If you do purchase one that is self propelled and can be adjusted to your stride. You may find it is fun when the weather is cooler and less humid but on 100+ with 80% humidity even with a self propelled one you can become very hot.

Do it! I'm 56 and work in lawn maintenance. My boss is 61 and going strong.

I'm don't know what part of the country you're in, but heed maifleur's warning. We don't work if it's brutally hot (North Carolina). There is no such thing as a lawn care emergency. If you need to, do it a little at a time. I used to cut my dad's grass when he was no longer able. What I could do in 30 minutes, he had to spread over two days. But for a while, he got it done.

I'm 78 and my husband is 80. Between the two of us we mow our yard. When it's really hot, we only mow a section at a time.

My mower is light weight and battery operated. Living in Florida, it is hot most of the time when the grass is really growing fast. I never do the whole yard at one time.

Do you workout and have you seen a physician? 57 is too young to feel old.

Riding mower and push mower (not self-propelled) used by both hubby and I.

In your case, no. You seem to be stressed at work along with having certain ailments and I don't think the added pressure of moving your lawn will do you any favors.

I don't think I would be happy seeing my lawn only partially mowed, as some suggest.

I know you are frustrated by your lawn company, but there are so many out there. Get recommendations from your neighbors. There has to be a service that you will be happy with.

I know you like to garden and I think that if you were the type who would actually enjoy mowing, you would have been doing it all along.

We have 9 acres and DH mows about 4 with the rest being wooded. Obviously he uses a riding mower for most, a smaller self propelled for trim. I have done both and it’s too hot in the summer, so would save the pushing for late afternoon when cooler. I haven’t read the post and couldn’t find it, so don’t know what type of mower you are referring to.

I gave up mowing when I had my last house. Between the garden and bicycling I had plenty of physical activity. I did like the last mower I ever bought, which was a Greenworks electric, but just didn't like hauling out the trimmer and mower. Since I had made gardens out of half the property the mowing company only charged $15 to do what was left and I was very happy with that arrangement.

I mow the lawn because I prefer a professional finished appearance
and I'm physically able to do so. No electric mower for me. I prefer the
Toro Super Recycler with Personal Pace, self-propelled rear drive
wheels.
I've been doing my own lawn maintenance since home ownership
began in 1972, so it seems very easy to me. I've watched 35 year old men
struggle with it. Beware. It may not become your favorite hobby.:)

It's probably not a good idea to do it yourself.

Kath, go for it.

You need to mow a section at the time at first, to get in mowing shape. Mow just the sides, the next day, either front or back, and the third day the other.

You can do it. It saves a ton of money. Put the amount you pay now to get it mowed in a jar, and move the part your mower cost at the end of the mowing season in your bank account, to "pay the mower off". The rest, do something fun with.

I am 65, and I mow both the front and back and the sides in one swoop, no matter the temperature, but then I am in pretty good shape right now.

I would never pay someone at this time in my life, to do something that is actually good for me, which is moving my body.

I would also not get a battery operated mower, as it can't mow good, when the weather or your well being prevents you from mowing for a few days. My girlfriend has to mow twice, at such times. Once with the mower deck set high, and then again, with the regular mowing height... but needs to charge the mower over night before it has enough power to do the second mowing.

When I bought this house (Sept. 2016), I got the cheapest mower they had at Home Depot, and it still works, and gets the job done.

Only once in all that time the grass was to high, and I had to mow twice... that was last summer when I got back from vacation and Charlotte hadn't mowed in two weeks.

What ever you decide, good luck.

Moni

DH is the lawnmower in our family; I only stepped in for a couple months when he'd broken his ankle. We have about 1/8th of an acre to mow. DH bought an battery powered mower last season and loves it. It is so light, he says a self-propelled feature would be a waste of money (and it makes any mower heavier and more complex so more mechanical parts to go wrong). He can mow our lawn in less than half hour, and gets two mowings on one charge of the battery.

So carefully consider your lawn size. Our daughter has almost a full half-acre to mow at her new house. DH advised her to buy a gas powered, self propelled mower, the kind that varies its speed. She had borrowed a one-speed self propelled and found it frustrating (too slow). It takes her about two hours, which she spreads over two evenings.

Good luck!

Why not Yoga? or water aerobics? Mowing is seasonal. Exercise should be a part of your life. It should be doable in the Winter months too.

I have the same Toro mower that Michael mentions. I've joked that "Personal Pace" simply means when you walk quickly it goes quickly, but it does give you an assist. I really enjoyed mowing with it. When I finished, I would be breathing hard and sweating, but I wasn't aware of it while I was mowing. It was definitely my best exercise. Then a couple of years ago, following surgery (at age 74), I bought a riding mower and switched to that. Fun for sure, but of course not as much exercise.

My Toro has electric start, but runs on gasoline. I would think the size of your lawn is a big factor in choosing a gas- or electric- powered mower.

I'm 59 and work retail so I'm very mobile (average 9000-10000 steps per work day). My husband does the lawn mowing as he's home all the time while I work and it keeps him mobile. He's going to be 66 next month. My dad does the mowing at his house: he's a very young 87 year old. He walks to the gym (about a mile from home) and uses the stationery bike, or he'll ride his bicycle around the neighbourhood. Mom isn't as active (she does native beadwork), but she's also a very young 85 year old. Nobody believes how old they are when they tell them. They look so much younger and neither is on any medications.

When I retired in 2003, my first purchase was a38" Toro Zero Turn mower!

After years of walking behind a mower, I have 1.7 acre lot. Of course it's not all grass but a lot of it is. I would come home from work, get the mower out and mow for two or three hours and do just part of it. Then next day do the remainder another couple of hours. I didn't even have a self-propelled mower in those days, not until much later.

With the rider, I could do it all in two hours the same day. But I still kept the self-propelled mower for trim. Finally this Spring I bought a brand new Toro Zero Turn, but they don't make the 38" anymore so I had to buy the bigger 42". It's got more power, and I had to get used to it and adjust how I mowed.

Now it takes me 1.5 for mowing and another half hour to trim.

I love my EGO mower. This is the third season I have had it. It is easy to set up and push around.

I love seeing my fitbit steps jump up on mowing days.

It is the 3rd mower I have owned and far surpasses the others. I find mowing the lawn relaxing, as it is relatively mindless physical activity and there is a sense of accomplishment - when done, you can see the difference you made.

I gave the grandsons a battry mower last year when they (11& 12) were learning. I got dad a weed eater of the same brand (at homedepot) now they have 3 batts and get the large yard done in one charge. I have a greenworks mower that is corded. all cut just fine. Takes me about an hour to do my lawn , sometimes more I stop for water bearks ofter at times. I am 77, and not very active, so it is atleast some movement other then just sitting.

Someone mentioned push button start which is something that really helps. Pulling on the cord to start can cause shoulder problems. Being short I have a problem with being able to pull the cord far enough to start anything even if I shorten the cord.

I used to mow my own lawn but the last time I did it, the mower wouldn't start. Pulling the stupid cord didn't work. I walked away, went inside for a few minutes, came back and still didn't work. I then called around looking for a lawncare service. Eld6161, what makes you think I'm stressed at work? I no longer work in a hospital, work in telephone care now. Sitting for hours. Weekends and holidays are 12.5 hours long. Long stretches sometimes in between calls. I've gained over 20 pounds in two years at my new job. When the weather permits I do go walking on my breaks. They're now building/renovating housing for homeless vets where I used to walk and it's now fenced off so I have to walk more on the roads but there is still room to walk ...just not as nice. I do have ankle issues, sprained it almost 3 years ago and have pain and swelling that flairs occasionally. Back and knee issues too but all the sitting around and weight gain just makes those worse. I love my battery powered weed eater (which I don't use now) and my trimmer. I have a gas powered chain saw that is brand new and never used. I bought it to clean the dead trees/limbs too big for the trimmer. I now have a redbud tree that has died and needs to be cut up. I'll probably start by getting my current mower working and save up for the battery powered one.

I forgot to mention in my last post that the gate/and nearby portion of fence was blown over this afternoon. Let the dogs out around 11:00 this morning. Gate was fine, the wind has since picked up and when I woke up a couple hours ago for good, let the dogs out and glanced over at the gate. The section and gate were on the ground. Ran out in my nightgown to pull it back up before the dogs noticed it was down and ran for it. I hope none of my neighbors saw me. Wouldn't want them to scar them for life-lol. The fence is no longer sturdy and I'm going to have to find something to make it not fall over so easy. I have some wooden gardening stakes I could use in the meantime. I really don't want anyone else coming in and out of the gate now...which is why I decided to start mowing again.

My last house, I built the picket fence around the front and side. Posts are not that difficult to put in, perhaps your fence needs some posts redone or if it has got to that point, a new fence? Is the wood in good shape or is it old and rotting, both fence and picket?

I am 72 and I expect to be mowing my yard for years to come...with a push mower.

Lucille, the fence isn't wood but chain link. I think when they forced my locked gate open they loosed the dirt around one of the posts so now that part of the fence wobbles and blows over in the wind.

I'm 61 and I mowed today with my push mower, but only have 1/4 acre lawn. Did you have your choke engaged before you pulled the cord? Mine won't turn over without the choke engaged. Depending on how long the mower has been down, the gas in the tank may need to be refreshed, it gets stale. A mower tune up costs only $100 here and includes a new air filter, fuel tank cleaning and blade. Maybe you have something similar there?

PKponder, yes the choke was engaged. I'm going to call around for prices for a fix tomorrow. Should have the mower working by next week anyway. I did put the other mower in my inbox at Amazon.

Fuel can be left in the machine during operating season. During winter is when it needs to be drained from tank and engine started to drain fuel from carburetor. Any fuel that was left in the fuel system during off season will turn gummy, clogging the system and preventing a start.

I used to hate mowing. It was the job of the oldest kid in the house until that kid got a job,then it went to the next kid. I was the youngest and last to get saddled with it. My dad was/is SUCH a spaz about such things. He would come out there and SCREAM that we missed a spot or whatever. Anything that wasn't perfect was an ABOMINATION!!! I always wondered why the heck mr perfect wouldn't just do it his dmn self. Anyway, he always claimed that once all his children had a job,then he would do it himself. Well I got a job at age 15. And i still have yet to see or hear of him mowing the lawn. He and mom pay a service. And he regularly goes out there while they are working to nag.

To make it worse, my mom would drag me out of bed every Saturday morning to go mow some neighbors yard, and made me do it for free. This neighbor was mentally unstable, extremely paranoid,and a hoarder. She would keep me there chatting for hours about NONSENSE,while my parents had their feet propped up at home in the air conditioning. She could have at least came and rescued me from the rambling......

So I am always extra extra grateful for SO during the mowing months of the year and put up no fuss when he spent an enormous amount of money on a huge John Deere zero turn mower. If something ever happens to him or we split up for some reason, I would at least get a riding mower,if not a zero turn. No more slogging away behind a push mower in the Alabama heat and humidity for THIS minion....

For exercise at home anyway I much prefer the treadmill, in the air conditioning, with my kindle propped on it for entertainment. I do open the blinds so that I can see outside. Last night,5 deer came out of the woods,wandered over to my neighbors pear tree and chowed down while I was trekking away on it. I had to get off and snap a pic.

I know. That's how I felt. I was tired of walking all that land behind a mower. When I retired I promised myself I would get a rider, it was my first one ever. Kept it maintained and serviced every year and got $550 for it as trade-in on the new one. It was 16yrs. old! The decks on the newer ones are much nicer and the cut is better.

I still use the self-propelled for trimming and mowing in areas the rider can't fit and also on some areas that are too much on the incline. So I still get exercise as far as that goes.

I'm 82 and I mow my grass; There's no one else in my house to do it plus I save the $40 to have someone else to do it. It gets tougher each year for me to do it, but it gives me 3 hours of good exercise and I do not have to do it all at once. I use a walk-behind mower. I now have a mulching mower with rear wheel drive. I push the mower over half of the time using the drive to negotiate grades and steep slopes or to move the mower when at awkward positions. I do like the mulching feature, but this mower is a heavy weight. It must weight 25 lb more than the lightweights I had been using, and because of that, I find that I need the self-drive to get it up steep grades.

Im 87 and mow my 3/4 of an acre with a Toro electr. start front drive mower, since I am short and a lightweight and not as strong as I used to be. Do it in 2 sections, one day the smaller but steeper front yard and the next day the flat backyard.

Just a suggestion for those with steep slopes unless you already do it. If you use a push mower it is safer to either mow across the steep slope unless you attach a rope and pull it up or mow at an angle pushing the mower up slope. If you mow at an angle down slope and the grass has lots of moisture your feet can slip sending you under the mower. Friends have had serious injuries mowing on steep slopes and those that can still mow follow the cross or up method. It will all depend on how steep a slope it is.

I have 3 more years of a grandchild's lawn mowing service and then I'll have to rely on my weekly yardman to do so. I have a narrow gate into my back garden, and the commercial lawn services have mowers that won't fit. And no, they will NOT use mine. Problem with yardman doing it is that he has two speeds: slow and slower. I have a VERY small yard - less than 1/4 acre and at least half or more is in borders, both front and back. Think of my grass as an "area rug" in both front and back. It takes my grandson 10 minutes to mow (no trimming); it takes my yardman 45 minutes. I only have him for 4 hours, which are really 3.5 as he's always late. I love him dearly and need him so I let that pass. But to lose nearly 1 hr of his time will be a problem. No children of mowing age in 3 years in the neighborhood, plus the young parents here that manual labor is "beneath" their exceptional little snow flakes. The good news is that I'll probably either be dead by then or have sold the house and moved into assisted living. Problem for the next owner who will most likely rip out 35 years of building a lovely, mature garden with beautiful borders. Hope I'm dead and don't see it happen.

I haven't mowed since I had back surgery in 2000. Too many slopes, and I fell off the rider once. I am 65 and like flower gardening so much more. So I hire the mowing done, so I can play with flowers, but I still practically crawl in after a day outside working.

I will be 65 this year, have done my own mowing since I bought this house (the last house didn't have grass) so for 27 years. I got tired of having to take the LawnBoy into the shop (it seemed every year) because it wouldn't start, plus mixing the oil with the gas and starting with the pull cord - even though it still mowed & mulched well and quickly.

I bought a B&D corded electric. I don't find the cord difficult (it is just like using a vacuum cleaner) and the mower is so much easier to handle. It doesn't cut as fast as the LawnBoy; it is smaller so it takes more passes also to cover the lawn; but it mulches well also and is quiet.

I like being outside and don't mind the chores, feeling that they help me stay strong. I agree with MDLN about the stress relief, too, although for me the most relaxing thing is hand weeding the lawn. No sprays if I can avoid it!

After reading all these posts, I'm beginning to feel like a lazy slob. I decided not to fix the old mower but to save up for the new one. In the meantime, I have a new lawncare company coming out this week. That is if they can mow this week. Supposed to rain every day.

It takes about 30 minutes to perform year end maintenance on a mower, yet most owners push it in the shed and forget about it until spring. They you'll see them kicking and swearing because it won't start.