I joined a gym 2 weeks ago

[Throwaway1066]

I have never in my life been fit or able to run. Never really over weight by more than a few pounds.

But now in my 40s I’m beginning to notice how weight doesn’t come off very easily, and more than anything my joints are beginning to hurt and creak. So I’ve joined a gym, mostly to build up the muscle around my knees as recommended by my physio.

I’ve been 3 times a week doing a warm up on the cross trainer, a few reps on each weight machine and finishing off on the treadmill.

Today I jogged flat out on the treadmill for 15 minutes. Never in my life have I been able to jog for more that maybe 3 minutes at a time without struggling for breath. I can’t believe how quickly my fitness has improved!

I’ve not lost any weight yet, in fact despite health eating I’m a pound heavier, but I don’t care! I’m just so proud I ran for 15 minutes!!!

Not sure why I’m sharing, maybe to let any other slightly overweight middle aged women know it’s not necessarily too late like I thought!

Well done you. 👏👏👏👏👏

Well done! I rejoined in my mid 40's after a long break from exercise. Love my gym - it's where I escape to when I need to get out of the house.

Have you tried any classes?

Well done Op 👏

Thank you all 😊

Well done OP that's fantastic! So lovely and satisfying to see hard work paying off. You should feel very proud of yourself!

Great work!

I still remember the euphoria of doing week 4 of C25k in my 30s and knowing it was the furthest I'd ever run in one go. I've gone a lot further since then, but it remains a proud moment.

Amazing progress!

That's fab OP, keep it up!

Oh that's lovely, love cheering on people's successes. Too often we don't celebrate the small steps and that is indeed what progress is, lots of steps!

Hey OP. I was in a similar position to you, aching, putting on weight gradually, and ended up feeling like it was important for me to make big changes.
I joined the gym a few months ago and I love it so much. I go three times a week doing weights then I do two cardio dvd's at home.

I actually put on a kilo after 2 months but my muscle:fat ratio has improved which I'm happy about, plus I didn't really change my eating. Now that I've had a month of cutting down food a bit, I've lost a kilo and I'm starting to see the odd line of muscle that wasn't there before.

It's great isn't it, doing something that you never thought you would be fit or strong enough to do.😀

Thank you everybody!

I did another 15 minutes the following day, so it wasn’t a one off fluke! 🤣

Either today or tomorrow I am going to attempt 17 minutes, I know it doesn’t sound like much. But to me it’s like running a marathon!

Im still not losing any weight, and I’ve really cut back my calories to around 1500 a day. I’m hoping it’s because I’ve been using the weights and building muscle (how quickly does muscle grow?!) and I hope I am losing internal fat from my organs. I have been sleeping better though, and I’ve noticed that I’m cycling to work in a higher gear and about 25% faster.

Little update, I’ve only been able to go twice this week due to work and kids. But I ran for 17 minutes! I’m going again today, but I’m tired from a very late night so I’m not expecting too much from myself.

And suddenly I’ve from 4.5lbs in the last few days, it’s like my body was holding on to it and then just let it go! (I know it was most likely water weight 🤣)

*lost 4.5lb

stupid tiny phone screens

When you start exercising, or increase exercise intensity, your body will hold on to water for muscle repair, and it will also store extra glycogen, which also attracts more water. It does eventually let go. Muscle takes far longer to grow!

You're making amazing progress OP but take it easy - running every day us hard on the body and you don't want to undo all your good work with an injury. There's very good reason that C25k recommends no more than 3 runs a week and builds the distance slowly week to week - your cardio systems respond very quickly to new denands but your joints and bones take more time to grow stronger. Mixing in low impact exercise like swimming or running, plus strength work, will make for more sustainable long term improvements. And I would strongly recommend getting outside if you can - makes a huge difference compared to the treadmill. But great work regardless!