Everyone keeps saying I should lift?

@chowmeinz you might like Stacy Sims's Next Level and also, Casey Johnston's Physical Education.

The Sims is a how-to guide and the Johnston a memoir, both recommended!

Lifting lighter weights for more reps will abuild muscle very well - there are some interesting recent studies. You have to get exhausted though, so it will take longer with lighter weights.
I also teach bodypump, I have a lady in her 80s - she looks incredible, fit and toned. but more importantly, moves with the ease of a 20yo. And all she does is bodypump - she has done it twice per week for 20 years, she told me.

@Waitingfordoggo My doc told me that oooh no I don't know about weights during pregnancy, not sure, have I tried some gentle yoga instead? No thank you, lifted til it was literally time to go to hospital.

Yes- I must have looked like a rabbit in the headlights when the GP said I shouldn’t lift heavy weights. Doing so makes up a fair chunk of my income 😂 But even if I wasn’t doing it for work, I’d be devastated to have to give it up!

Good luck @chowmeinz, and enjoy. You’ll be an addict in no time- you might even become an ‘everyone’ that tells other people to lift weights 😉😂

Good luck!

I found physios variable in terms of their manner and advice, and it’s expensive, so recommend ‘shopping around’ or seeking recommendations from people you know. I found my PT from a recommendation from an acquaintance who’d experienced a similar health issue.

I was horrified to find the 'never lift weights again' brigade. It felt like my life was over briefly! Good luck with the physio.

Thanks @Notsurewheretostarthere, I’ll have a look at private physios in my area. £70 or so doesn’t sound outrageous if it means getting proper advice. Really interesting to hear that advice might have changed on lifting heavy weights- sounds like lots of older GPs and gynaes are erring on the side of caution but it’s good to think I might be able to lift heavy again without affecting the prolapse.

I did distance running and Les Mills classes for a long time and was otherwise sedentary (desk job) . After painful lower back and neck problems in my late 40s (diagnosed as discs and muscles) and some physio started rehab/resistance/strength/core work with a PT a couple of years ago. Light weights and bodyweight at first.

I didn’t enjoy it much for the first year - missed running - but felt benefits quickly and have enjoyed progression and been able to resume some running but more of a mixed weekly exercise routine.

Am not yet sure if I’ll progress to heaver weights with my back being as it is, will see how it goes, but feel pretty good.

My main takeaway from my experience is beyond the exercise - damage done by sitting/hunching all day. Can’t undo the past but making changes now, eg standing desk, breaks, walking more.

Though I enjoyed it, I now think (Les Mills style) Body Pump is risky, since it’s fast and in a large group the instructor can’t correct form.

Does it really matter? My ‘everyone’ was ‘everyone who’s talking about it on MN’ and they were right.

Well, a pelvic physio costs around £70 for the initial consult near me, so I'd say pay for it yourself. You will get so much peace of mind.

Esp as you are a PT too, I'd say you stand a much better chance than someone who hasn't done weights before of doing it successfully without causing any further prolpase.

FWIW, after my prolapse op last year, I joined a FB group for prolapse surgery. There was an evident divide amongst the members: those who were older, had been given prolapse info by older gynaes, using the age old NHS advice. And then younger patients (I was 46) who were already fit, had a level of fitness for many years, and weren't prepared to stop exercising properly - prolapse or not!

The old NHS leaflet that one of the members printed up was horrific. Basically telling you to never lift anything over 5kg again! And some of the members were sticking to that. Meaning no digging the garden, lifting compost bags, doing a heavy supermarket shop, lifting children etc. Ridiculous.

My (younger than me) private gyane consultant advice was : get back to doing everything you want. Including weights and exercise and gardening etc.

just wondered who "everyone" was.

OP still hasn't said where she got her information, who "everyone" is.

Bodyfit by Amy. She has a gazillion videos. 20mins to 45mins
Some are weights, some cardio, some bodyweight, some abs etc.
I love her. She is so real. She does the workout with you, lots of cues, adaptations etc.

mmmm... I just asked who "everyone" was. OP sounded like she felt pressured and I wondered "pressured by who". Pressured by an echo chamber, maybe?

Pressured because she once clicked like on Facebook and now the algorithms saturate her feed with more of same message and no diversity in viewpoints or options, maybe?

Can anyone recommend any YouTube videos pls

I think the best exercise is what you enjoy and what you will stick at.

yes lifting is good for bone density etc, but if you hate it so much you go twice every three months because you “should” the stuff it. If you find you love swimming and happily go every day then that is better for you.

find something you love to start and build up from there. Try and find something resistance or impact based- it doesn’t have to be dumbbells in the gym.

Physio is a good idea. There are women's health ones around which would be best if avaliable.

GPs frequently have a tendency to err to "well don't aggravate it with exercise" about many mechanical health issues.
Not very holistic!

That’s interesting @Notsurewheretostarthere, thanks for info. I have never had my prolapse investigated by gynae as GP felt it was just a ‘keep an eye on it’ situation- certainly it doesn’t cause me any pain or problems, I only know it’s there because I felt it when I was inserting a progesterone tablet!

GP said don’t lift heavy weights but was possibly just erring on the side of caution. I didn’t tell her that I’m a qualified PT and an instructor of weights classes- so I am confident my technique is as good as it should be. Maybe I could ask for referral to a specialist physio, although I’d imagine those sorts of services might only be for women in much more serious situations than me.

I did yoga in my 20s and noticed it helped my hiking more than my step class. With hindsight, it was the body weight strength.

I stumbled into a circuits class in my early 30s purely because it fitted life with a baby on that time slot. It definitely made me stronger and my fitness improved quickly.

In my 40s I do a circuits type class and heavier weights at the gym once a week (sign in as DH's guest)
I'm noticing my shoulder mobility improving from it.

I also make much lighter work of The Hill at parkrun than most of the other runners of my pace

I'll try @Notsurewheretostarthere !! There are two things in number 3. One is shoulder press which I've found a picture of here https://www.skimble.com/exercises/85767-resistance-bands-kneeling-shoulder-press-how-to-do-exercise and the other I think the proper term might be external rotation. A bit more than halfway down this page, vasatrainer.com/blog/dealing-with-swimmers-shoulder-youre-not-alone/, "External Rotation at 90°" - the other thing I think it looks like is those little Chinese waving cats?!!

@Waitingfordoggo actually I don't know and it might be specific to what you are already used to and what your form is like.
I did some practice with my pelvic physio who showed me how to breathe to take the pressure off the prolapses - breathe in on the way down into a squat and then breathe out hard as I come back up.

My physio did say that she would feel inside when I squatted if I wanted her to while I was lifting (might be too much for you, but it would be an option!)

I do know that if I have to lift something like a bag of compost, I have the strength in my arms and legs, but I do feel the prolapse strain. But that's more that I have to lift compost with my arms wide which changes my stance and how I grip my muscles. If it's a small dumbell or kettle bell, the weight is physically smaller, albeit heavier!

Body pump is effective - compare the strength and muscle definition of someone who does light weights with someone who doesn’t do anything

you either lift heavy or you lift lighter for longer which is what happens in body pump

there is no need to lift the very heavy stuff that some body builders and weightlifters see as essential to maintain and grow sufficient muscle to protect bones

hec even bodyweight yoga gives huge benefits

Weight training is important to build lean muscle which you will have lost through rapid weight loss.It means you are much more likely to keep the weight off, and having seen the effects of osteoporosis on my octogenarian DM, it’s something you want to avoid if at all possible.

I have just restarted at Body Pump, I know purists will scoff at it for not lifting heavy enough weights, but for me it’s a good reintroduction and as I am in my 50s I need to build up slowly to avoid any injuries, so this is a good way for me to build up gradually without incurring the high cost of a personal trainer.

You can just get some weights and start at home. Someone upthread recommended Sally Gunnell and I would echo that as I love her short, no nonsense clips on Facebook. Plus she isn’t super thin or gorgeous herself- that sounds like an insult but it’s not meant to be - so I find her more inspiring to follow.