Our question
Retirement: arrived, approaching, or not yet on the radar — wherever you are, how is it shaping your fitness life right now? We talk a lot about fitness at mid-life, but retirement reshapes the whole picture: time, income, identity, care responsibilities, and the body itself. Where are you on that journey, and how is it changing your relationship with movement and health?
Diane
I’m almost two years post-retirement, and it’s a weird fitness time for me right now. I was very active until a year ago, then scaled back on cycling after I was diagnosed with a heart murmur. I kept up my other activities and was proud to redo my lifeguard fitness testing just three weeks before surgery to repair my wonky valve.
Now, three weeks post-surgery, I’m back on my bike for short rides, walking a lot, and eagerly looking forward to getting back into the dance studio and the pool.
The best part about retirement is that I have the freedom to do daytime dance classes, or early morning swims, or go for a bike ride or a walk with friends in the middle of the day.
The worst part is that am increasingly prone to injury. Or maybe I just have the luxury of time to pay more attention to what my body is telling me when I overdo things.
Cate
I am moving to a small community with a lot more inbuilt movement — ie, my house is at the top of a steep hill. The theory was that this would shift gradually into less working but at the moment I seem to be super super busy. I am trying to remain quasi active with a modified couch to 5k (inspired by Tracy) and by making little videos for a friend who is just getting into movement. Check back in in September!
Mina
I wish retirement were on my radar!! Then I’d sleep later and have time to do proper stretching and mindful movement, instead of just early morning workouts with a rushed flavour.
Tracy
As I approach retirement (officially at the end of 2026 but on half time right now with the majority of heavy lifting behind me) I can’t believe how much more I’m “feeling my age” than I was 14 years ago when we started the blog. My fitness goals are more modest—keep running, do some resistance training, add swimming after I finish the Couch to 5K running program, and get back to yoga, which I think will be more important than ever. My objective is to stay energetic and agile for as long as possible so I can enjoy the “go” period of early retirement, travelling and taking photos. My camera gear is heavy and photography is more active than it seems.
Sam
Two years from now, if all goes to plan, I’ll be on research leave — reading, writing, travelling, and riding my bike. But right now? I’m a dean with two years left in my term, and it’s a big busy job with long days and lots of responsibility.
I plan to take leave after finishing my second term in May 2028, and then return to a life of teaching and research in the Philosophy department, with maybe some part-time consulting on the side. I’m excited about all that. Leave will be the reset when I’ll have more time for writing. After that, I’m genuinely looking forward to the flexibility of a regular faculty member’s schedule. I suspect I’ll keep outdoor adventuring, and that having more time will mean a return to some bigger fitness/distance goals.
The fitness activities I manage right now, I have to struggle to fit in — early mornings, lunch hours, the occasional weekend longer ride. I love my job and still find the work genuinely exciting, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t already imagining what it feels like to train without all the pressure and busyness. The challenge right now is finding time for all the things. The dream, two years out, is that “all the things” shifts to mean something different — that movement stops being what I fit in and becomes part of how the day is shaped.
Of course, a lot could change. Health, caregiving responsibilities, the unexpected. Any of these could rewrite the plan entirely. But all being well, I’m not ready to wind down just yet. I’m more interested in what opens up.
Catherine
I’m looking at potentially retiring in 2031; I have a sabbatical coming up fall of 2029 and have to work another year after that. I’ve been in a less active period for a while now, which I think is due to several causes: I’m being more research-active, with a couple of new projects, I’m paying more attention to teaching (a good thing) and putting in more time with and for students, my ADHD/anxiety symptoms have increased (I think), and I’m just more tired than I used to be. Of course, physical activity helps with ADHD and anxiety, but it’s the inner activation that I’m working on. How? By slowing things down, reluctantly but intentionally. Summer is here, and I’m slowing down my days. I have the luxury of picking activities like cycling, swimming, yoga, kayaking, walking– alone or with friends. I’ll be reporting on how things go. In the meantime, intentional everyday activity is helping.
My pie-in-the-sky aspirations are to get recertified in Scuba and go do volunteer environmental Scuba projects in Florida and elsewhere. Also, to get in better condition on the bike to take multi-day bike trips in the US and Canada. The Scuba course will be my 65th birthday present to myself next year. And I’m doing a 4–5 day bike trip with a friend this summer.
Nat
I’m caught up in a bit of a whirlwind just two weeks into retirement. How did I have time to do paid work?
I’m loving having time to go to the grocery store during the day. I can meal plan around what is on the reduced rack to get more bang for my grocery buck.
I continue to walk daily with Michel and Lucy.
I’m adding short yoga routines at home.
My plan is to get on my bicycle daily but I haven’t made that happen yet.
I am seeing my physiotherapist for my lower back. It’s stubbornly still achy.
I continue to get regular massages and chiropractic care.
And my garden is definitely appreciative of my time.
The biggest surprise is how many friends were just waiting for my retirement to spend more time together doing things.
Speaking as a long retired person, I have to remember the saying, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.” Since I got less busy, I have found it very helpful to have some of my fitness activities scheduled, ideally with other people who will be inconvenienced if I don’t show up. Otherwise, the days sometimes just float away. Lots of good stuff to do. But as long as I stay active, I don’t seem to lose much fitness with age.