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!

Get down to your local food bank warehouse. Spend a couple of hours every week lifting boxes and crates of food. Free, sociable and useful.

I love strength training and agree with pp that there are health benefits specific to it.

But it is important to remember what the NHS advises (link below) - you could just ignore all the noise and focus on absolutely nailing that in whatever way is enjoyable, sustainable and safe for you. If you do nothing at the moment, then doing a good Pilates class or two and some heavy gardening a week is a big step forward. Pick the low-hanging fruit first and see where it takes you and what you enjoy 😀

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/physical-activity-guidelines-for-adults-aged-19-to-64/

@SilkieChick from your OP, you may be hitting those general targets already with yoga and gardening, so I would think in more detail about what you want and what your weaker areas might be and focus on them. Some Pilates is more strength based (using resistance bands and balls as well as bodyweight) so maybe some of that sort might tick your box? Or pursue the strength training but given what else you do I would really focus on the high load/weight/intensity low rep to build muscle and strength, not high rep low load to build endurance.

www.nerdfitness.com/blog/the-correct-number-of-reps-per-set-in-the-gym/
(sets/reps/weights explained)

NB about DOMS - it will get better, but I find it goes altogether as long as you exercise regularly - if I let more than a week go before returning to the big muscle groups (legs, back, chest etc), I get DOMS. After holiday or illness, I get it again.

I hear you. I gave up on Girvan and prefer Joe Wicks Strength in Menopause series plus ‘ Schellea (!) Australian lady for cardio etc workouts on ‘’Fabfifties’ on YouTube. Both more gentle and Joe in particular works up to things and is better for the clumsy and handless like me.

I have friends who ride and look after horses carting bales etc around and others who work manually such that they get all the strength training they need during ordinary life. I don’t - so weights it is.

Thinking about the older generations of women in my family 1910s-1930s, their youth had a lot of functional fitness, but changes in appliances and transport changed their activity levels a lot in the second half of the 20th century

I only remember my great grandma as a diminutitive old lady shuffling around and shrunken with arthritis. That's from her 70s- 90. Other than a bit of ballroom dancing, she wasn't any more active than she needed to be. Her vision became very poor so in old age, she lost out on functional walking and needed lifts everywhere. Grandma first broke a bone from slipping in her 50s and again in her 60s, and struggled with arthritis for the past 20 years. She's basically been on a low calorie diet since the 1960s, plus a childhood on rationing. Life was very manual until the 1970s (30s) when she started driving and got more appliences. She never really "exercised" other than intermittent bursts of light aerobics and yoga. Mother in her 60s and so far faring better, but is naturally of a more muscular build. Has worked longer and done semi-manual jobs being on her feet and lifting.

MiL stayed gardening and walking daily until about 88 when niggles began to get the better of her from an underlying condition. She drove from her 30s, but favoured daily shopping in the village a mile away. My paternal grandma was also an active gardener until other conditions intervened.

I'm hoping with a family history of arthritis in the later stages of middle age, that my high impact and weight bearing exercise can delay it. I did things like step aerobics, hiking, yoga and ballet through my 20s, took up running and circuits in my 30s as they fitted with family life, and recently added heavier weights in my 40s.
I've also had a decent diet through life.

Really studying women's health is quite new rather than assuming we're the same as small men, and hopefully better quality information can help our generation have more active, healthier old ages. Grandma would be horrified by my bulging biceps and squat lifting a bar bell. So unladylike! 😁

Yeah you're aching but of course you are, it's new to you. Keep up and it will be second nature and when you're 70 you'll be grateful

I can’t stand CG. I don’t get the hype. There are so many better programs out there.
You will find one you like!

I don’t like the weights room at the gym… loads of grunting males.
Reformer Pilates changed my life… I am stronger and it completely changed my body shape.

I started the gym last year because everyone bangs on about weights in your forties. I hated it. So boring and I usually love exercise.

Plus I was trying on wedding dresses and hated how muscly I'd got. I had massive traps in a beautiful delicate dress! So I gave up. Life's too short.

I go hill walking and swimming for exercise which are so much better and more enjoyable. If you don't like it, don't do it.

@LunaTheCat please can you explain a bit more about reformer pilates, how many times a week do you do it, is it expensive, and how it's changed your body? Thank you! (I also hate the gym)

Apple Fitness has good strength workouts and focus on balance and flexibility too.

I would recommend trying their functional strength plus core.

Also give it six weeks before you feel different, ten weeks before you look different, and fifteen weeks before others notice too (IME).

Lucy wyndham read does amazing body weight strength exercises. 7 minutes. my arms ache more than any weight training gives me

i like CG but she isn’t for beginners

gardening is great for muscles too if it’s proper gardening

I do classes for pregnancy exercise which have been brilliant. You lie on what looks like a torture machine that is all straps and bands and springs. It gives you a much greater range of exercises than normal pilates because there are things to push and pull against at different angles. You can change the resistance. It's like pilates crossed with one of those weights machines. My classes are mega expensive because it's a small studio and the tutor works with a specialist pelvic physio to make sure the prenatal exercises are perfect. It's still cheaper than physio, but I'm not sure I'll be able to justify it long term.

I've just started CG. I started with her epic series and couldn't move to sit down without pain for a couple of days. I switched to her beginner programme on her app and it's better. There's a free 14 day trial. Once I've done the 6 week programme I'll go back to the epic series. I don't love it but I'm 48 and need to tone up and strengthen my upper body and core mainly so I'll do it. I get up early to do it before breakfast and the thought of a cup of tea keeps me going. It's dull but I'm not a gym person and like the privacy of my own home so I'll keep going.

I am so with you@SilkieChick - nothing will convince me that the gym will be fun!

But I just need to make it a habit - the bit putting me off is the DOMs as it will stop me running and I'm currently training for a half marathon. But I will aim for once a week and go from there.

Have you tried Kettlercise? Kettlebell workouts but not lifting very heavy at first. The classes are about 45 minutes long and you get a great mix of cardio and muscle training. I started with a 2kg bell and when I'm really fit I can do the same routine with an 8kg bell.

And reformer Pilates for the core and muscle lengthening benefits.

I agree about Lucy. She is particularly good for beginners, but some of her short workouts are quite challenging. This is a favourite of mine:

OP would it be worth finding an app with very short routines on it?

For example, 5-15 minutes. If you do a short routine every day you will get the benefits over time. I have a go-to six minute arm routine which has made a difference doing it 2-3 times a week. If you eg find a core routine you can tolerate and one for lower body, that will work wonders. Ideally you'd have two or three you can rotate.

In an ideal world you will do heavy lifting. In the real world anything is better than nothing, and consistency is better than flogging a dead horse.

Outdoor bootcamps might be better too, it's easier when you are with other people.

Examples of people/apps you could try out are

Fluidform
Fiona Judd on Instagram
Carla Molinaro Strength and Conditioning and Yoga for Runners (the main routine is 30 minutes but there is a library of shorter ones)
Madfit

Also Megan Dahlman on Instagram, she has a Jumpstart 30 programme which might work for you.

💯 agree with this

I like outdoor boot camps. Outside is more interesting than a room, and tends to be nicer than air con in a gym, or worse, at home.

I do this too. I didn’t get a PT but I had a good search on the net and came up with my own routine.

I just do it in the lounge every other day, I mostly use resistance bands too.

CG was too repetitive for me and my knees couldn’t take it.

Climbing or bouldering can be a really good option - good for strength but also requires balance, flexibility and problem solving. Similarly I like the skills element of crossfit but find it hard to get to a regular class.

Working strength into your daily life is great, though you may need to think about how to complement it with other exercises to work all the muscles. Gardening is good but you tend to spend a lot of time stooped forwards which can be bad for the spine (which is often already under strain from spending time at the computer and looking at phones). So perhaps think about how you can make sure you get lots of chest opening and back strengthening moves to complement the gardening. Exercise snacking can also be very effective - just little ways of working strength into your day such as holding a squat or doing wall push ups while the kettle boils, doing overhead presses with the milk container, or maybe calf raises while brushing your teeth. Thinking about how to break up your work time so you're not sitting for uninterrupted stretches can have huge benefits. Carrying things rather than driving everywhere can be very effective.

When it comes to workouts, I don't get on with CG style workouts personally, but there's lots of different ones out there to try. I have managed to get quite consistent with low rep high weight routines at the gym with a podcast or audio book to listen to. You have to build up to low rep lifting but when you get there it feels really efficient, building power as well as strength, and with appropriate supersetting you can get a thorough workout in 30 minutes. I really like the Hailey Happens programmes - lots of variety which keeps my brain interested.

DOMS definitely gets better with experience and consistency - it can still strike when I add a completely new exercise but doing 3-4 shortish sessions a week seems to keep me in a state where I can feel a little tenderness or tightness which tells me my muscles have been working but they're generally not painful and don't stop me doing my other training. Self massage and foam rolling definitely helps.

As for the evidence for the benefits, it's clear that muscles deteriorate with age, and while you can't prevent that, you can really slow down the deterioration and also make sure you're starting from as high a point as possible. Doing squats in your 40s could translate into being able to get on and off the toilet independently in your 80s. Strength work is also great for bone density.

I've been thinking about this a lot during the weekend - to the point where I'm recognising I am definitely overthinking it (classic sign of anxiety for me) so I'm going to stay open minded but not push myself into any brand new exercise just yet. I just don't think I'm in the right headspace for it.

I'm finding it very hard to develop a routine for anything at the moment - including work or chores or anything, as my mood is so up and down. I need some good positive energy to get going with a new habit or routine, but - despite the HRT - my mood and my energy is up and down like a yoyo from one day to the next (sometimes one hour to the next 😩).

I think what I'll try is to reintroduce a running routine, as this is usually good for me mentally and makes me feel fitter and healthier in general - and I think I will feel naturally motivated to introduce some weights when I'm back into that and feeling a nice endorphin rush. And/or I'll look to do try a strength-based yoga or pilates class, start small, maybe once a week to begin with and see how that goes.

Thanks for all the input MNers, it's been really helpful for thinking it through and getting some different perspectives 🙂

I keep a weight near my front door and use it during my post-run stretch which gets a bite-size amount of weights in little and often.

Try a jiujitsu or thai boxing class instead

Both fantastic for strength, conditioning and fitness.