.

That may provide excellent companionship.

I am less certain about the training effect.

Personal Trainer, Group Class or Personal Responsibility?

A personal trainer can be extremely helpful for someone who is unfamiliar with exercise, needs technical guidance or benefits from regular accountability. Knowing that another person is waiting at a specific time can make the difference between attending and remaining on the sofa.

I have not personally felt the need for a trainer. I learned to exercise when I was young and know my own body reasonably well. I have occasionally watched trainers stand beside clients, count to ten and write something on a clipboard.

I can still count to ten by myself.

A good trainer, of course, does considerably more than that. He or she corrects technique, adjusts exercises to the individual’s ability and health, and prevents enthusiasm from moving too far ahead of judgement.

Group sessions can also provide an effective route back into regular activity. They create structure, companionship and a sense of obligation. Specialised strength and fitness classes for older adults are a particularly welcome development.

CrossFit can provide intense and varied training, but it may not be the easiest starting point for an older man who has been inactive for years. I have sometimes watched from a safe distance while people swung kettlebells above their heads with tremendous enthusiasm.

Those who know what they are doing can perform these movements with considerable skill.

Others occasionally appear to be attempting to throw the kettlebell onto the floor above.

Flexibility, Balance and Dignity

Yoga and Pilates can improve strength, balance and mobility. Men, however, are often in the minority in these classes.

I once attended a yoga class in which I was one of only two men. The other had formerly been a world-famous handball player.

We were consistently two exercises behind the women and trapped in some improbable position while they had already moved gracefully into the next one.

At least I was not alone.

It also taught me an important lesson: we do not go to yoga to demonstrate how flexible we already are. We go because we are not.

Stretching, balance and movement control become increasingly important with age. They do not always require a special class or expensive equipment. Much can be done at home on a simple exercise mat.

One website I follow with particular interest is YOGABODY.com, founded by Lucas Rockwood.

What appeals to me about his approach is that he has taken yoga some distance away from the more traditional Namaste atmosphere and presented much of it as practical strength, mobility and flexibility training. His website contains useful articles and videos, and his programmes focus strongly on exercises that can support ordinary daily function.

Because I am not using my own website to prescribe detailed exercise programmes, I think YOGABODY.com may be a useful resource for readers who want practical instruction.

Swimming—and the Hot Tubs

Swimming has been part of my life for as long as I can remember.

In Iceland, we are fortunate to have abundant geothermal water and swimming pools throughout the country. Swimming uses large muscle groups, can improve endurance and is generally kind to the joints.

Not everyone who visits a swimming pool goes there to swim, however.

Some people seem to regard the walk from the changing room to the hot tub as their warm-up and the walk back again as the cool-down.

The hot tub may be excellent for social life and peace of mind, but it does not entirely replace swimming lengths.

Aquatic exercise classes can be a good way to strengthen the body, improve balance and exercise with less impact on the joints. In Iceland, these classes are usually filled almost entirely with older women, although an occasional man can be spotted among them.

Open-water and sea swimming have also become increasingly popular. They can provide a powerful experience and a strong sense of community, but they require preparation and respect for the cold, the weather and personal limitations.

The sea has very little patience with overconfidence.

For me, swimming is not only physical exercise.

I usually swim in an outdoor pool. But it is not the outdoor setting that separates me from the noise and stimulation of daily life. It is the repeated part of each swimming stroke when my head is beneath the water.

During those moments, I can think through problems, review what is happening in my life and occasionally arrive at solutions that had escaped me on dry land.

In that sense, swimming is also a form of meditation.

The body is working while the mind is given room to breathe—even when the face is underwater.

How Do I Train?

I used to go regularly to a gym, but I gradually became frustrated by the amount of time the whole process required.

I also have a tendency to overdo things. A session intended to last an hour could easily expand into a project that occupied half the day.

I therefore began exercising more at home, particularly at my summer house, where I try to spend as much time as possible.

I am now beginning to go back to the gym occasionally, mainly so that I can work with somewhat heavier weights than are practical at home.

Both at the gym and during my home workouts, I prefer to use supersets whenever possible.

A superset means performing two different exercises one immediately after the other, with little or no rest in between. The exercises can involve different muscle groups, allowing one group to recover while another is working. This keeps the session moving, increases the overall effort and helps me use my time efficiently.

Supersets are less easy in a crowded gym. By the time I have completed the first exercise, somebody else may have occupied the machine I intended to use next.

Even more irritating is when someone—quite often a younger person—is already occupying a machine and appears to have no intention of beginning the next set because they are completely absorbed in scrolling through social media on their phone.

Supersets work better during quiet hours.

At home, of course, I control the entire gym timetable—and nobody begins discussing national politics while sitting on the equipment I need.

Music is also important to me when I train. Rhythmic, upbeat music can provide energy and help maintain the pace, while quieter music may suit gentler exercise and stretching.

With good music in my ears, it is easier to enter my own training space and shut out distractions. Sometimes the rhythm supplies the motivation that the body apparently forgot to bring.

When the weather is good, I have a punching bag outside and can release a reasonable amount of frustration there.

Using outdoor steps for repeated climbs and skipping with a rope are also simple options. They require little equipment but challenge endurance, coordination and balance.

I use a ski erg regularly as well.

When my team is playing in the English football league, I come on at half-time and use the machine throughout the entire second half.

We always win when I play.

Admittedly, I support the team currently regarded by many as the best in the world, but I prefer to believe that my contribution still matters.

I prefer resistance bands to free weights and kettlebells for many of my home exercises. Bands are available in different levels of resistance, take up little space and can easily be packed into a suitcase. They can be used to train almost the entire body.

I also perform bodyweight exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups, squats, planks and various abdominal and back exercises.

The body is a remarkably useful piece of training equipment, and it generally accompanies us on our travels without charging for extra baggage.

On the days between strength sessions, I swim.

I alternate breaststroke and front crawl and always use hand paddles to increase resistance. I usually swim ten lengths, perform resistance exercises for the upper body in the water, and then swim another ten.

I may complete thirty lengths in this way. I always finish in the shallow children’s pool, where I perform abdominal exercises.

The whole session usually takes about forty to fifty minutes.

I try to exercise on most days of the week, but not always in the same way. Some days involve strength work, others swimming, and some lighter activity or recovery.

As I have grown older, I have had to accept that recovery is part of training rather than evidence of laziness.

More Is Not Always Better

I have often been inclined to believe that more must be better.

A longer workout, more sets and greater intensity should surely produce better results.

That is not always the case.

I now find that forty to fifty minutes is usually enough. It is long enough to challenge the body but not so long that I need the next two days to recover.

Once we are past middle age, consistency matters more than the occasional act of heroism. It is better to train sensibly several times a week than to complete one enormous session and then enter hibernation until the beginning of the next month.

I have therefore abandoned the belief that more is always better.

I remain convinced, however, that something is better than nothing.

The Best Exercise

The best exercise is not necessarily the one that burns the most calories, requires the most expensive equipment or looks most impressive on social media.

It should place enough demand on the body to maintain or improve strength, endurance, balance and mobility.

It must also be something we are willing to repeat.

Some people need companionship. Others prefer to train alone. Some enjoy competition, while others want peace and quiet. Some go to the gym; others swim, climb mountains, ride bicycles or walk outdoors.

Most of us benefit from some form of strength training, something that challenges the heart and lungs, and something that maintains balance and mobility.

How we achieve that can vary enormously.

The goal is not to exercise in the same way as everyone else.

The goal is to find an activity that challenges the body, provides some enjoyment and becomes a genuine part of life.

Golf can certainly be part of it too.

But it might still be wise to walk the course, carry the clubs—and do a few push-ups when you get home.