any exercise suggestions. my body shspe had gone mad!

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I used to be very active and exercise mad.
Last few years have gone by and I've put on 2 and 1/2 stone.

I have gone portly and have a barrel where my stomach used to be

I am fairly fit, especially compared to my friends of the same age. 48.
I am a member of a gym but obviously not using it enough.

Any one git any suggestions to get me properly started rather than playing at it.
Just to add at my gym I csn have as many 1 to 1 personal training and exercise classes are included. All I've been doing is occasional yoga!

Run! I used to be a gym addict but nothing really changed my shape until I started running.

Oh dear, that's my worse thing! I can cycle and swim but I struggle with running.

Everyone's rubbish at running when they start. Have you had a look at Couch to 5k?

It's best to mix up cardio and weights if you want to change your body shape. There's an NHS Stretch and Flex podcast that's meant to compliment C25K, or you could try the 30 day shred- the first section is on youtube if you want to try before you buy.

What sort of thing do you enjoy? There's no point in doing something you hate, you won't stick at it. Could you do cycling 3x a week and then do some strength work on the in between days? And then leave a rest day, those are important too.

Just go back to whatever it was you did when you were very active and exercise mad :o

lazyduzanne that was kicking 4 times a week plus classes.
My job changed and my kids became early teens. Both things demanded more time from me!

kicking:o??

The best fat burn and shape change regime for me is 2 spin classes a week and 2 body pump classes a week.

The spinning burns the fat off and the body pump tones everything up. As soon a I stop either for more than a couple of weeks I lose my waist definition and my arse visibly sags.

Oh for goodness sake predictive text on an old smartphone! Meant kick boxing!

Should add that I'm currently 5 weeks into couch to 5k as a replacement for spinning as I was getting bored. I've never run before and it was hellish to run (jog slowly) for 90 seconds to start with. Today I did 2 x 8 minutes runs with 5 minute brisk walk between and it was fine.

Since changing to running from spin I seem to have shocked my body into losing 5lb with no other changes to diet.

baileys that regime would fit in with my lifestyle

my twopence worth is that it's a combination of hormones, metabolism and exercise (or lack of....) so you could fruitfully think about reducing carbs (particularly simple ones e.g. bread/pasta/alcohol/sugar) - not eating less food, but changing the balance of protein/carbs... then choose a metabolism revving exercise - resistance is best for this, so consider weight training, ideally with a trainer if you can afford to, combined with some high-intensity cardio. Running is great for head and heart, but won't on its own be likely to make big changes to body shape. Hormonally, think about if you need any help there, look into vitamin D, essential fatty acids and agnus castus herbs for hormonal balance?

HTH! x

sorry, just read about the PT - sounds an ideal opportunity is right there!

Not running.

Check your diet and do strength training, free weights if poss, but bodyweight stuff is very effective too, and you can do at home with no equipment.

I mostly stick to weight training and running, and pretty much all in the gym, I sometimes revert to swimming if running gives me gyp.
running does seem to have the edge when it comes to body fat loss, but I've never not weight trained so I dont know where I'd be with just running.

Some good advice and ideas. My diet needs addressing so that will obviously help.
I used to like weight training.
My gym does synergy classes which are only half an hour long but very intense. I did some of them earlier this year.

I get bored easy so need to mix things up.
I start next Thursday when I'm back in the UK!

Why not commit to going to four classes at your gym every week. Try new things and see how it goes.

Spin classes are usually pretty amazing once you get the hang of it, and circuit classes are loads of fun.

You might have to force yourself to begin with but once you start knowing the regulars and the instructors it will be much more enjoyable.

I was going to post pretty much what rural did. It's 80% diet, 20% exercise so you will need to focus very carefully on your diet. Processed carbs; wine etc probably need to disappear or at least become v minimal. And strength training with some short high intensity blasts of cardio.