To want to know about strength training

[Missedthis]

For over 50 women.

What do you do? How do you fit it into a busy work/life schedule?

I’m becoming more aware of feeling like I’d really hurt myself if I fel over (and I’m super clumsy so the fear is real). I want to get stronger so I don’t snap 😂

I agree with this and if you aren't particularly strong, resistance bands are a good starting point. I'm also doing Tai Chi, which is something you can do from YouTube etc and for the over 50's has the same effect on the body as rigorous exercise.

@NoraLuka I've recently seen a cardiologist and he says strength training is needed twice a week for good all round aging.
@AnnaBalfour Tai Chi and Yoga helps with reducing your risk of falls and helps with general movement. Community groups and Churches often offer exercise to suit the over 50's.

Amazing, well done you!! Getting started is often the biggest hurdle. The best exercise is one you will actually turn up for and do regularly and that looks different for everyone, so you just have to find something that makes you want to keep doing it. CG has loads of programmes to progress on to as well, her app is really good value.

I do a 15 minute eights or kettle bell routine to you tube a few times a week. My strength has really improved

Well done on your first session @Missedthis👏
I also use Caroline’s Circuits and she’s great. Started a few months ago and started to see results quickly. I also use Caroline Girvan. I find using both Carolines beneficial, as they have very different techniques and I feel I’m really pushing myself.
Good luck!

Caroline Girvan is great and she has loads of free workouts on YouTube. I started strength training a couple of years ago. I started with a free app called Fiton which has hundreds of workouts for all levels. I bought some dumbbells from Argos and stuck with it. I WFH so workout in my lunch break. Just make sure you have good form and start slowly. I started with 2.5kg dumbbells and added as I needed them. At the start of last year I bought a 5kg set for my lower body weights. The 5kg ones are now my arm weights and I use 14kg form lower body. I am not mega ripped, I don't take protein shakes or anything like that I have just built up the weight naturally.
I do strength training 4 times a week and run once or twice a week if I can fit it in. I prioritise strength training though. I also walk as much as I can.
I do take creatine powder every day as this helps with aching muscles and is meant to benefit womens cognitive function.

Sally Gunnell OBE on facebook.
She's amazing and inspirational.

Agree with this, find what works for you and you are most consistent with.

Balance training is very important. I am a Physio and told people to stand on one leg when brushing their teeth or waiting for the kettle. It’s the consistency you are looking for.

I’ve been thinking the same thing. Did a few PT sessions to get started before classes and now doing it at home as don’t have the funds/time for the gym.

Agree with what others have said. Definitely do bodyweight first if starting out - I had a view of going straight into lifting big weights but better to start slowly and build up.

I bought a book called Strength Training for Women by John Shepherd and just finishing week 6 and about to go into the weights bit from week 7. I feel like it’s been good and gradual and can feel the difference.

Ooooh. Great tip.

Any more?

I'm 53 and follow "Lift with Cee" regularly on YouTube. It's free, beginner friendly and she has a wealth of knowledge about weight training for women. She has a tonne of routines to follow starting with 20 minute videos.
You just need a couple of dumbells to start with. A light pair and a heavier pair for leg work (squats etc)

Tom Morrison is superb. His explanations just make sense to me. Loads of free content on youtube or full programs you can pay for. Guides you in assessing what level you are at (including zero exercise, athlete, injured etc.) and helps you build flexibility and strength from there.

I tried the free 7 day program first (bottom of home page on their website) and then progressed to the paid program.

Highly recommended.

If you like Caroline G fair enough, but it's a stretch to call that strength training. It's cardio with weights, and it's more effective for general fitness and weight loss. It appeals to people when they're really motivated because it's intense, high energy and leaves you shattered, 'feeling the burn' afterwards. But it isn't the most sustainable programme long term. It's also too intense for many people, meaning risk of injuries, especially when exercises are done at speed.

Strength training is slow and plodding. It shouldn't leave you feeling exhausted afterwards. It gets your heart rate up, but only for a few seconds as you then rest in between the exercises. That rest is important - strength training taxes your central nervous system as well as your muscles, you need time to reset.

Stronger by the day that someone mentioned up thread is a paid programme, but one of the best that I've seen for getting women into strength training. Mainly because it has a prequel - before the barbell - that helps you before you feel ready to go to the weights section of the gym - but also because it has videos to explain every exercise and it offers you similar substitutions if you don't want to do a particular exercise (eg due to injury)

Having a PT is ideal though expensive - however if it's doable, a PT once a week for 3 months would give most people enough knowledge and understanding to carry on on their own if they needed to.

Strength training can be done bodyweight at home, but it is much harder to progress doing it that way for most people.

I have always run regularly for cardio, but now I am in perimenopause I wanted to add some resistance exercise too, but I struggled for time.

So I started waking up 10 minutes earlier on week-days and doing 10-15 minutes of squats, push-ups, sit-ups and various dumbell lifting exercises. This adds up to about an hour a week so much better than nothing.

I also ordered some resistance bands and I am thinking of buying a kettlebell to start to increase the weight I lift. I try and vary the body parts I work on, i.e. the day after a run I do more arm work to let my legs recover.

I found it hard to get motivated at the start and didn’t want to get out of bed, but now it’s habitual and I find that it really perks me up in the mornings and I love it.

There are so many resources online to give you ideas for exercises, once I looked at a few, the algorithm filled my feed with it. Sally Gunnell does a good one if you are more mature like myself!

I'm not sure I agree with this view of Caroline G, she has many programmes, some are more cardio type workouts but Iron for example focuses on heavy weights and low number of reps

There are loads of great trainers for beginners on tik tok, insta youtube etc.
However I really like this book.
It shows you the exercises, and has a plan for you to follow. It also has a section on nutrition which is important when lifting.
The book can be picked up cheaply second hand if you want but its been a good reference point for me when ive slipped with my training.

@Yorkshiremum80 I'm aware that Iron is more strength focused than her others, but it's also a really poor workout for beginners. She uses a lot of weighted single leg exercises like lunges and cossacks, which are excellent exercises but not beginner friendly. CG also demos her moves with a very high range of motion and minimal prompts which again isn't good for beginner lifters especially for things like RDLs.

If you can afford it, a weekly session with a PT who specialises in strength training has been great for me.

We have one session a week, and then I do two at home. No fancy equipment needed, just hand weights, kettle bells and resistance bands.

My PT is £27 an hour. He is worth EVERY penny. To make things a bit more affordable you could start off with weekly sessions and then maybe once you’ve got into a routine and feel more confident with technique / equipment you could move to fortnightly.

I'm 58 and been lifting since I was 50.

If you can afford some good PT, do that but make it clear you want to get strong.

If you can't, start with either Pilates classes or whatever is available to learn good form for squats for example. Classes will usually be high reps low weight - so you are using weight to build muscular endurance.

You build strength more at low rep high weight (for you) - so lifting heavy weights or doing push ups and pull ups (there are easier variants) for low reps but you do need to know how to do it, so start with what is available. Some parks have bootcamps, an organisation called ourparks runs free classes as do some others. See what is available and what would work for you as consistency matters. If working out at home will work for you then there are lots of options (I recommend Lottie Murphy Pilates to learn good form and start to build some strength).

https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/the-correct-number-of-reps-per-set-in-the-gym/

And yes, strength exercises are recommended by the NHS for every healthy adult.
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/physical-activity-guidelines-for-adults-aged-19-to-64/

I started lifting years ago, age 52. I go to a small group coached class at 6.15 am, three days a week. I didn't think i'd last a month, but it's been over 2 years.

I use the FitOn app. Loads of strength classes plus lots of other classes for free on there. Ranging from 5min to 30min. Can sort by equipment, areas you wish to work, time, class type etc.

Unfortunately, it really is a case of making time to do it.

I posted too soon!
I forgot to add this. The muscle and strength website is fabulous for free workout plans. It has everything from women beginner to make hard core lifters.
However you choose to work out one if the key factors is to be consistent. You won't see results in a fortnight but keep turning up.

https://www.muscleandstrength.com/store/search/articles?q=Women+beginners

If you duck classes or a PT now to save money you risk having to spend it on physio later on.

The same way I do easy at home floor yoga but any complicated poses (bird of paradise, crow etc..) or balancing poses I only do in a class under a teacher's supervision.

I forgot to say, it's £80/month and by going first thing, I actually go. No excuses after work. I'm home, putting the kettle on by 7.15am, ready to hustle teens.

Great thread. I've been going to a PT at my gym for 2 years but he's left. I'm considering going to someone else as I feel a bit lost without him.