Personal trainer/fitness advice needed please! I'm a total beginner. Talk to me like I know nothing!

[GreyCarpet]

I know it's not an aibu and, for that reason, IABVU.

However.

I'm 49. And I'm beginning to really feel it! Physically anyway.

I've spent a lot of time thinking this weekend about getting a personal trainer. What would this look like?

I'm a size 12/14 and could do with losing stone but I know how to do that. I have lower back pain and stiffness following epidurals from my children's births many years ago and use yoga stretches to help that. My family trait is weak/painful knees so i avoid things like squats and running and I have stupidly weak wrists/ankles which are prone to giving way when I'm eg holding a full kettle or walking up and down stairs 🙄. I've previously joined a gym and liked the machines but I wouldn't be able to 'weightlift' and I don't like classes. Or getting hot and sweaty particularly 😬 although I accept some degree of that will be necessary!

I want to build strength and tone up all over. Some muscle definition would be nice but I don't want to build bulk and I'm not really interested in a six pack.

If anyone could give me the benefit of their experience/professional wisdom/just somewhere for a complete novice to start so I know what I'm asking for, then I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks.

Do you think it possible you have EDS?
maybe try aqua aerobics first?? I started with that.

All of that would be addressed by a decent personal trainer. If you don’t know anyone to get recommendations from, google trainers in your area, have a look at their websites and have a chat with them - explain your physical limitations and see what they say.
las an aside, squats are one of the best things for dodgy knees (voice of experience) as they strengthen quads and other muscles which stabilise the joint. Also anyone can do weight training, and women should as they age because it has huge benefits.
I’m 59, overweight with an arthritic knee, and have been seeing my trainer once a week for just over 2 years. She has a home studio which means less equipment but I prefer it. She specialises in women’s health and fitness. We do body weight exercises, kettlebells, dumbbells, bar weights, resistance bands, boxing… I love it. It’s one of the very last spends I’d get rid of if I was struggling with money. I’m stronger, more flexible and fitter and I’ve dropped nearly 3 dress sizes (I’ve addressed food and other exercise, but I wouldn’t have done any of it without my trainer getting me going).

I’m a qualified personal trainer (though I don’t train anyone at the moment) and have weight trained for years, with a lot of CrossFit thrown in.

Dont even vaguely worry about getting ‘bulky’. Unless you are training for hours per day, eating a very specific diet and have excellent genes it won’t happen. I train multiple times per week, eat a specific diet and would love to be ‘bulky’ and just can’t even get close. It won’t happen to you.

Firstly, you need to find something you enjoy doing, so you can keep up with it. If that’s a personal trainer, then great. For me it’s CrossFit. If you can, try lots of things until you find that thing.

It’s so so so important that you start to build muscle now. Starting light, getting some good coaching, and building up is the way to do it with your knees and wrists. Don’t become the 70 year old who has lost all her muscle and can’t get off the toilet or out of the bath. Eating more protein will help build muscle.

Also. Don’t go with the trainer from the gym who is a 17 year old lad who has no idea what it’s like to be a woman in her 40’s. Look around for a trainer who gets you and your lifestyle.

I think pilates would be ideal for you. You could do a class or do them from home on YouTube, I like blogilates on you tube.

Or you could contact a few PTs and just tell them what you have here along with asking them how much they charge and see what they suggest.

Ah this is exactly the sort of thing I needed to hear!

Can I ask how much you pay and how much exercise do you do outside of your sessions with her? That sounds like the sort of thing I'd need. Thanks.

Following

Aqua aerobics and pilates are not the answer. Weights are.

If

Tbh, that's exactly what started me thinking about it. I went camping this weekend and really felt it for the first time!

I'm conscious of it happening so I already eat a decent amount of good quality protein I just need some guidance on where to go next. So thanks that's really helpful!

Another vote for crossfit. You don’t need a personal trainer.

I doubt it. I just have feeble joints! But thanks for the suggestion.

Yeah, that's about all I do know - that I need to find someone who specialises in over 40s women's health!

I have a personal trainer. I pay £30 for an hour’s session once a week and I aim to go to the gym two other times. We do a strength programme - lifting heavy weights and some body weight stuff with a little bit of cardio.

She alternates upper and lower body each week - so one week will be bicep curls, tricep dips, press ups and bench presses and the next will be squats, deadlifts and lunges. She writes it all up on a white board and I take a photo and then try to replicate it in the gym. I tend to go slightly lighter in the gym though because she’s not there to spot me (ie grab the weight if I can’t finish my reps).

Its fab! I’m still overweight because I haven’t really changed my nutrition but I can feel my muscles growing.

I don't really know anything about crossfit! I've heard of it. That's all. I might look into it though.

I pay £35 an hour. For the first ages I did very little extra, but as I got fitter I was able/willing to do more. I used to do some yoga and other workouts from YouTube at home, about 20 mins a go, 3 times a week. More recently I’ve started doing a lot more. I walk dogs from the local dogs’ home (an hour each 3 days a week) go cycling in a local park for an hour a week with a slow social cycling group, and do a spin class on a Sunday. I’m lucky in that I’m semi retired so I have lots of time and I’m less knackered than I used to be!

I have hEDS and I weight train. Consistency and don't expect instant results but you will build muscle in the right place. I dont get a fraction of injuries I used to. There are some things I can't do but it's ok because there's always an alternative.

You won't get bulky, it's not as easy as it sounds. Takes pure dedication and probably no life around training and eating.

You just need an experienced PT. Ask about, there will be someone.

I really rate CrossFit. It is for everyone. There are many over 40’s women who go to mine.

Quality of coaching is really variable though so definitely worth booking a trial class. If you feel like sharing roughly where you are in the country I can see if I can recommend somewhere.

That sounds ideal. I used to go to the gym but other than the basic induction, there was nothing so I just made it up as I went along 😄

I mean, I enjoyed it but I want to be more focused.

What you're suggesting is pretty much what I want to aim for.

Funnily enough I've just been looking into cross fit this week. For me and husband. Defo can't afford a PT.

Great. Thank you!

Thanks. I'd have to be quite specific given how far I'd actually be able to travel due to other commitments so I'd rather not say where I am - just in case! But I will definitely look into it. Thanks.

If you don't like getting hot and sweaty I wouldn't recommend CrossFit!!

I do respect CrossFit when done well - a good friend of mine runs a CrossFit gym. I wouldn't particularly recommend it for beginners, the workouts are very much a 'go hard or go home' mentality and while they are supportive groups, they are really high intensity. Some people love the endorphins but it's not for everyone. It can put people off because it perpetuates the idea that a workout is only effective if it leaves you in a puddle on the floor and that's not true.

Op as others have said, a good PT will help you with everything you've said, but don't rule things out. I also had dodgy wrists and ankles- wrists would give way turning door handles, would have RSI etc. That was in my 20s. I've weight trained for over a decade now and all those issues have gone. I'll be the person volunteering to open jars for people now. I'm in my forties. My brother has always had a 'dodgy back' and his has disappeared through doing the same, he's in his fifties.
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I'm in a similar position to the OP but with no disposable income at all.

Is it possible to weight train at home, or am I likely to injure myself without proper instruction.

Also, people who have muscle separation after childbirth, or a week pelvic floor ... Will this get worse?

(OP, I hope you don't a couple of extra questions.)

Don't mind at all!

Pelvic floor exercises were good. Have you don't those? I appreciate that isn't not he enough for some women/injuries though.

I read an article once by a physiotherapist (i think) who specialised in women's health. She said that lack of interest (essentially) in women's health meant that a lot of women were unnecessarily experiencing pelvic floor issues exp when menopause hit and suggested women saw their GPs and were more demanding.