Is this a well rounded exercise plan?

[naiveandrestles]

I need to lose about 5stone. The stiffness and inflexibility bothers me the most. I'm also 45 and have previously been old Im at risk of osteoporosis.

I used to run but I dont think my knees and hips could cope with that right now. I've tried at home stuff but I just dont have the motivation for it. I hate just walking for the sake of walking (yet I loved running, go figure).

So, Im joining a gym. I dont like just "going to the gym". I find it boring and I dont push myself. I like classes but the only gym with classes is a bus ride away so I feel like I need to make it count when I'm there and do a few classes after each other.

Do you think the below is well rounded? I know if Im strict with myself for a month or so, it will become habit so it is realistic.

M - Spin (I love spin!) followed by body pump then a stretch class
W- Spin followed by yoga
T - Personal trainer to focus on weights

I have been addressing my diet.

Three classes in a row sounds too much. How long are they?

I wouldn’t be doing Spin followed by Pump. I’d also think that Pump would be too high an impact on joints if you’re obese . It’s aerobic rather than muscle building.

And to build muscle (which burns more calories all the time) you should ideally weight train 3 times a week so you’ll need to build up to that.

You don’t mention steps per day. You should be aiming for 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day minimum. Walking is low impact while you’re so overweight and there’s al lot of evidence which suggests that it’s that daily activity low impact but regular that is as important as short burst of high impact exercise class. Stop using you car, walk instead of catching the bus and go for a half hour walk twice a day.

Wed and Thurs look fine, but of you do spin, pump, stretch you are unlikely to do anything properly. Id do spin if you love it and then stretch, or a few weights (your PT will tell you) and then spin. (Weights best before Cardio, not after)

The last one on Monday is literally just stretching and I think 30mins. I thought it would be good after the 2 previous ones.

I used to do spin and a weights class straight after either other and that was OK. They are very different so I never felt overly worked iyswim.

How recently have you exercised and what's your fitness levels like?

Have you done body pump before?

Agree with others saying spin+pump+ stretch is too much. Id do pump and stretch. If you do pump after spin you wont get much out of it anyway as you'll have depleted your leg muscles.

Even without the three classes on a monday, depending on your levels of activity and fitness at the moment, this may well be too much and tip you into being at high risk of injury.

Your tissues need time to adjust to increased activity if you do too much too quickly you'll just get injured and have to stop everything. This schedule looks like a tendinopathy waiting to happen.

Thanks.

I hate walking for no reason. 🤣 Im not going to pretend I will do it because that will just set me up to fail. I dont drive (medical) so walk to and from work 3 days a week which is 30mins each way plus I walk most other journeys.

Ill look into the body pump. I used to do a weights class after spin at a different gym and I felt like that worked well for me. I thought body pump would be like that. Maybe I need to get the PT to do me a weight programme for Monday after spin instead?

It will take me the best part of 2 hours to get to the gym and back so I really need to make it worthwhile.

I need to work on my cardio so I dont want to spend what limited time I have just doing weights. Plus I love spin and that is the main reason to go to that gym instead of the one next to work.

I agree the PT needs to give you a programme that you can work on by yourself. I hate body pump. You should be able to cut the PT sessions down if your following a programme. Can you work on increasing your walking speed to work.

I cant get there before spin. So everything else needs to come after that. The classes only run at those times.

Its a trek to get there (I know I will keep it up once it's a habit so Im not concerned about that) but I cant spend that much time going there and back for just one class.

Im going to look into whether weights would be better than body pump.

I need to do some flexibility stuff. The stretch class is literally just stretching.

Ok. So I'll get the PT to do me a weights programme to do after spin on Monday, plus still seeing him on Thursday.

Id like to have a weekly PT at the moment to keep me committed.

I have super short legs so only have a max speed even when Im healthy. 🤣 When I was "running" my husband could pretty much walk next to me! My hips are so stiff right now that I struggle to take bigger steps. I do try to walk fast enough to be out of breath talking on the way to work but if Im honest with myself, that might just be weight making me out of breath.

Im going to drop the body pump because it isnt what I thought it was.

Fitness is shocking (just walking) which is why Im hiring a PT to help me.

Look, you can do what suits you. But you could also look at the evidence for middle-aged women and obesity generally.

Diet is the main thing.

Then everyday exercise: getting your steps in.

Establishing good habits of everyday movement and mobility - mobility is far more important than stretching - can you get yourself up off the floor if you fell?

Then building muscle through resistance training - weights are a convenient way of doing this, and ensuring you’re doing full body training with progressive overload. That’s why the “classic” lifts - squats, deadlift, bench press, overhead press - are so classic - and good for you !

If you enjoy Spin classes - go for it!

But generally, do strength training before cardio if you’re doing them in the same session. You need to challenge your muscles and overload them so they respond to that stimulus of overload and grow, so they can better deal with the overload.

You might aim for 4 training sessions a week, but try to have active rest on days in between. So your spin and stretch classes on Monday, then a long walk or a swim on Tuesday. And so on.

Id really recommend listening to Dr Stacey Sims on the best way for middle-aged women to train. In a nutshell, she says: lift heavy, and sprint interval training. I do both, and it’s not easy, but boy oh boy, the results are wonderful in terms of my strength, mobility, and overall well-being.

I'm dropping pump. People are right that 2 cardio straight after each other is too much.

So it will be:
M - Spin, light weights (PT programme), stretch
W - Spin, yoga
T - PT weights

Spin can be adjusted (slower, lower resistance, not doing some of the moves etc) and I will be sensible with it. Thats why Im only looking at twice a week and with a gap between them. I did spin for years so Im confident about being able to adjust it/knowing what my body can and cant do.

I know people keep saying about 3 classes but stretch is literally just that and I feel like that is a really good way to finish a class and weights session to avoid injury? Like a 30min cool down. I know I will need to be careful to not over stretch because my muscles will be softer(?) after the exercise.

I really, really need to work on loosening everything up. Today I've been hobbling like an old woman because my hips hurt because they are so stiff.

It's going to take a while to get to where I need to be and Im OK with that.

Id like to start running again but realistically that wont be until spring at the earliest.

Could you get off a bus too early? So just a little walk that has a reason (to gym/to home) and that can act as your warm up and cool down?

If you used to actually enjoy running, have you considered doing Couch to 5km? My knees used to complain a LOT when I ran but they were actually fine when I built up slowly enough, alongside some stretches to strengthen my glutes.

I think it sounds sensible to drop pump (at this stage! You can always add it in later).

Otherwise you're in danger of too much too soon - that's happened to me a few times in the past.

You've got a PT session and that can be useful for so much more than the actual session - she/he could show you some body weight exercises that can be done at home for example, talk about the timings of your workouts, what your aims are and how to achieve them.

You say the gyms a fair trek - and you hate walking. Is it cycleable? Just a suggestion, but I find cycling (to get somewhere, as opposed to lycra cycling!) a good way of getting cardio in whilst going about my day

I think it’s good but I’d add in a walk or run from home a couple of days a week too. I do 2 spin classes then body pump sometimes. It’s doable but I am pretty tired doing pump (especially legs obviously!)

Honestly, if it's a 2hr round trip to the gym it feels like you're setting yourself up to fail. Unless you have no other commitments (unlikely) that's going to be hard to fit in long-term. Whereas if you did couch to 5k three times a week from home, and a Caroline Girvan video 3x a week from home as well for strength - perhaps throw in some yoga with Adriene for strength and flexibility- you could fit far more in and have a more rounded exercise schedule at the same time.

You’ve been given good advice so I’ll add a very practical point!

If you’re doing two or three lots of activity in one go, think about whether you’ll need two or three changes of clothes, and whether you’ll be able to cart them all to work then gym, and keep on top of the washing! Spin will get you very sweaty, and you’ll likely be uncomfortable and perhaps a bit smelly in your weights and stretch class if you’re still in that kit.

I appreciate your help.

Absolutely re the diet. I am working on that. Im confident I can address that but I need to do it in steps to make it stick iyswim. So right now, Im addressing snacking, then it will be sugar intake etc If I try to change all of that and start exercising then it will be too much and Ill fail at all of it.

Right now, I need to prioritise exercise (whilst working on diet). My hips shouldnt hurt this much when I stand up. Some is weight related but some is just stiffness and inflexibility. I cant paint my toe nails right now because I cant move my legs in the right way, its not fat getting in the way, its stiffness.

I understand what you are saying about weights before cardio. I didnt know that but it makes sense. I dont know if it will be possible to do but Ill see if I can do that.

The PT will (hopefully!) help be identify what exercises/,weights I need to do. Squats are the equivalent to burpies for me - evil! 🤣 So I need someone to make me do them!

I could do yoga/pilates class on the Tuesday? I like swimming but the pools are open at odd times and difficult to get to.

Apart from walking to/from work, exercise has to be fitted in. When I WFH I know I wont go for a lunchtime walk so I'm not going to pretend I will. Im just trying to be truthful with myself.

I dont really catch the bus much.

I need to, to the gym because it would just take me too long to walk there. The bus stop is about 10mins from the gym so probably the equivalent of getting off a stop early anyway.

I honestly couldnt do that right now. Even doing something like C25k would risk hurting myself. My body is not in the condition that could take pounding on the street, even in short bursts. I cant believe Ive done this to myself. 😪

Im getting the bus there.
I used to cycle everywhere and enjoyed it (good workout and much quicker than walking!) but Im very clumsy and uncoordinated and regularly fell off. 🤣 plus I had some run ins with car drivers.
Understandbly and completely reasonably, my husband asked me to stop cycling when I got pregnant. But I lost confidence to get back on it afterwards and then my bike got nicked.

I know what you are saying.

Im not in a state that I can do c25k right now. Walking sometimes hurts. High intensity thudding on pavements (even in short bursts) will not help my hips right now. At some point in the future I will start running again but right now I will hurt myself.

Ive tried various home workouts and

1. I just cant motivate myself
2. I feel self conscious doing them when other people are about but I dont get any regular time alone at home.
3. We have very little space.

Ive trekked to gyms before without an issue. Once I get into a routine Ill be fine. The first few weeks/month will be tough but that's partly why Im getting a PT. If there is someone waiting for me, then I have to go and Ill feel bad if I say I havent done anything since I saw him last. So after a month of that, I will just go on autopilot that on Tuesdays (or whenever) I go to the gym. Its not ideal but Im not concerned about it.

Ok so...

M - Spin and light weights (or if I can figure it out preferably weights and spin). No body pump and no stretch

T - yoga or pilates (I walk past both on the way to and from work so its no effort which is good because I probably wouldnt make the effort to go otherwise)

W - spin followed by yoga

T - PT focusing on weights

F - swimming? Assuming the sessions are a good time, its out of my way but I could do it. I do like swimming but Im a swim back and forth having a conversation swimmer. 🤣 This is the one Id be most likely to drop if Im honest because it is inconvenient to get to.

S / S - Nothing. Not even going to pretend Ill do anything on the weekend.