Online weights programme

[lurkingfromhome]

I am reasonably fit - I run several times a week and am also halfway through the Our Parks Couch to Fitness programme and do a Pilates class once a week.

But I'm getting more and more aware that at my age (50something) I really do need to start lifting weights. I'm not overweight and my legs are strong from all the running but I have quite flabby arms and I don't look nearly as toned as I'd like. Plus I know that as we age we really do need to be doing stuff with weights.

Where to start? I would rather follow an actual programme than just pick individual YouTube videos if possible. I work really long hours and already do quite a lot of exercise, so am hoping that there might be a 10 minute a day type programme I could fit in every morning that would give me results. I have loads of hand weights but not sure where to begin, and despite doing Pilates for 10 years I don't feel very strong (I can barely do one press-up). Any ideas?

A press up with good form is a hard exercise, don't underestimate yourself . I'm in my 50s and now mainly train calisthenics (bodyweight, lots of push up and pull ups etc) but I think it would be hard to do on your own as a beginner- you could waste a lot of time and get frustrated.

To build strength (rather than using weights to get your HR up), you will really needed 3 or 4 longer sessions a week. This site might be a place to start, for a structured progarmme www.nerdfitness.com/blog/strength-training-101-where-do-i-start/.

Again though, if you can get some help, PT or a class or a more experienced buddy, I would. I wasted a load of gym time lifting weights without making the gains I could have.

My dh has built strength by doing regular Pilates using Lottie Murphy subscription site www.lottiemurphy.com/. She has some free on her youtube channel if you want to try first. She includes more cardio than most, and some harder stuff, and you could start including full pressups etc as you wish (btw, if you live in a house, use the stairs to build press-ups, feet on floor, hands on a higher stair, move down a stair when you can do ten good form ones - look online to see what those look like).

Good luck!

Thank you! This is really useful info. I absolutely get the point that if you don't have the right form it can be an exhausting waste of time, as I've seen in my Pilates class that holding yourself a centimetre out of alignment renders the whole exercise fairly pointless. I'm off to read that nerdfitness article in more detail. Thank you again!

Have a look to see if any PTs do online coaching. I do in person training with my PT but they also offer online coaching. She gets you to record yourself when lifting and offers personalised training programs with regular feedback.

Strength training will require consistent and regular workouts but is great.