Feeling age prejudice

[kirstiegai]

Today I went to try out a local fitness class. I'm "now" relatively fit as well as being a former Group Exercise Class Instructor (10 years). The class was small, only 7 people and there was another girl who was also on her first class with me. I'm 56 and the other women were say 25-35 with varying fitness. The instructor was good (she would be late 20's) and I was liking the class until........ she asks if I mind telling her my age, so I do. She then says that she's had quite a few women in their 50's ask about her class and saying they think it would be too much for them. Look at you she says, you can do it well, you're keeping up, they could do it too Well, I honestly didn't know whether to be insulted or happy but am tending to go on the insulted side. The class was a circuit class and used 1kg (2 pound) handweights and I did the whole class, didn't break into a sweat and felt like I needed more. Now I'm deciding if I want to go back just to prove I'm able bodied and not just an "old woman".

 

[bellbird]

the irony would be 90's era aerobic music is so often being sampled now (and destroyed - i'm not a fan of Cyril! ) was it like not much changed? i'd be missing the O.G. group fitness music though (and avoiding anything overly HIIT based personally) but i applaud you getting back in there - i thought 50 was the new 40 in many ways, but there can be a fine line btwn being complementary and being condescending talking to people like that though

 

[kirstiegai]

Theres a big difference between exercises for a post-menopausal woman and a 30 year old. I'm lifting heavy weights at 3 sets of 5 reps. Everything in class was light weights at 2 sets of 15 reps, no HIIT which is a definite no no for menopause. I think I've decided not to go back. I've got a full home gym and can do it myself, I was just trying to mix it up and add variety.

 

[G.T.]

Oh @kirstiegai I feel your pain!!! Add 20 years to you and I joined a gym class at the local Leisure Centre via a cancer support group with a (young) exercise physiologist who came up an individual program for each of us. Looked good on paper until I really looked into it. So now I try to be invisible and do my own exercises at the 'class' - but I enjoy the contact with others and the coffee & chat afterwards.

 

[keepscrappin]

It sounds like she was complementing you on being able to do it well, unlike the other women over 50 who thought it would be too hard and didn’t even try. I wouldn’t read too much into it. I’d go back and show them what an “old lady” can do.

 

[AnneofAlamo]

We have weighed the pros and cons of bringing treadmill in to house or local gym. My concern are the capachino brigade. lol 2 different groups. Neither work out - one has pink, purple or green clear drinks 30-40 year olds - other has hot cups 50-60 age group!
They don’t actually work out, but cluster around different circuit machines! Hahah
I go in mismatched outfits - very oversized shirts and sweat and breath hard. Hahah
I think I may write a book on them. Like a murder mystery.

 

[umyesh]

I'm sorry you felt age prejudice but I'm glad you were able to show them all how fit you are. Good job taking care of your body.

 

[Lynne-Marie]

I too used to be a fitness instructor through my university years. I was super fit back then. I have a very clear memory of a middle-aged woman attending one of my classes. She was overweight and, from my 20 year old point of view, she looked haggard. She followed along perfectly and I complimented her on her good sense of coordination. That's when she told me that she used to be a fitness instructor too, in her 20s. It stuck to me. I didn't say anything to her, but I remember thinking that I would never let myself go like she did.... well... that thought came back to bite me hard! Life taught me a lesson or two and served me humble pie! Now, that woman is me! Here I am at age 55, trying to reconquer my health. I totally get the feeling of being judged by the younger crowd, like I know what they are thinking.... but they are just a younger version of ourselves!

Let that feeling fuel your ambition.

 

[elseepe]

Today I went to try out a local fitness class. I'm "now" relatively fit as well as being a former Group Exercise Class Instructor (10 years). The class was small, only 7 people and there was another girl who was also on her first class with me. I'm 56 and the other women were say 25-35 with varying fitness. The instructor was good (she would be late 20's) and I was liking the class until........ she asks if I mind telling her my age, so I do. She then says that she's had quite a few women in their 50's ask about her class and saying they think it would be too much for them. Look at you she says, you can do it well, you're keeping up, they could do it too Well, I honestly didn't know whether to be insulted or happy but am tending to go on the insulted side. The class was a circuit class and used 1kg (2 pound) handweights and I did the whole class, didn't break into a sweat and felt like I needed more. Now I'm deciding if I want to go back just to prove I'm able bodied and not just an "old woman".

I was going to say -- go back and show em how it's done. I go to my local Y and at 64 (an a bit +), I often feel like the youngest. I take a variety of classes -- some of them are pretty intense -- BodyCombat (the LesMills franchised one) and I do BodyPump (also LesMills) on Fridays. I was chatting with an another BodyPump regular today -- she is 29, and we both really LOVE this one teacher. I told her to go ahead and try this teachers "silver sneakers" low impact aerobics class on Monday -- she initially probably thought I was nuts, but she asked if I get a good workout -- and said absolutely, you can get a great workout in that class. I don't know if she'll try it, but if so I'll have to see what she thought. And there are a couple of 80+ year olds that also do both BodyCombat and BodyPump. So, if the class works for you -- who cares what anybody else thinks. And a lot of us older ones will appropriately tease the 40-ish instructor sometimes too when she cracks jokes about "feeling old". We have fun while we're sweating.

 

[Aerobigirl]

I've been in the fitness industry for over 35 years now, with the most recent 21 as my full time career, so I have a very VERY thick skin. I'm almost 59 and I'm overweight. I have two strikes against me in a fickle, judgmental industry. I have a few home-run skills, too, so I'm doing quite well in the industry in spite of the strikes, lol.

With my highly-developed thick skin, sometimes I don't remember that others' might not be as thick as mine. I would never, ever try to insult a client, but occasionally I say something that comes out awkwardly. Maybe this gal needs to grow her class to 10 people in order to keep it on the schedule, so she was seeing your attendance and success as a REALLY positive fact., one that she will use as a talking point the next time a middle aged person attends class. Other than that one comment, did she seem insulting?

I love that you are lifting heavy and I wish I could encourage some of my weight-phobic clients to load heavier. There is mixed science on the risks / benefits of HIIT post menopause, along with health considerations for specific individuals. It's a yellow-light activity for me, meaning that I add it to client's programs with specific purpose and adequate rest.

 

[MargaretA]

I do not go to the gym at all. I have no desire to take the time to drive there, change clothes, exercise, change clothes and then drive home (all of that after I get off work-I have a full time job). It is not happening. So to combat that, I bought a walking pad to put in my dining room because it fits underneath the table and I never have to put it away. I can exercise without putting up with rude people. I have not had an experience like yours, but I choose not to participate in classes. I would be in the back huffing and puffing and walking out…..

 

[G.J.]

@kirstiegai I think she was congratulating you, but the problem with communication is that it's not perfect, but from my perspective, she was congratulating you. I used to do cross-country skiing, skiing 80 to 90 kilometers when I was younger, and I used to cycle, and still do, and a couple of years ago, I joined a group of people of all ages to cycle across much of the country, and the leader of our group told all of us who weren't between 20 and 35 years old that if we felt tired, we should let her know, I think we laughed so hard our stomachs hurt, but she wasn't trying to offend us, and we knew this because when we stopped for lunch, etc., she told us openly that she didn't mean to offend us but wanted to be responsible and not put too much pressure on anyone. If I had felt offended, I would have missed out on meeting some amazing people who are part of the group. You're in charge of your own life, and you know better than me what you're doing, but if I were you, I'd go back to the class, and if you can, ask her what she meant. It's always good to talk about what you think and feel, especially if you have a coach. I learned that from my coach at university, when I was part of the cycling team, and our coach demanded that we trust him 100%, but to do that, you could talk about everything that pleased or bothered you, without embellishment with him. Ultimately, if someone is your coach, you need to trust her and she needs to trust you, like in all our important human relationships the trust is the ground, and that's only achieved through open communication