Strength work at home for a total beginner

[FreezerBird]

I really want to start working on my strength this year; gyms are obviously all shut so I need to work at home but I'm really really cautious about injuring myself and I'm not sure how to get started safely.

I've lost a bit of weight last year and improved my fitness with a rowing machine (although I've let that slide recently and need to build it into my life again), and a bit of yoga (ditto).

My mum had osteoporosis and my understanding is that strength work is a good idea to counter that somewhat. I'm pretty sure her mum had it too so I really want to bear that in mind.

I am very wary of my pelvic floor which I know is weak and I am working on that too, but it's another thing to consider. (It's slowly getting better but was not helped by an enthusiastic course of pilates in which I wasn't aware it could do more damage).

Any ideas on how to start? I'm 45 and just want to get my body into a better state than it's been in the last few years!

There are so many online resources now for fitness. It's great. However, given you are a beginner and you have health concerns, would you be able to afford a couple of online private training sessions? Just to help you get technique for exercises right. Then you could safely use free or paid online workouts. I suspect there are also online technique videos but I'm not sure where to point you for those
Congratulations on starting your exercise program. Good luck!

Thanks Taytotots, I wondered about PT just to get me started but I can't quite face it (lots of anxieties about exercising in front of someone else which are totally irrational but not something I am ready to deal with at this point I think. School PE has a lot to answer for).

I have found a woman called Michelle Kenway who does exercise stuff aimed at people with pelvic floor issues to build strength generally and core strength in particular without further knackering the pelvic floor. So I'll give her stuff a go I think and use that as a foundation to build on. I think it might be a good middle ground between yoga and the day I actually feel brave enough to let someone show me what to do with weights in person!

It doesn't help that my absolute favourite form of exercise is swimming, which has been unavailable round here since the beginning of the first lockdown - apart from the sea which I do love but it's harder to be focussed when sea swimming in comparison to ploughing up and down the pool.

OP, I understand your anxiety but I would be really careful about strength training if you got injured from Pilates. You really need someone to show you how to do the moves, and provide feedback, I think (I've been strength training for a few years, and do Pilates as well). A good PT will reassure you, help you to feel comfortable, and teach you to train safely. There are sports physios who specialise in women's health who have expertise with pelvic floor issues - they might be able to advise or recommend someone.

I have recently got into the Jane fonda workout. It's now free on amazon prime and I love it. Its not demanding but the advanced session is a bit more of a push. I skip the star jumps for same pelvic floor reasons, but they're just in the warm-up and nearly all the other exercises are body weight only and don't cause a problem.
I now do my own workouts with dumbells, I just googled some ideas. Stay away from weighted squats until you've really worked on the pelvic floor or been assessed though - they are supposed to be really bad. I can't resist because I love the results (and made a lot of progress beforehand on the pf) , but my women's physio told me originally they are not a good idea.

I would be really careful about strength training if you got injured from Pilates

Absolutely second this advice!

Pilates is the least injuring exercise routine ever, if taught & executed properly along Joseph Pilates' principles ... (I've pulled a hamstring in over-enthusiastic yoga participation, but never in a Pilates class!)

A good PT is a therapist as much as a trainer really - they should listen to your fears, anxieties as well as goals, and find ways to work with you not a generic training template. Mine is an utter gem, and has kept me sane throughout this whole difficult year. And I see how he works with other people - often quite differently than me.

The original injury wasn't from Pilates - it was from a traumatic instrumental delivery of a large baby sixteen years ago!

I wasn't aware (and it wasn't mentioned at the class which was 95% women) that certain pilates exercises are a very bad idea if you already have a weak or damaged pelvic floor.

It's a shame because I saw the benefits to my abs and enjoyed it, but stopped when I realised what was going on.

Where I live pilates etc is delivered through large classes of 30ish people, with no real one-to-one interaction with the teacher. There aren't any dedicated pilates places of smaller classes - they just don't exist here.

Try 5x5 stronglifts routine. It supposed to be for barbell only but works pretty well for me using dumbbells too.

You can easily start building up your strength by looking on YouTube for body weight workouts first off. Push ups, squats, lunges, split squats, core etc. Resistance bands are a good way to start as well.