Have I left it to late at 42?

[milkysmum]

I'm coming to the end of a messy divorce, have two children age 13 and 10, work full time and really want to make a fresh start this year in so many ways. A couple of weeks ago I signed me and the children up to the gym, it's 5 minutes from the house and has great facilities. I'm already quite slim but physically not strong at all. People might have seen I did a spinning class the other week and was in absolute agony for a full 7 days afterwards! I have done a few classes ( mainly Pilates, lower level stuff..) and have been in the gym post induction a few times now. I would love to get into strength training but I literally struggle to lift more than a 3kg dumbbell! Is there really any hope? I'm trying to think out a realistic plan around full time work, the kids , I think I can get there quite a bit given how close it is but don't know how much gym to do compared to classes etc..
Has anyone embarked on a new regime in their 40's? I'd love to hear people's experiences.

Definitely not too late, and bodypump is fine for beginners. It was what I started doing when I decided I needed to start exercising in my mid-40s. If you go to a class, introduce yourself to the instructor, tell them you are brand new. Some gyms offer an introductory bodypump class to show you the moves. But by and large the instructors are good and will help you with technique. For new people they often say to just do half a class for the first couple of times. Good luck!

Not too late at all! I started at 51 having never done any 'proper' exercise in my life. I started because I wanted to alleviate menopause symptoms and to be strong as I get older and the exercise has done that and more.
I actually started with body pump. Put my big girl pants on one day and just turned up. Because you can vary the weights you can start with light weights or even no weights. You'll have the instructor to help you and the class itself is fun and motivating. Yes it will be tough and you'll be sore afterwards but that means it's working. I now do pump 3 times a week together with other classes like dance and Tabata and have just branched out into yoga.I feel fitter and stronger than I have ever been.
Go for it OP - you won't look back!

I learned to swim aged 46.

I now swim with a pretty hard core ass kicking masters squad

Sure I’m (now only) one of the slowest swimmers but the others break records.

Just take things slow, it will be tough at first, but it does get easier. A short period of PT is a great idea to make sure you don’t make any potentially damaging mistakes while you’re learning the ropes

Well done you!

Never too late. Try different things and work out what you enjoy. I'm a swimmer and do yoga several times a week as well. Love feeling strong and flexible.

You’re absolutely not too late! But, I would speak to a dietician about what you’ll need to include in your diet now that you’re doing more exercise - particularly in regard to the effect of weight training on bones in older women.

Also, I’d recommend Stott Pilates (you get what you pay for - so go to the best you can afford), which is low impact on joints and bones, but can help immensely with strength, flexibility, maintaining mobility and posture etc!

Good luck! Sounds brilliant!

My Dad, in his 70s, recently got an exercise bike. He's already seeing the benefits. He was a marathon runner, and quite good in his day, but hadn't done any exercise like that in nearly 20 years. This time last year he nearly lost his foot through diabetes complications.

You never know if you don't try.

I needed this thread today. I have my first boxercise class tonight and feeling too old at 40. You have all eased my nerves.

No way have you left it too late! I started running at 47. The furthest Id ever ran was 5Km. I kept it up and ran the London Marathon last October 😊

You can do this OP!

Never too late and you are still young at 42.

Sorry for daily record link but this lady started lifting at 47ish I think
www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/health-fitness/powerlifting-mum-melissa-takes-record-8494519.amp

And I started running at 41! Was running ultramarathons a year later!

Absolutely not! I'm 52 and am a dab hand at spin - you just need practice! Start off not pushing yourself too much and just build your resistance up gradually.

My exercise week usually consists of 3 swims of between 1km and 1.5km, and 3 spin classes.

Thank you so much for this thread.

Well done everyone who has started out on their fitness journey later on and are totally smashing it by the sounds of it- totally inspiring and very motivating to hear!

My toning, strengthening and stamina building started at the first lockdown, and I am in my early 60s. I have hugely increased my strength and fitness.

Start with light weights and higher reps. I really would not push your limits on weights until you have built some strength with lighter weights snd higher reps.

I have been doing, variously, 3 swims a week plus a couple of long walks (4 - 6 miles). Or 2 swims and a gym session. Or 2 Body Pump classes and a gym session with 20 mins on the cross trainer plus a brisk weekend walk.

Find a pattern and a mix that you enjoy.

You’re never too old to start exercising. You might just need some guidance depending on your age, health, goals etc.

This time 2 years ago I was flabby, chubby and unfit. I’d always been active generally, and am ex military so was pretty fit back in the day but years of work, children, divorce, single parenting, lack of motivation, a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and then menopause meant I hated my body. Not just how it looked but how it felt. I was weak, flabby and feeble.

Now I’m 2 stone lighter, so much stronger and fitter. I signed up with a PT which was exactly what I needed - not cheap but I see it as a routine expense like the gas or phone bill. An investment in myself. He’s motivated me, and I needed the input! I used to go to the gym and get so bored - half an hour on the treadmill, fifteen minutes on the crosstrainer, fifteen minutes on the rowing machine. Yawn. Never pushed myself. Didn’t dare go in the weights room as it was full of huge grunty men.

Now I can run 5-20km regularly. I do yoga for flexibility and mindfulness. I lift weights and this morning did my heaviest bench press at 35kg. I can squat 50kg. My goal when I started was to be able to do a push-up and a pull-up. I can now bang out push-ups, and can do sets of pull-ups with just one resistance band and am heading towards unassisted pull-ups.

I feel stronger, leaner, more toned, fitter and healthier. My arthritis has improved, I still need to adapt some exercises for my joints (this is where the PT comes in handy). I don’t care what I weigh but am down 2 dress sizes. Mentally I feel calmer, exercise gives me headspace and clarity. I’m not a class person and prefer to plug my earbuds in and do my own thing but love the feeling I get after a session or a run.

My PT trains people in their 60s and 70s and recently took on a new client who is 82!

I did C25k when I was 46. I couldn't even run for 30 seconds. Once I'd finished the course I kept running 5k twice or 3 times a week.

Last year at 49 I started CrossFit. It took a few months for my body to get used to the regime but it has boosted both my cardio fitness and strength significantly. I'm now working on my diet to improve fat to muscle ratio as my fat % is still too high.

Half way through a workout I might think what the hell am I doing?! But then i think how much I love the feeling that I've now got boundless energy and a core strength that I've never felt before in my life. My CrossFit box has lots of members over 40 and special seniors sessions.

Thanks again everyone. I feel confident now I've not left it too late, and hopefully my body will soon adjust. I've been doing a couple of Pilates classes a week, and also went to a yoga class on Friday which I enjoyed. Plan is to do these alongside 3 gym sessions whilst the kids are doing their activities. I've been looking up different gym routines online ( had a look at some of Caroline Girvans videos as suggested ) - but do I need to worry in the early stages about splitting upper and lower/ push pull days etc.. or can I just go and do a more simple routine routine till I can a bit further along?

Bit younger than you are but I started running at 38. You are definitely not too old to start exercise, anything but.

Splits - it isn't really about beginner or advanced - more giving one muscle group time to recover while you train another one. If I train back to failure one day, I might do legs the next. It is more common for beginners to do whole body workouts, and although people will argue till the cows come home about the best method in an ideal world, I think it does depend on practicalities and also the kind of strength you are building. Listen to your body, and find what you enioy, and then play with your routine to find what works for you, would be my advice.

www.bodybuilding.com/content/the-ultimate-guide-to-an-effective-training-split.html

Some examples there. I tend to do push/pull/legs and another day when I practice skills, but it does vary. When I started strength training, it tended to be more classes (so whole body workouts) and I would then tag on eg squats one day and les press another.

I had turned 50 when I started strength training. Classes are a good place to start building strength and fitness and you will find out what you enjoy then and build a routine. But if you do classes, you can't worry too much about splits, just fill in the gaps as best you can, or run or Pilates or something. Whereas if you start with a PT, they will help you work out a weekly programme. Whatever you enjoy most and works for you, I would say. Being strong(er) is fab - I did my first burpee at nearly 51, and am now 55 and building pull up volume - a long way to go but I jsut recently got to a first set of six.

I’m a bit evangelical about it now but couch to 5k is brilliant for getting generally fit. I never in my life thought I’d be a semi competent runner before doing it.
I started C25K after lockdown when I was 46 after doing nothing since school and it has been amazing. I was shocked how unfit I was after lockdown (we weren't allowed out at all even for exercise for months) and I got a bit panicky about how unfit I was! It's really changed my mindset and I never want to be that unfit again. I am doing running and daily yoga now and it is really helping. I might join a gym at some point too.