Everyone keeps saying I should lift?

[chowmeinz]

Any advice? Peri menopausal, almost 50, recently lost 6 stone on Mounjaro with a few stone left to go. I’m just at the stage now where I feel able to do something a bit more physical than walking and I keep reading how important weights are. Is this true?

My diet is really good, I don't take protein shakes etc or use supplements though I just get it all from food.

I lift as 'heavy' as I can without putting myself under too much strain. I use a 15kg dumbell in each hand for the DB bench press. I've doubled the weight I use in 6 months.

I’ve been wondering about this. I really dislike “doing exercise” and try to build being active into my daily life rather than doing a workout.
I walk 35-40 km a week, sometimes more. Most of it fairly briskly. I live in a 4 storey house and my watch always shows me climbing a minimum of 22 flights a day.
I carry shopping weighing 15-20kg for 1.4 km at least twice a week.
I’m on my feet all day at work two days a week, lifting and stacking crates, bending and stretching to reach the low/high ones.
I do one yoga class a week.

Surely this must be doing something to future proof my body? Do I really need to lift heavy as well?

I’ve started doing 30 min weight workouts using Caroline Girvan on YouTube, they’re a good start.

I’d have thought you were doing enough already!

I read that you should be doing 3 things at this age, as insurance for your old age, and it seems good advice.

1. lifting weights for your muscles.
2. something for your leg muscles, like spinning
3. something for balance, like yoga or Pilates.

@Waitingfordoggo i asked my gynae if I could lift weights again after prolpase surgery and he said absolutely and I should do so.

Sadly my prolapse recurred, but this was because of my hypermobility, not exercising - I'd barely started stretching again post surgery before it popped back out.

You sound like you're doing a lot! The only thing maybe you should add in would be core and mobility exercises, 10-15 mins a day only, to keep your range of movement.

1. In as deep a squat as you can, put one hand on the floor and lift the other one to the sky, twisting your body as you go. Alternate sides and do a total of 16-20
2. On your hands and knees in a tabletop position, lift one leg a few times like you're a dog peeing on a lamppost. Or straighten out to point straight back, bring to the side in lamppost position, down. And thirdly, point the leg straight out to the side resting on the floor, and lift up and down a few times. Not sure I've explained those very well.
3. Shoulders - using a resistance band or a very small weight (bag of flour), push the weight to the ceiling while keeping your shoulders back. Then with your elbow staying in line horizontally with shoulder, hand forward with a small weight, lift your hand like you're doing a Native American greeting (that's the only way I can think to describe it!!) repeatedly.

@TyneFilth i understand the first two, but I've re-read the third and it doesn't make sense. Can you re explain?

Thank you!

@Notsurewheretostarthere oh that’s interesting- does that go for very heavy weights for deadlifts and squats?

My GP said I should avoid it 🫤 But I haven’t seen a gynaecologist (as my prolapse is very small/mild so not necessary).

@Humminggoat if you can do all that in normal life, then if you don't want to do anything more, to be honest, I wouldn't - except I'd need some stretching.

For me, it's more about having a sedentary lifestyle. I like working out but I probably couldn't do anything like what you do.

I do think some of the people who think weight training is a fad or a trend - even though many of us have been doing it for 30 years - are people who are very active in daily life, and their "active" includes stuff that naturally builds resistance. If you have a sedentary lifestyle and you live in a small flat, absolutely none of that stuff is happening.

as a 19-year-old, one of the first things I noticed about weight training was that it made hanging on to the handrail on the Tube less uncomfortable!

Thanks to posters making suggestions. But it's really the appetite control thing that I can't get past. I might try this Caroline Girvan with lighter weights I suppose but maybe there's no point. Is hers the workout that doesn't have any audio cues and you have to look at the screen?

I always remember being out for a three course dinner with a friend who was also lifting heavy. She ended up ordering more food after we'd eaten! Honestly some people's appetite will just go up to the point that it's incredibly inconvenient. Obviously, we're all built differently.

I was ravenous when I woke up this morning. It's already hard enough to keep appetite under control. But maybe my lighter weights are enough. And I enjoy the workout so that's good.

I prep my post-workout snack before I go to the gym. Big, homemade wholemeal sourdough rolls, sliced in half with almond butter & cheese on top & ready to be grilled.
It’s filling, healthy, delicious & minimal effort, & knowing it’s there (usually) stops me going for cake instead.

Weight training is important to build lean muscle which you will have lost through rapid weight loss.It means you are much more likely to keep the weight off, and having seen the effects of osteoporosis on my octogenarian DM, it’s something you want to avoid if at all possible.

I have just restarted at Body Pump, I know purists will scoff at it for not lifting heavy enough weights, but for me it’s a good reintroduction and as I am in my 50s I need to build up slowly to avoid any injuries, so this is a good way for me to build up gradually without incurring the high cost of a personal trainer.

You can just get some weights and start at home. Someone upthread recommended Sally Gunnell and I would echo that as I love her short, no nonsense clips on Facebook. Plus she isn’t super thin or gorgeous herself- that sounds like an insult but it’s not meant to be - so I find her more inspiring to follow.

Body pump is effective - compare the strength and muscle definition of someone who does light weights with someone who doesn’t do anything

you either lift heavy or you lift lighter for longer which is what happens in body pump

there is no need to lift the very heavy stuff that some body builders and weightlifters see as essential to maintain and grow sufficient muscle to protect bones

hec even bodyweight yoga gives huge benefits

@Waitingfordoggo actually I don't know and it might be specific to what you are already used to and what your form is like.
I did some practice with my pelvic physio who showed me how to breathe to take the pressure off the prolapses - breathe in on the way down into a squat and then breathe out hard as I come back up.

My physio did say that she would feel inside when I squatted if I wanted her to while I was lifting (might be too much for you, but it would be an option!)

I do know that if I have to lift something like a bag of compost, I have the strength in my arms and legs, but I do feel the prolapse strain. But that's more that I have to lift compost with my arms wide which changes my stance and how I grip my muscles. If it's a small dumbell or kettle bell, the weight is physically smaller, albeit heavier!

I'll try @Notsurewheretostarthere !! There are two things in number 3. One is shoulder press which I've found a picture of here https://www.skimble.com/exercises/85767-resistance-bands-kneeling-shoulder-press-how-to-do-exercise and the other I think the proper term might be external rotation. A bit more than halfway down this page, vasatrainer.com/blog/dealing-with-swimmers-shoulder-youre-not-alone/, "External Rotation at 90°" - the other thing I think it looks like is those little Chinese waving cats?!!

I did yoga in my 20s and noticed it helped my hiking more than my step class. With hindsight, it was the body weight strength.

I stumbled into a circuits class in my early 30s purely because it fitted life with a baby on that time slot. It definitely made me stronger and my fitness improved quickly.

In my 40s I do a circuits type class and heavier weights at the gym once a week (sign in as DH's guest)
I'm noticing my shoulder mobility improving from it.

I also make much lighter work of The Hill at parkrun than most of the other runners of my pace

That’s interesting @Notsurewheretostarthere, thanks for info. I have never had my prolapse investigated by gynae as GP felt it was just a ‘keep an eye on it’ situation- certainly it doesn’t cause me any pain or problems, I only know it’s there because I felt it when I was inserting a progesterone tablet!

GP said don’t lift heavy weights but was possibly just erring on the side of caution. I didn’t tell her that I’m a qualified PT and an instructor of weights classes- so I am confident my technique is as good as it should be. Maybe I could ask for referral to a specialist physio, although I’d imagine those sorts of services might only be for women in much more serious situations than me.

Physio is a good idea. There are women's health ones around which would be best if avaliable.

GPs frequently have a tendency to err to "well don't aggravate it with exercise" about many mechanical health issues.
Not very holistic!

I think the best exercise is what you enjoy and what you will stick at.

yes lifting is good for bone density etc, but if you hate it so much you go twice every three months because you “should” the stuff it. If you find you love swimming and happily go every day then that is better for you.

find something you love to start and build up from there. Try and find something resistance or impact based- it doesn’t have to be dumbbells in the gym.

Can anyone recommend any YouTube videos pls

mmmm... I just asked who "everyone" was. OP sounded like she felt pressured and I wondered "pressured by who". Pressured by an echo chamber, maybe?

Pressured because she once clicked like on Facebook and now the algorithms saturate her feed with more of same message and no diversity in viewpoints or options, maybe?

I don’t see anything in my OP suggesting I feel pressured and I didn’t mention bloody facebook, you clearly have some beef but it isn’t with me so stop trying to turn my thread into something it never was.

Bodyfit by Amy. She has a gazillion videos. 20mins to 45mins
Some are weights, some cardio, some bodyweight, some abs etc.
I love her. She is so real. She does the workout with you, lots of cues, adaptations etc.

just wondered who "everyone" was.

OP still hasn't said where she got her information, who "everyone" is.

Well, a pelvic physio costs around £70 for the initial consult near me, so I'd say pay for it yourself. You will get so much peace of mind.

Esp as you are a PT too, I'd say you stand a much better chance than someone who hasn't done weights before of doing it successfully without causing any further prolpase.

FWIW, after my prolapse op last year, I joined a FB group for prolapse surgery. There was an evident divide amongst the members: those who were older, had been given prolapse info by older gynaes, using the age old NHS advice. And then younger patients (I was 46) who were already fit, had a level of fitness for many years, and weren't prepared to stop exercising properly - prolapse or not!

The old NHS leaflet that one of the members printed up was horrific. Basically telling you to never lift anything over 5kg again! And some of the members were sticking to that. Meaning no digging the garden, lifting compost bags, doing a heavy supermarket shop, lifting children etc. Ridiculous.

My (younger than me) private gyane consultant advice was : get back to doing everything you want. Including weights and exercise and gardening etc.