What if you just don't like strength training??

[SilkieChick]

I’m 47, fairly fit, eat well and aware of how important they say strength training is at this age and stage of life, so I’m making an effort to introduce this to my usual weekly exercise of walking/gardening/yoga.

Tried out Caroline Girvin’s work out for the first time two days ago and my lower body is still aching. I’m going to try and persist and try some of the other workouts, upper body core et cetera, but this is not my usual kind of exercise and I don’t love it. I’ve never been a gym bunny, I don’t love boring, repetitive lifts and I really don’t like that my body is aching so much that I’m not enjoying other forms of exercise/hobbies as much - like gardening which I do regularly and I need my muscles to work so I can bend/lift etc!

So my questions are:

Will it get better?
If so - when??
Are there other forms of exercise I could do (or I’m already doing) which have the same benefits?

Surely if I’m walking pretty much every day with additional sessions of yoga and some physical gardening on top of that that’s enough to keep me fit and healthy both physically and mentally?

I firmly believe you should enjoy exercise and find a form that is that works for you because it makes you feel better, and then you’ll want to keep doing it. I know it’s still very early days but I definitely don’t feel better after doing a strength workout - I feel worse, and older!

I really enjoy walking, yoga, gardening, even running (when I've got my mojo back) and so I’m also not prepared to give up one of these for a super intense workout which makes me feel old and creaky every time at the end of it.

Convince me that this is important and I need to persist, or reassure me that I'm already doing enough to survive midlife/menopause!

I can't do boxer either. Shame because it is fun.

Yes it gets better OP. I echo joining a strength and conditioning class. It's better with other people for the crack and encouragement.

Plus it's the only thing where you have to eat more. No starving yourself on silly calories.

I am not a gym person but I joined a strength and conditioning class nearly two years ago. It's small group coaching, with a program to follow but tailored to each person. It's a very welcoming and accessible gym, so in reality it's a lot of middle aged women but we work very hard. It's also very social as we all get to know each other, chat, etc. We do 10 mins mobility, then follow our main lift program (deadlift/bench/squat depending on the day) up to about half past. Then some HIIT/bodyweight/cardio type stuff and some stretching. The programming means I stay motivated as every single week I progress. I go three times a week and adore it. Something like that could be the answer.

As a fellow middle-aged toddler I absolutely hear you! Having tried EVERYTHING from having a PT (expensive and weird social pressure about being the sole focus while I turn into a beetroot) to home workouts inc CG (there's always a reason not to do them) to weight machines in gyms (have to wait for people to get off the one I want, repetitive and easy to start coasting); this is the formula that's finally been working for me:

4x strength-based gym classes a week, first thing between 6-7.
Ix run at the weekend, also first thing.

Having signed up you can't back out of going, and going first thing means there really isn't anything else I'd be doing. The classes are way more engaging and motivating than anything else I've tried and being part of a sweaty gang is nicely anonymous.

I kettlebells for strength, 2 Les Mills for strength and conditioning, 1 vinyasa yoga for conditioning and because I really look forward to that one.

There's no magical moment, apart from when you look at yourself in the mirror and realise how much the perseverance and discipline paid off.

Caroline Idiens is gentle. You can lift but with lighter weights. I’m the laziest, unsportiest person, I started with weights at home in my mid 40s. I’m not super toned or lean, I don’t lift super heavy, but I do 20 mins at home every other day. I’ve got a core now and my fitness is better. My weight is stable as well. I’m 50 now, not in menopause yet, and all my bloods/bp were fine at a pre 50 health check. If you’re combining it with walking and yoga, you’ve probably got the perfect combo. I’d say I was actually physically in a better state than my 30s and wish I had time to do more to be honest.

The DOMS will get much better. Being crippled with them for days is very much a thing when you're just starting and if you keep exercise up they will become much much more mild and won't interfere with other activity.

Caroline may not be the trainer for you right now but training to increase strength and muscle mass is SO important as you age and makes such a difference for mobility, strength and health. I think it gets hypnotic and satisfying as you stick with it personally, and the mirror effects are a sweet sweet bonus, but the exercise you do is the best exercise, so maybe try some of the suggestions here and see if you can tolerate them better.

If you like yoga you might like functional strength training, where the focus is on moving slowly and balancing rather than repetitively lifting heavier and heavier weights.

Something like this:
https://www.fitnessblender.com/videos/total-body-functional-movement-healthy-movement-patterns-for-better-mobility-and-strength

Hi OP. It might get better when you start to actually feel some results - when you feel stronger and see your body change (I'm not super vein but I have to say I was thrilled when my arms/ shoulders became a bit more muscular and had more of a shape!)

Also, are there other ways you could do it? Do it with a friend, with a personal trainer (if you can afford it), in a group class? Make a playlist that you love that you can listen to whilst you do it?

At the end of the day though if you really hate it you just need to weigh up the benefits vs the time out of your life you are spending on doing something you really dislike. It sounds like you are very active anyway and not everyone does strength training - most people don't!

Btw the Economist just did an article summarising the benefits of strength training against ageing. The WHO now advises that people do muscle-building exercise twice a week.

You don't have to lift weights. The weight lifted on here are evangelical but there are plenty of other ways to build in strength training. Climbing, pilates, an interval run where you replace some intervals with calisthenics, calisthenics on its own, some styles of dance, rowing, kayaking, sprint training, proper swim training especially with zoomers, skiing...

I think CG has a beginners class on her app which is more suitable for new starters than the ones on YouTube etc.

i hear you OP, it is boring, and I’m trying to get back into a routine myself, but what’s satisfying, is when you realise you’re making progress and can lift heavier. Make your your stretching enough to keep the DOMS at bay, but they’re fairly inevitable when you’re starting out IME.

I find gyms very dull. Les Mills makes me want to run off a cliff screaming. I struggle to stay motivated when working out at home with CG etc. Never found anything I could stick to.

A year ago I tried CrossFit and I haven't looked back! It isn't cheap but it has been absolutely worth it.

In terms of the aching, you could lighten the weights, use your own body weight and gradually build. Your body will get use to it the more you do and the aching will lessen.

I do think it’s hard to stick to things you don’t like tho so maybe give a few different things a go!

I am 70 years old and have been working out with Caroline Girvan for about 5 years. She has changed my life. I am fitter than most women half my age. Totally worth the effort.

HOWEVER.....
Caroline may be too challenging for many novices.

I would recommend Growingannanas' HIIT workouts, especially those involving the use of dumbbells, as an excellent introduction to weight training.

When you feel ready, start alternating with Caroline's EPIC 3 and/or EPIC Heat sessions.

Start off with 3-4 kg and, once youre ready for Caroline, gradually work up to 8-12 kg.

And do the Bowflex 3-minute plank every single day. This will give you the internal rod of iron that will make weight training so much more rewarding.

NB: I always turn the sound down and listen to the radio whole working out.

Caroline Girvan is more for the intermediate/advanced lifter. Her workouts are too high volume in my opinion, you don’t need to do as much as she does to get results. Try Lift with Cee on YouTube- she’s awesome. 30min full body dumbbell workouts, 3 times a week.

Sydney Cummings totally changed my feelings towards weights (in a positive way). I love her programmes, don't find them boring at all and the minutes whizz by. Loads of free content on YouTube

The way I see it, all the old women I know who stay active and energetic till their 90s weren't pumping iron in a gym - but doing physical jobs like gardening, hill walking and all the cleaning around the house themselves. Body weight exercises and Pilates are good options. Gardening absolutely counts because you're lifting and digging and working your muscles. Flexibility is prob more important to work on for your joints as you get older so pilates is really good at keeping you limber and using your body weight. If you have access to a reformer class it's expensive but excellent though Mat options are fine too. My DH's nan and gran died in their 90s and both stayed active and lived alone till their last years when they were bed ridden/dying - his nan proudly showed us muscles in her 70s - she just did everything around her house and a lot of gardening. Neither ever lifted weights so it isn't a necessity! DH doesn't lift weights but has muscles/can lift heavy just from DIY and gardening and hill walking/climbing.

Good points @houwseevryweekend but I think a lot of people over-estimate their level of activity and under-estimate their calories.

People think they’re going well to reach 10,000 steps but that’s a minimum, actually. For health benefits in terms of fitness we need about twice that or we need to stress our muscles (including the heart) regularly.

Muscles respond to stress by growing and strengthening. This is the basic physiological principle of weight-bearing exercise.

Maybe try reformer Pilates

The way I see it, all the old women I know who stay active and energetic till their 90s weren't pumping iron in a gym - but doing physical jobs like gardening, hill walking and all the cleaning around the house themselves.

Well... sort of. But looking at my gran and her generation, their version of housework was very different to ours. When my gran was in her 30s and 40s she would be lifting, scrubbing, sweeping - she didn't have modern washers, dryers and lightweight hoovers. And she also walked everywhere, carrying her shopping home with her, rather than doing one supermarket run a week in the car.

It's not surprising that generation were slimmer and fitter than we are.

I mean we could all go back to lifting heavy bags of shopping around every day; doing washing by hand; scrubbing floors and so on. But tbh lifting weights and doing cardio exercise on top is less time consuming and fits in better with having to work full time (which many women didn't do in the 50s and 60s either).

Actual strength training also wouldn't remotely have been an option for women of that age. I'm early 40s and it's really only in the last 20 years that women strength training would have been regarded as anything other than a freak occurrence. In my teens the idea that a woman would 'bulk up' and become hideous the second she touched a dumbbell still prevailed.

You can be strong and have significant muscle mass without ever touching a dumbbell (female rock climbers, for instance, are strong as fuck) but most people's lifestyle just does not provide enough weight bearing challenge to prevent muscle loss as you age.

I dunno, if you Google Victorian bodybuilder it seems to have been quite popular with woman .

Thanks all for some great suggestions and encouragement here!

I do get it, even if it's not exactly what we want to be doing, this is important for current and future health... I think I'm in a phase of midlife/peri where I'm kind of fed up with all the changes, physically and mentally, and I feel like this is yet another thing I have to build into my life and daily routine just to remain a normal functioning human.

And yeah I do wonder how our mothers/grandmothers did it, I've wondered is the emphasis on strength training a trend or science based advice - and I do realise there is some science ( as PPs have shared above ) but I often feel disillusioned by the very wide-ranging and sometimes conflicting advice for midlife women about how to look after ourselves.

I'm going to give CG a swerve for now and look into some of the other options... I do like that some of these guided workouts can be turned down so you can listen to a podcast or the radio, that might help. And I also like the idea of looking a bit more toned - I admire women with lovely arms so that might be a good motivation.

I don't think my grandparents or DH's grandparents ever did washing by hand or scrubbed the floors in the 70s/80s!! Washing machines and mops existed then and the muscles they gained in their 30s/40s doing hard labour weren't retained for the next 50 years by doing these things anyway. They had all the modern comforts.

The truth is there's a lot of folks who are strong and mobile in old age who don't lift weights. Weights are an easy option for modern living sure, but not the only option. I saw a journalist who's really into power lifting and being strong after discovering weights in her 30s - write about being able to carry her real Xmas tree home and do squats with it. I have done the same and have never lifted weights in my life or done anything more than Pilates, gardening and hill walking. I'm also very petite so no natural bulk to assist. Which has really made me question whether weight lifting is the only way to get strong. Similarly for DH he had to do a physical test in his job of running a mile carrying very heavy equipment. His colleague who can lift very heavy in the gym struggled to carry AND run because his training was static I guess. Weights certainly have their place but they're not the only way to retain mobility, bone density, strength and flexibility in old age.

No ones moving with hips that lose flexibility in old age anyway - no matter how strong you are. Which is why flexibility training is so much more important but less talked about.

@SilkieChick Another option for strength training. The Japanese have some of the most active and engaged older population which I find fascinating - this short routine apparently reduces sarcopenia (muscle loss)!

Radio calisthenics
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200609-the-life-long-exercise-that-keeps-japan-moving

https://www.thegoldentimes.com.au/radio-calisthenics-japans-secret-to-old-age-strength-and-well-being/#:~:text=Radio%20calisthenics%2C%20which%20is%20known,major%20part%20of%20the%20culture

Tai Chi for strength training https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-health-benefits-of-tai-chi#:~:text=Tai%20chi%20can%20improve%20both,chi%20strengthens%20your%20upper%20body