Aibu to say I have no idea about exercising

[Glittered]

So I've decided I want to/ need to tone up.
I'm 36. Don't feel like I need to lose weight but I'm not toned whatsoever.
I've not focused on myself for a long time. I've been busy having children and working but they are now 6 and 2.
I've never been a sporty person. I don't have the money really for gym membership and my free time is very limited.
I look fine with clothes on I weigh 9stone but I'm just not toned at all. I'm naturally petite with a small frame but feel it's time I started looking after myself
I just have no idea where to start? And I don't know who to ask.
Running is not my thing.
Someone said I should try the squat challenge
I used to go to yoga a lot and loved it but I haven't been for about 3 yrs
I work nights as a nurse in a busy a&e department. If a patient has a dislocated shoulder I have to provide the counter traction for the Dr and I find it so hard. So i need to get stronger.
I just feel silly asking where to start? I have no clue
I'm slim but my arms wobble 😔
I need motivation
I'll have 1 morning free a week when school starts again and there's a Pilates class locally I could go to.
But 1 class a week is not enough. What can I do at home?
I'm not looking to become a body builder lol I just want to tone up and get stronger and feel better about myself
I need your motivation and stories of inspiration please!

I never could eat a "proper" meal on night duty, but a portion of cheese and an apple got me thru the night

Ahh ‘toning/toned’ is a real bugbear of mine. Google ‘there is no such thing as toning’ if you can be bothered. Basically muscles get smaller, bigger or stay the same, likewise body fat. It sounds like in your situation you need to increase muscle mass as you don’t have a lot of fat to lose. You need to do some weight training to increase muscle mass, masses of cardio are absolutely not necessary (YAY!). Lift heavy weights, stuffing around with 2kg (4lb?) dumbbells is a waste of time, it needs to challenge you. No pain, no gain . So say you’re doing 3 sets of 12 repetitions of an exercise, the first few - 6 or 8 you might be thinking this is easy. However the last 4 reps should really require you to push through. Which makes sense because if you don’t challenge yourself you’re not going to see results. Keeping this in mind you increase the weight you use as you get stronger. As an example when I first started weight training I was squatting with 4kg dumbbells in each hand and before I knew it I had 80kg (160lb?) on my back in around 5 months. Sorry for walk of text, on my phone and dodgy kg-lb conversions. Hope you make some progress

Wall of text!

Despite you saying running‘s not for you I'm going to mention it anyway: Couch to 5K.

A year ago I'd have said the same as you, that I hated running and there was no way anyone would ever get me to think otherwise. I started the programme last November and am running a half marathon next month. You 'run' in short spurts to begin with, and when I say 'run' I mean 'jog as slowly as you can, then slow down'.

I'm half a stone above my lightest weight, but a clothes size smaller. It‘s really pulled my tum next bum in. I'm hooked!

Kayla Itsines (YouTube and Instagram) has lots of good body weight exercises you can do at home.

Good luck OP!

Some really good advice guys thank you
So no coke has passed my lips today just water and my head already hurts think I'm actually having withdrawal 😐
I've ordered the DVD everyone recommended only a fiver bargain!
And I've booked my first vinyassa (spelling?) Class starting on the day school starts back up. Looking forward to it!
As for running I think I'd probably have a heart attack! BUT maybe starting with a good brisk walk with my 2 year old in her pushchair around the block takes about 20 mins around my estate so maybe that's a good starting point?

The 30 day shred DVD is fantastic and the results are amazing!

"I don't have the money really for gym membership"
You're making excuses. Stop it.

I can't bear the shred thing, just because of the name. What exactly are you shredding? Paper?

I've never met an elderly person say "I'm having terrible trouble with my hamstring". Not once. It's all hips and knees, skeletal not musculature. Yet what do people do: they work on their muscles and hammer the skeleton.
Exercise is bad news.
Avoid.

I’ve done loads of YouTube videos at home over the past year or so. I’ve lost about a stone and I’m so much fitter than I was. I find it so much easier to fit in a workout at home when I would otherwise be watching tv (and probably snacking too) compared to dragging myself out for a class or a run.

Fitness Blender is prob my favourite - a combination of HIIT, weight training and Pilates/core strength workouts. I have a couple of 8 week programmes that I paid for (£12ish each) that i alternate between. They are 5 day a week programmed and I don’t usually manage all 5 sessions, so they can take me10-12 weeks to complete. You can do any of their individual workouts for free, but the paid workouts are good at structuring your week, eg 1 day upper body,1day legs and bum, 1 day HIIT and core. I have relatively small weights - 5kg dumbbells for squats and shoulder presses, and 3kg for things like triceps and lateral raises.

Gillian Michaels has a few programmes - 30 day shred has been mentioned above and is quite quick and effective.

Yoga with adrienne has good reviews but I found it a bit boring.

Body coach can be a bit annoying, but the videos are v quick and make a difference to your fitness in quite a short time.

I don’t have the money for gym membership either but I don’t think I’d bother now even if I did.