Trying to work out where I am going wrong or it’s ok?

[Colango]

For the past few years I’ve had a routine of food/exercise that has done me well. After some younger years of not really caring for my health much with busy mum life, I got my weight down to 65kg (height 165cm) and maintained it quite easily. It’s not a slim physique, I have naturally big quads and wide hips.

Plenty of fast paced walking, regular yoga and Pilates classes (taught by an instructor) and I started using weights and doing strength and resistance dipping into Caroline Girvan programmes 2-3 times a week.

I don’t get much time for a gym, so the CG workouts fit around my schedule so well. I also have a gym space at home with equipment so seems silly to go elsewhere.

I try to eat a good amount of protein every day, I calorie track if I am trying to lose weight and I eat a varied diet. I don’t drink much alcohol, don’t eat takeouts and I limit my portions and snacks.

I’ve been pretty happy this way but a couple of months ago I started Caroline Girvan iron programme properly and really got into it. My shape has changed a little as I have more muscle definition in arms legs and shoulders, and I’m a bit stronger and more flexible.

Firstly I’ve hurt my back twice, which has incapacitated me for a few weeks (currently sporting a new horrible back injury muscle strain) so I am worried about my form. I don’t rush into weights too heavy and I always try to go slow and look at her form, but I must be making mistakes if this keeps happening so I don’t know what to do - do I stop following her classes and get a PT? I can’t really afford one!

Secondly I’ve gained 3kg and I CANNOT get this weight off! I really don’t think a 45yo woman can gain 3kg of muscle mass that fast through a YouTube tutorial 😂, I am not lifting the same weight she does. My clothes don’t really feel much different so it’s not like I am slimmer through muscle gain and fat loss or feeling bloated with water but I have no way to tell. I’m better to assume it’s fat gain, right?

I don’t know why this weight is stuck and I have tried going back into calorie deficit (as per James Smith calculator) nothing is happening in a downward direction

I question if I am at the point of asking for professional help, or is this just a blip or something I am not seeing here, has anyone experienced this?

I suspect that injuries are to do with form. Try filming yourself.

And weight gain is being 45 years old, I'm afraid.

And I think that we all tend to underestimate calories ... Do you weigh & measure? Even just for a week.

It's a pity you can't lift really heavy. CG 's stuff always looks quite aerobic to me, when I've watched her videos to see what the fuss is about.

I have been doing this so long, I know this is usually the issue so yes, I do weigh out because it’s an easy mistake. I’m in a deficit - not a huge one, because I need to live a normal life but up until recently this always worked for me? I was 45 for some time before gaining this 3kg that won’t go away 😂

Yes my form must be off. I am going to film myself. I think hip thrusts might be off the menu

I lift to what I am able to lift as in I can complete sets, and the last set is hard but not at total failure

What about joining up with some friends for group PT sessions. Obviously will dilute the personal, but you can hopefully get some help via a trained eye.

The repetitive back injury makes me think form. But if you've been doing it this long maybe not?
Recording yourself is s great way to see as pp has mentioned.
But it may just be that the part you're damaging is much weaker than the surrounding muscles and you're able to lift your regular weight because your compensating with other muscles.
Perhaps start with even lower weights and build back up over time. It took me almost a year to get back to my regular rdl and hip thrust weight after a back injury, and even then I sometimes can feel like I'm pushing it a but too much even though they don't feel "heavy"
As for the weight, have you considered actually eating more? Bulking it and then able to cut down to a maintainable diet?
It may also be hormonal as much as I hate to admit how much sway it has over weight gain/loss

Really not too much to add to previous posts but in my mid 40s i seemed to gain a similar amount of weight in no time despite changing nothing so it could just be getting older 🙄. I lost through doing c25k and keeping it up plus lightish weights. It's a pain that its much harder to stay the same!!

Body mass of big quads and broad hips are no bad thing for health and you are in a healthy zone.

I find my weight fluctuates a fair amount with water retention in tired muscles and consistently weigh more when muscles are tired than when they're fresh- this week I've varied by 1.5kg on that. It's not true muscle mass, but the exercise is relevant and it's not fat in harmful places.

I'm finding that to make (painfully slow) losses, that I have to focus on protein, veg and fats, and edit carbs around what I need to fuel exercise and that matters more than focusing solely on calories. It also means that what I eat is nutritious.
Being short and mid-40s, I don't have much slack to play with.

As you approach menopause your calorie requirements drop and it gets harder to manage your intake for many people

if you are getting injuries you need to join a class / small group if you can’t afford PT

i hope when you say you watch Caroline that you watch before attempting the moves otherwise your head and spine are likely to be wrongly places

Something must be wrong with how I am doing things but they are not new movements to me, I’ve been doing her workouts for over 2 years. Just the programme is new

I check my form as she does show you the next move before the next set and if it’s going to involve my back I will pause the TV and see how it feels/looks.

On the weekend I did a glute work out of CG. I felt absolutely fine after the work out, it involved a lot of hip thrusts/glute work so I did have burning glutes. I didn’t even attempt the hip thrusts with one leg bent off the floor as that’s far too hard and uncomfortable for me, so I did something else.

I then went into the house and got involved in housework bits. I was shifting things around in a cupboard and stood up from being stooped and since then I can’t move my back properly! From the feel of things it’s a muscle spasm in my lower back/hip/glute.

As I am not able to work out I will gain more weight which gets me down, so I have to limit my calorie intake to match my lower activity level.

A lot of the classes near me are all cardio based and I want weights so I am not sure what to look for?

The thing with form is if you’ve been doing it even just slightly wrong a while you won’t realise and your muscles will adapt. But more likely to cause injury. An instructor or PT would pick it up and correct you really quickly. If no weights classes around you I’d agree with others about getting a few PT sessions.

Finally my back got better but I gained even more weight as wasn’t able to work out for 2 weeks

I signed up to a different fitness app than Caroline Girvan, it’s called Ladder. I am able to customise the exercises, so things I know are going to set my back off, I can swap for something else. This was the issue with CG, I wouldn’t know what to swap it for on the hop if it was something that I worried might strain my back. I kind of know what my limits are, but when you see the exercise coming up on ‘next’ you tend to just give it a try. With the ladder app as well it tells you what form to have/do and so far.. back is ok!

Are you doing plenty of core work, planks, side planks, pallof squats and cable trunk rotation (I put a band on the banisters) are all good for exercises to strengthen your back.

Really struggle with planks in all honesty - forearm planks I last a few seconds!

Side planks - yes
pallof squats and resistance band work - yes

i had been doing planks wrong until i realised on this new app. I can do full extension planks for a bit longer than I could but work in progress

At 45 you may be perimenopausal when roughly speaking your calorie needs can drop by 200 quite quickly

If you have been training with weights and doing Pilates for years you should be able to hold a plank for a minute. If you can’t that suggests to me that you are not engaging your core properly whilst doing all the other stuff.

This would explain your frequent back injuries.

you really need to get proper guidance. Whoever you are using isn’t guiding you properly if you can’t hold a plank after years of Pilates and strength training

the weight is menopause likely. You need to cut way back. Those TDEE and NEAT calculators are complete bollocks. The idea that two people of the same height and weight and age and perceived activity levels use the same number of calories is ridiculous. As is the idea that counting macros is in any way accurate. An egg can vary enormously. So can a piece of beef. The fat content is not consistent. Nor is the water content of the meat. And anyone thinking they can therefore calculate to within the 100 calories a day is deluded.

I did lots of dead bugs and variations of when building up my core. I have a PT but only once every 3 weeks, really helpful for checking my form and pushing me.

Yeah so with planks my arms just can’t hold my body weight for long. I have BIG legs, even when ‘slim’ all my weight is in my thighs. Plus I have had a lot of back issues for 15+ years so I have a weakness in certain areas of my back and some leg weakness where my nerve was compressed for a long time (had a CT guided steroid). So for instance I have perfect balance if I was to do any Pilates moves on one leg, I can hold it for a long time very still and this has hugely improved. I also find it just so painful in the toes to prop myself in a plank so I am fighting my arms and my toes so I didn’t have my bum low down enough I know this now but actually that makes a plank harder not easier. I avoid planks and tend to do things like dead bugs

I injured it badly twice in my 30’s. These were just simple twist injuries not during exercise then resulted in ruptured discs

The new back injuries have come from hip thrusts, weighted squats and things like leg lowering.core, the weight of my legs pulls my lower back.. Body weight I am ok but that’s not a progressive overload. I’ve been working on arms to try build up some strength there. Plus I do core work all the time but it’s just my weak area. I am 45 now so I don’t know what I can really do to get that back I think it’s chronic now! I don’t need to work on my legs as much! I can recover from these injuries which i was not able to on my own before (needed intervention) so I am clearly in a better position as I heal them with rest and no. Complications