Does this look like an okay workout?

[parenthoodseason]

No idea what I'm doing. Have PCOS and type 2 diabetes so can't be too intense. Will be strength training 3 x week and walking the other days. Nothing extreme.

Excuse me, I don't know all the names of exercises but know what I mean in my head. Should I add any more?

You're working a narrow range of muscles. Are you planning on doing other muscles on other days?

And I wouldn't do a 60 second rest. Far too long for me but if you're trying to take it really easy, maybe you need longer?

60 seconds is longer than you expect tbh, I don’t think you should rest that long.. maybe 10? With a 60 in the middle if you’re struggling

This looks good to me and similar to what my PT does. I'd say to split the exercises into 2s so squats and dumbells together, do 10 of each exercise and then rest for 60 seconds. Repeat 3 times.

Also to increase your weights when you can do 8-10 reps 3 times easily, otherwise you'll never get stronger.

Hope this makes sense?

If you're pushing to failure a 60second rest is fine, you may even need longer depending.
I'd maybe design a couple of workouts that target different muscle groups. What is your goal? You can find plenty of free plans online.

Can someone please give me workouts that target different muscle groups? I honestly don't know what is what.

Due to PCOS and type 2 diabetes, I don't want cortisol to rise so slow with 60 secs rest in between.

It's hard to say if it's a good workout without knowing what you want to work out for? What are your goals /priorities - getting stronger, or losing weight, or getting fitter? You can't really do all in one workout, so knowing what you want to get from it is helpful!

I'm not sure if you plan to do all these exercises in one workout, but if you are it'll be long! Especially if you're lifting heavy weight and need to rest. If you are going to be using heavy weight (by heavy I just mean something that feels tough for you to lift) then you want to reduce the number of exercises. Squats and deadlifts on the same day are rarely a good idea. Shoulder press, push press and bench press all on the same day would be tough too. Muscles tire quickly unless you're using very light weight.

Thanks that's really helpful. I've just added some more so maybe split in to two sessions? Half it and do one half tomorrow and the other Tuesday? It's so confusing to me.

I want to lose weight mainly, I get really worried about overdoing it as a couple summers ago I went mental and was constantly working out, cardio etc and it didn't make one bit of difference. I've heard strength training is really good for PCOS but scared to over do it incase it makes me worse due to cortisol rising

In a week, I do all of the following and some extra but you'd need a bench and pull up bar and I'm not sure you have them so I've included dumbbell exercises only...

Chest: normal chest press; rotating chest press; neutral press; chest fly; wide push up.

Triceps: skull crusher; iso-crushers; triceps press; kickbacks; tricep dips; military press ups.

Quads: hanging squat; loaded narrow squat; static lunge (with dumbbells); side lunge (with dumbbells); split squats.

Hamstrings/Glutes: stuff legged deadlift; wide leg dead lift; single leg dead lift; sumo squat; alt stepping lunges; bridge; frog bridge.

Calves : raises- pigeon, duck, normal and single, with dumbbells for all.

Back: bent over row; reverse fly; wide raise; pullover; back raises.

Shoulders: overhead press; arm openers; lateral raise; high row; upright row; front raise; reverse raise; trap rotation; trap opener; press ups.

Biceps: curls - hammer, supine, wide, iso, top, bottom and rotating.

I also do a LOT of core, finishing off each time with a range of sit ups, crunches, leg raises, planks, dynamic stretches etc.

And I have resistance loops for extra leg and glute work twice a week.

I do 40 minutes each day, concentrating on one or two muscle groups, each one worked once per week. I alternate days with quad sets day 1, super sets day 2 and repeat for 5 days. On super set days, I do HIIT as well.

I do:

Day 1 - chest and biceps
Day 2 - quads and calves
Day 3 - back and triceps
Day 4 - glutes and hamstrings
Day 5 - shoulders

Core every day, HIIT on 3 days, 2 rest days days 6 and 7 (when I cycle or run!).

Could you try a class? Or a pt session? I don't really know what you mean about cortisol and therefore you might be better speaking to a professional either a dr or trainer.

I do one lower body, one upper body and one full body a week. I usually do about 1hr plus a cardio warm up and stretches. I push to failure in all my exercises as I'm focusing on building strength.

For weight loss the most important thing is diet. You can't out run your fork. I've lost 40lbs in the last year and diet is the most important. Running is the other thing that has given my weight loss a boost. And then the strength training is making me stronger.

What about

As always, the best workout is one you'll do.

If there's a danger it'll get samey or boring, you're more likely to quit.

Are you experienced lifting? Is your equipment at home or in a gym?

I just seen your post which is massively helpful! Thank you for taking the time to write that all out for me and especially helpful to know the areas they are targeting. I have screenshoted your post and will use that!

No I'm not experienced in the slightest. I've only really done cardio but I always tend to go off the deep end with diet and exercise and then never been able to stick to it.

The past 6 months I've made small changes to my diet and general lifestyle. I've managed to shift almost 2 stone, so now ready to incorporate some intentional exercise (rather than just walking the dogs), however, I want to start relatively slowly and work my way up so it doesn't become an obsession that I am unable to keep going. I want to have a more balanced approach.

Intense cardio put stress on the body and raised cortisol levels which is really bad for people with PCOS and type 2 diabetes. So I need to stay away from that, jogging/walking is all the cardio I should be doing. I have read that strength training can lower insulin resistance etc so really eager to give it a shot.

I have dumbbells and barbells in the house which I'll use. I would like to join a gym one day but not confident yet.

Where are you in the Uk?

Scotland

You can sum up my entire 2.5k personal training course in 3 words: push pull lift.

So for every workout you do a "push" you need to balance it out with a "pull"
Ie press ups and bicep curls etc

Lifts are compound movements like squats and deadlifts.

As long as you are balancing the entire body you will be fine.

But the most important thing is that you have fun and work at your own pace!

Best of luck x

I think you'd really benefit from following a programme. It can help to hand the planning over to someone else and then you know it's comprehensive and you have a goal, a start and an end point. I tend to do an 8 week programme and then change to something else. I like the end point as it feels like an achievement.

You also really need to ensure you are lifting safely. That's the most important thing about weights and also, you need to be lifting effectively in addition. Lifting is so good for you but done wrong, it's the opposite.

Do you have a range of weights at home? If your dumbbells are only light, you might find you need to incorporate more body weight activity and then invest in heavier weights if you find it's something you are definitely going to do long term.

Try the app Fitbod. You tell it what equipment you have and creates a workout and shows you which exercise targets which muscles. Each exercise has a video to follow.

It is only free for a certain number of workouts but if you makes notes you will have a good few to go at without paying anything.

Have a look at lift with cee on YouTube she's got a mixture of workouts and weekly programmers that target whole body upper and lower