Equivalent of c25k for strength training for complete beginner (at home)?

[Strengths]

I'm mid 40s and keep hearing how it's very important to do some strength training at my age. I've been trying to find out what that should be, but I'm pretty overwhelmed by the amount of information there is out there.

Does anyone know about anything similar to the c25k running programme, which starts out from absolute zero and builds up?

I'm starting completely from scratch, so I'd like something that starts really gently like c25k does. Although I'm relatively fit (I swim quite a bit), I know that going straight into a long workout for new muscles would mean being unable to walk for days.

And what exactly should I be building up to? I have no interest in pushing myself any more than is needed to be healthy: I'd like to be able to do the strength equivalent of "running 5km", I have no interest in the equivalent of a marathon!

I like that the c25k programme avoids having to think about what to do each time, it's a structured programme that will ramp up for you.

I know a PT would be ideal (also because of the risk of injury), but realistically I would feel way too self-conscious doing this in front of anyone.

I know I sound picky, but I'm not great at staying motivated, so I'm trying to be realistic about what will work. I'm more than happy to pay for content, but it would have to tick all the boxes. There seems to be so much content out there that I thought I'd have no trouble finding something, but I'm struggling!

Have a look here this is a month long programme by Madfit. Each day’s workout is less than an hour.

If you don’t care about progression then just do the same programme every month!

@LittleBigHead - I think it can be quite daunting when you are a complete beginner to think of it as a process whereby you have to keep lifting heavier. Lots of people do C25K as they just want to run 5k. Some go on to do more. Lots of people just want to do enough strength workouts for health. Some fall in love with it all and go in to do more. It’s hard to say when you are starting out which one you’ll be.

@Strengths - this has been a really interesting thread - thanks.

I joined a gym and I have a PT there. I’m a bit rubbish and really only do my one season a week with her most of the time. But even with that I have improved on what I can do. I really enjoy it as we get on really well and chat away and the hour goes really fast. I could probably do more. And should! But as a way of getting going it’s been really good for me.

A few months ago she started a WhatsApp group for some of her clients and sets a monthly challenge. One month was 100 pushups a day. Another month was 100 squats a day. I’m really finding that good as it’s so achievable and has me thinking more about doing more.

I think my viewpoint is that starting off anything is better than nothing. Try some on line workouts. Try Pilates. Try a basic body weight home session - push-ups, squats, plank etc. I think anything where we are doing something is good. At least initially. And then increase as you know more.

I'm looking for pretty much this. I need something to show me what to do and build a routine. I can't go to the gym due to needing to get straight home after work to the dog & other commitments I have (dh works away fro home most of the week). I do have time to do a workout later in the evenings, before bed.

I have dumbells and a kettlebell.

yeah I think I am just too put off by this whole need for constant improvement and heavier weights. It's just not going to happen. I'm not joining a gym and although I don't mind buying some more dumb bells eventually, I don't want to get into it that seriously. I just wanted the 15-20 min every couple of days to go along with the running.

I just wanted to do a little bit of training to not lose so much muscle mass with menopause. But it's too complicated and overwhelming and sounds like I wouldn't get the benefits if I don't do it more seriously, which is not something I am interested in right now. The couch to 5K is enough of a resolution!

Maybe I'll try an online pilates too or something ,if that helps at all.

You definitely don’t need to do weights seriously! (Although you do need good form/technique so you don’t hurt yourself).

Just like with running there are some people who stick at 5k and others who push on to 10k and half marathons, there are some who get seriously into weights and others (like me!) who just do one weekly weights class or a few youtube videos and basically do the same thing forever.

The only “progression” is that, over time, I have been able to increase the weights a little. Not much, like I started on 5kg and now at 7.5kg after a long time (1yr+).

I could’ve just kept using the same weights, there’s no pressure to increase, but it would’ve felt too easy and not really a good use of time. Just like week 3 of c25k will feel like a challenge for someone just starting, but would feel a bit frustrating for someone who can run already.

Thanks @Peridot1 , that's basically it. I found it interesting when I found out that the "5 a day" message was chosen for fruit and veg intake because the actual recommendation of 10 a day was deemed way too high and would put people off as it felt unachievable. I think they were right.

I'm not saying I'd actively stop progress at any point. If improvement still happens after I've reached this mythical "basic healthy level", that's great. This is what happened naturally with my swimming over the years. But I'm no longer actively seeking progress there as for me a body that has the stamina to swim for that long at a decent pace is more than sufficient.

Until I reach this level, I'd have to actively push myself (which I'm not a fan of!). I was trying to guage where this level is at, so I can make a plan to reach it at some point, but I increasingly think there is no easy answer to this!

It's been really useful to see a range of opinions on this and I'm sure they've all been helpful to different people, so thanks to everyone for posting. I know people have very different mindsets about pushing yourself. Although he doesn't do it with his running, in most other areas of life DH very much has the mentality that if you're standing still, you're falling behind. He thrives that way, but I find it exhausting - horses for courses.

And clearly there are quite a few of us looking for this holy grail. If any of you come across it one day, please update the thread!

There is a middle ground to this. As you can see, some fall in love with strength training and are continuously seeking improvement, others seek challenges in different ways. My advice regarding a PT was more so you can get an idea of what exercises you enjoy most, get your form right so you don't end up with an injury and get an idea how far you can push your body with weights. Once you have learnt a bit more about your body and how it handles strength training, many of the online programmes are easy enough to follow and sufficient to maintain fitness. Unfortunately no matter how you approach, 1-2kg dumbbells will always be inadequate though. A basic set of adjustable ones that go upto around 10-15kg will be fine. Resistance bands are an option I believe (but not one I have experience in).

I train with others for the social aspect as well as having equipment provided and the workout ready for me to follow plus coaches to tell me if I am not doing enough or at risk of an injury. Over the past 18 months, I have had short periods of time where I track my reps, try increase my strength and focus on nutrition. Others, I just go along with the guided workout with weights I know challenge me enough to raise my HR and enjoy working out with friends.

I like Betty Rocker. I started with her free 30 day programme which was about 15 mins a day every day for a week. Have gone on to buy several of her programmes. Its mixed fitness, so lots of body weight stuff with bit of cardio and mobility thrown in too. She's really lovely and engaging and encouraging. You do feel like she is in the room with you!

I really identify with this thread. I recognise the need to do strength training now I’m in my 40s, but I have no interest in pbs and increasing the amount I can lift. It all just sounds so dull (based on what I know about my motivators) and complicated, so I need something that tells me ‘do this and you will get the get the basic level of fitness needed for health’.

It’s taken long enough to get some cardio I enjoy enough to do weekly. I’m willing to swap some of it for weight training for health reasons, but it needs to be something beginner that I can tolerate. Basically I just hate most forms of exercise and need something I can bear enough for health!

I have started to get adverts for Joe Wicks 'Strength in Menopause' course shown online, perhaps as a result of this thread! It's a paid for one, but there might be a free trial. I have no idea how long the workouts are or whether they'd be suitable for this, but at least it might be approaching the level that some of us are interested in.

I'd be happy to get adjustable dumbbells up to 10kg or whatever is needed, if I found a program that took me through the exercises to progress up to that. I'd only one to do a short session each day, but could do a few a week, even if it was targetting different things each time. Once I was comfortably lifting/using 10kg or something like that, I would be happy to stick at it - it's more just to know that I've not lost the muscle strength as I get older.

I need the same so am following as I have no idea where to start!

Thing is, progressive overload happens in any kind of exercise beyond the ordinary daily tasks (it's called "extra-daily movement" in my dance world).

It's just that with cardio vascular work you may not notice it. And frankly, if you reach being able to run 5K and then just keep maintaining that, you fitness doesn't necessarily stay at the same level. Your body adapts to running that distance in that time, and uses less energy to do so. So technically, your CV fitness could feasibly decline. And it's why using running as your only method of losing weight doesn't work as well as we might wish - your body adapts and so you have to run longer or faster.

Progressive overload with weights might be more reps, rather than more weight. It might be going from doing a press up on your knees to doing a proper full press up. It might be going from a 10 second plank to a 30 second plank, or a 60 second plank with a weight on your back.

And so on.

But the principle of progressive overload is a basic principle of any kind of fitness training - strength or conditioning.

There are lots of programmes which use body weight, plus maybe a resistance band and a backpack filled with something to make it heavy.

The main thing is to start. Any decision you make will be the right decision.

Also - my gym (a rural independent one) runs 3 lifting classes a week, 2 of them specifically for women. Could you find a gym that does this, just as a starting point?

You'd get some good coaching, a wide variety of moves, and the social atmosphere is great. My fellow gym members are always there to cheer on my last hard rep and so on.

The Sweat app has some programs which go to more than 24 weeks and will take you from beginner up to advanced level. It's not for everyone but it could be worth doing a seven day free trial to see what's available.

On one of the Britany Williams Filter Free Friday podcasts I'm sure she covered objectives that aren't lifting heavier and heavier weights. I'll see if I can find it...

I've found the podcast. It's "Fitness and Weight Loss Milestones You Need to Stop Ignoring" episode (14 Sept 2024) from Filter Free Friday with Britany Williams. Britany is a trainer with the Sweat app.

During this podcast she covers moving on to higher weights.

I think we might have a winner! I'd missed the programs in the Sweat app when I looked, I'm so glad you brought them up again @Bandol.

I haven't looked at them all yet, but this one looks rather promising:
https://sweat.com/programs/low-impact-strength-with-kelsey-wells

I think it's what I'll be starting with! And thanks for the podcast recommendation, sounds really good for some context on what happens next. Thank you so much!

Probably not exactly what you're looking for but after my first baby two years ago, I completed Bumps and Burpees post natal plan which incorporates strength training. It starts really gentle because it's rehab after a baby and has a big focus on working with your pelvic floor and doing the movements correctly. I began with 2kg dumbbells and now I follow her Club classes (which are marketed at time poor mums of young children but could really be suitable for anyone) and I now use 5kg weights and thinking I might need to go heavier soon.

Fitness Blender are fantastic- very relatable amd down to earth, and focused on health and wellbeing rather than getting ripped!

Someone on another thread recommended Cheryl Coulomb. She has some 30 day programs on YouTube, I did one and liked it. Just need to work out how to structure a regular session into my day I think!

That and/or more Pilates - I do a weekly zoom class and occasional studio session with a good instructor I've been with for years. She does quite a bit of load bearing and using bands not just the 'core strength and stability', but I could do with doing more.

That Sweat app one does look good! And 18-week program sounds like a good start, and presumably it can then be extended by doing the last block with heavier weights or something. I'll await your feedback on it and I might give the free trial a go at some point soon. I'm not sure what it means when it talks about 'laps' - hopefully not lots of space needed?! - and it also doesn't say what size dumbbells are good, but presumably light ones are fine for starting and then she'll suggest when to increase based on how you're finding it.
I'm also looking into the Joe W one for menopause, trying to find if it's the one someone I know might have tried. I know he was popular in lockdown. Not sure there's a free trial on that one but maybe.

Just looked up the Sweat one, and it's not cheap if you just do one programme! But maybe after a few months, you learn the exercises well enough that you don't have to have the program on forever.. Or you can swap to free youtube ones or something.

I was just going to say the same thing. Her epic beginners programme on youtube is for beginners to the epic programme to get you used to it, not to get you started on weights as a beginner. I think that's why a lot of people think she's not suitable for beginners. I've started with her app and found her advice on form really helpful

Well I wish this was explained better on her channel because I'm still scarred from trying her "Beginners" programme on Youtube for the first time two days ago! I've literally started a thread here earlier about my disillusionment already with this kind of exercise!

This thread is great OP and I'm glad you started it - I'm going to look into some of the suggestions PPs have made and I think I'll also investigate pilates - I realise it's not exactly the same as weights but it's the most appealing alternative to me at this point - it seems like it's in a similar vein to yoga, which I do enjoy.

I feel like a bit like you I think, I don't have the time/energy/motivation to research all of the options and embark on a dramatic new training regime or classes or a PT or gym membership - I just want something I can do at home which is going to take me through the steps to a realistic, healthy, achievable level. Seems like this is a big ask! But hopefully some of the suggestions above will hit the mark.

I did Caroline Girvan iron as a complete beginner and found it easy to follow. You can start with bodyweight until you master the basic moves (lunges, squats, deadlifts etc) and she gives some tips on form at the start of each video.

I really recommend Kate Rowe-Hamm's book Fitter Calmer Stronger in 30 days (currently 99p on kindle). It's geared to menopausal women and has a great beginners and intermediate 30 day strength programme, You can access it for free from her app if you purchase the book.

It does say on her website and on youtube that it's a short course of workouts to prepare you for her epic series but I do agree it could be named better. There is a really good group on facebook with people following her plans