What if you just don't like strength training??

I can’t stand CG. I don’t get the hype. There are so many better programs out there.
You will find one you like!

Yeah you're aching but of course you are, it's new to you. Keep up and it will be second nature and when you're 70 you'll be grateful

Thinking about the older generations of women in my family 1910s-1930s, their youth had a lot of functional fitness, but changes in appliances and transport changed their activity levels a lot in the second half of the 20th century

I only remember my great grandma as a diminutitive old lady shuffling around and shrunken with arthritis. That's from her 70s- 90. Other than a bit of ballroom dancing, she wasn't any more active than she needed to be. Her vision became very poor so in old age, she lost out on functional walking and needed lifts everywhere. Grandma first broke a bone from slipping in her 50s and again in her 60s, and struggled with arthritis for the past 20 years. She's basically been on a low calorie diet since the 1960s, plus a childhood on rationing. Life was very manual until the 1970s (30s) when she started driving and got more appliences. She never really "exercised" other than intermittent bursts of light aerobics and yoga. Mother in her 60s and so far faring better, but is naturally of a more muscular build. Has worked longer and done semi-manual jobs being on her feet and lifting.

MiL stayed gardening and walking daily until about 88 when niggles began to get the better of her from an underlying condition. She drove from her 30s, but favoured daily shopping in the village a mile away. My paternal grandma was also an active gardener until other conditions intervened.

I'm hoping with a family history of arthritis in the later stages of middle age, that my high impact and weight bearing exercise can delay it. I did things like step aerobics, hiking, yoga and ballet through my 20s, took up running and circuits in my 30s as they fitted with family life, and recently added heavier weights in my 40s.
I've also had a decent diet through life.

Really studying women's health is quite new rather than assuming we're the same as small men, and hopefully better quality information can help our generation have more active, healthier old ages. Grandma would be horrified by my bulging biceps and squat lifting a bar bell. So unladylike! 😁

I hear you. I gave up on Girvan and prefer Joe Wicks Strength in Menopause series plus ‘ Schellea (!) Australian lady for cardio etc workouts on ‘’Fabfifties’ on YouTube. Both more gentle and Joe in particular works up to things and is better for the clumsy and handless like me.

I have friends who ride and look after horses carting bales etc around and others who work manually such that they get all the strength training they need during ordinary life. I don’t - so weights it is.

I love strength training and agree with pp that there are health benefits specific to it.

But it is important to remember what the NHS advises (link below) - you could just ignore all the noise and focus on absolutely nailing that in whatever way is enjoyable, sustainable and safe for you. If you do nothing at the moment, then doing a good Pilates class or two and some heavy gardening a week is a big step forward. Pick the low-hanging fruit first and see where it takes you and what you enjoy 😀

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/physical-activity-guidelines-for-adults-aged-19-to-64/

@SilkieChick from your OP, you may be hitting those general targets already with yoga and gardening, so I would think in more detail about what you want and what your weaker areas might be and focus on them. Some Pilates is more strength based (using resistance bands and balls as well as bodyweight) so maybe some of that sort might tick your box? Or pursue the strength training but given what else you do I would really focus on the high load/weight/intensity low rep to build muscle and strength, not high rep low load to build endurance.

www.nerdfitness.com/blog/the-correct-number-of-reps-per-set-in-the-gym/
(sets/reps/weights explained)

NB about DOMS - it will get better, but I find it goes altogether as long as you exercise regularly - if I let more than a week go before returning to the big muscle groups (legs, back, chest etc), I get DOMS. After holiday or illness, I get it again.

Get down to your local food bank warehouse. Spend a couple of hours every week lifting boxes and crates of food. Free, sociable and useful.

@SilkieChick Another option for strength training. The Japanese have some of the most active and engaged older population which I find fascinating - this short routine apparently reduces sarcopenia (muscle loss)!

Radio calisthenics
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200609-the-life-long-exercise-that-keeps-japan-moving

https://www.thegoldentimes.com.au/radio-calisthenics-japans-secret-to-old-age-strength-and-well-being/#:~:text=Radio%20calisthenics%2C%20which%20is%20known,major%20part%20of%20the%20culture

Tai Chi for strength training https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-health-benefits-of-tai-chi#:~:text=Tai%20chi%20can%20improve%20both,chi%20strengthens%20your%20upper%20body

I don't think my grandparents or DH's grandparents ever did washing by hand or scrubbed the floors in the 70s/80s!! Washing machines and mops existed then and the muscles they gained in their 30s/40s doing hard labour weren't retained for the next 50 years by doing these things anyway. They had all the modern comforts.

The truth is there's a lot of folks who are strong and mobile in old age who don't lift weights. Weights are an easy option for modern living sure, but not the only option. I saw a journalist who's really into power lifting and being strong after discovering weights in her 30s - write about being able to carry her real Xmas tree home and do squats with it. I have done the same and have never lifted weights in my life or done anything more than Pilates, gardening and hill walking. I'm also very petite so no natural bulk to assist. Which has really made me question whether weight lifting is the only way to get strong. Similarly for DH he had to do a physical test in his job of running a mile carrying very heavy equipment. His colleague who can lift very heavy in the gym struggled to carry AND run because his training was static I guess. Weights certainly have their place but they're not the only way to retain mobility, bone density, strength and flexibility in old age.

No ones moving with hips that lose flexibility in old age anyway - no matter how strong you are. Which is why flexibility training is so much more important but less talked about.

I dunno, if you Google Victorian bodybuilder it seems to have been quite popular with woman .

Actual strength training also wouldn't remotely have been an option for women of that age. I'm early 40s and it's really only in the last 20 years that women strength training would have been regarded as anything other than a freak occurrence. In my teens the idea that a woman would 'bulk up' and become hideous the second she touched a dumbbell still prevailed.

You can be strong and have significant muscle mass without ever touching a dumbbell (female rock climbers, for instance, are strong as fuck) but most people's lifestyle just does not provide enough weight bearing challenge to prevent muscle loss as you age.

The way I see it, all the old women I know who stay active and energetic till their 90s weren't pumping iron in a gym - but doing physical jobs like gardening, hill walking and all the cleaning around the house themselves.

Well... sort of. But looking at my gran and her generation, their version of housework was very different to ours. When my gran was in her 30s and 40s she would be lifting, scrubbing, sweeping - she didn't have modern washers, dryers and lightweight hoovers. And she also walked everywhere, carrying her shopping home with her, rather than doing one supermarket run a week in the car.

It's not surprising that generation were slimmer and fitter than we are.

I mean we could all go back to lifting heavy bags of shopping around every day; doing washing by hand; scrubbing floors and so on. But tbh lifting weights and doing cardio exercise on top is less time consuming and fits in better with having to work full time (which many women didn't do in the 50s and 60s either).

Maybe try reformer Pilates

Good points @houwseevryweekend but I think a lot of people over-estimate their level of activity and under-estimate their calories.

People think they’re going well to reach 10,000 steps but that’s a minimum, actually. For health benefits in terms of fitness we need about twice that or we need to stress our muscles (including the heart) regularly.

Muscles respond to stress by growing and strengthening. This is the basic physiological principle of weight-bearing exercise.

The way I see it, all the old women I know who stay active and energetic till their 90s weren't pumping iron in a gym - but doing physical jobs like gardening, hill walking and all the cleaning around the house themselves. Body weight exercises and Pilates are good options. Gardening absolutely counts because you're lifting and digging and working your muscles. Flexibility is prob more important to work on for your joints as you get older so pilates is really good at keeping you limber and using your body weight. If you have access to a reformer class it's expensive but excellent though Mat options are fine too. My DH's nan and gran died in their 90s and both stayed active and lived alone till their last years when they were bed ridden/dying - his nan proudly showed us muscles in her 70s - she just did everything around her house and a lot of gardening. Neither ever lifted weights so it isn't a necessity! DH doesn't lift weights but has muscles/can lift heavy just from DIY and gardening and hill walking/climbing.

Sydney Cummings totally changed my feelings towards weights (in a positive way). I love her programmes, don't find them boring at all and the minutes whizz by. Loads of free content on YouTube

Caroline Girvan is more for the intermediate/advanced lifter. Her workouts are too high volume in my opinion, you don’t need to do as much as she does to get results. Try Lift with Cee on YouTube- she’s awesome. 30min full body dumbbell workouts, 3 times a week.

I am 70 years old and have been working out with Caroline Girvan for about 5 years. She has changed my life. I am fitter than most women half my age. Totally worth the effort.

HOWEVER.....
Caroline may be too challenging for many novices.

I would recommend Growingannanas' HIIT workouts, especially those involving the use of dumbbells, as an excellent introduction to weight training.

When you feel ready, start alternating with Caroline's EPIC 3 and/or EPIC Heat sessions.

Start off with 3-4 kg and, once youre ready for Caroline, gradually work up to 8-12 kg.

And do the Bowflex 3-minute plank every single day. This will give you the internal rod of iron that will make weight training so much more rewarding.

NB: I always turn the sound down and listen to the radio whole working out.

In terms of the aching, you could lighten the weights, use your own body weight and gradually build. Your body will get use to it the more you do and the aching will lessen.

I do think it’s hard to stick to things you don’t like tho so maybe give a few different things a go!

I find gyms very dull. Les Mills makes me want to run off a cliff screaming. I struggle to stay motivated when working out at home with CG etc. Never found anything I could stick to.

A year ago I tried CrossFit and I haven't looked back! It isn't cheap but it has been absolutely worth it.

I think CG has a beginners class on her app which is more suitable for new starters than the ones on YouTube etc.

i hear you OP, it is boring, and I’m trying to get back into a routine myself, but what’s satisfying, is when you realise you’re making progress and can lift heavier. Make your your stretching enough to keep the DOMS at bay, but they’re fairly inevitable when you’re starting out IME.

You don't have to lift weights. The weight lifted on here are evangelical but there are plenty of other ways to build in strength training. Climbing, pilates, an interval run where you replace some intervals with calisthenics, calisthenics on its own, some styles of dance, rowing, kayaking, sprint training, proper swim training especially with zoomers, skiing...

Btw the Economist just did an article summarising the benefits of strength training against ageing. The WHO now advises that people do muscle-building exercise twice a week.

Hi OP. It might get better when you start to actually feel some results - when you feel stronger and see your body change (I'm not super vein but I have to say I was thrilled when my arms/ shoulders became a bit more muscular and had more of a shape!)

Also, are there other ways you could do it? Do it with a friend, with a personal trainer (if you can afford it), in a group class? Make a playlist that you love that you can listen to whilst you do it?

At the end of the day though if you really hate it you just need to weigh up the benefits vs the time out of your life you are spending on doing something you really dislike. It sounds like you are very active anyway and not everyone does strength training - most people don't!

If you like yoga you might like functional strength training, where the focus is on moving slowly and balancing rather than repetitively lifting heavier and heavier weights.

Something like this:
https://www.fitnessblender.com/videos/total-body-functional-movement-healthy-movement-patterns-for-better-mobility-and-strength