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.

Sorry, Wed should be either spin and weights or preferably (depending on time) weights and spin.

I wouldn’t drop the stretch class on Monday if it’s convenient.

You could also do a self-directed second weights session. You really need 3-4 weights each week, so why not do that on Friday.

My second to last post had a typo. I'll be doing weights on Wednesday too. Either before spin or after spin.

So:
M -Weights and spin
Or Spin, weights and stretch

T - Yoga/pilates?

W - Weights and spin and yoga
or spin and weights

T - PT ( focus on sttength/weights)

F - Swimming?

S/S - nothing.

I'm hoping that the Thursday session will be hard (for me) because Im with the PT so I dont want anything overly intensive the next day.

I need to pay for the PT session seperately. But now Im wondering whether Ill be better pay-as-you-go for the gym/classes if Im only doing 2 spin and 2 individual weight each week.

Thank you everyone for your help. I appreciate it.

I think that’s a very ambitious plan for someone with “shocking” levels of fitness tbh. I worry that you’re setting yourself up to fail.

Id also say that it’s hard to get fit if you’re not strong. I’d definitely be adding in strength work before you go hell for leather on cardio. Building strength will help your knees and hips massively.

Kindly, it might be quite a lot, OP with your being so much overweight, but what you have put isn't a bad balance. Perhaps 1 x yoga, 1 x spin, 1 x PT weights session to start with. Get in as much walking as you can.

If you can keep up and enjoy this for six months THEN start focusing on diet. If the exercise plan is too much, focus on weights, yoga and walking.

If you really want to lose weight though as a first priority, diet should be the focus. Exercise wise ten minutes of walking a day, building up to half an hour. One weights session and one yoga.

Be gentle with yourself when making lifestyle changes. Too much exercise, particularly something like spin will raise your cortisol which will put too much stress on yoir body You'll also retain water and be hungrier it will make weight loss much harder.

If you can spend time building muscle first and toning up for six months without worrying about the scales before tackling diet properly that would be the best way. With dieting you inevitably loae some muscle. By building the muscle first you are likely to keep a good shape, have less or no loose skin, plus there are lots of other benefits.

From someone who was in the same position as this in January, it sounds an incredibly demanding schedule to kick off with. I was 5 stone overweight with all the accompanying aches, pains, injuries and stiffness. I started off with 1 session of aquafit a week. Then 2 sessions. Once I'd done that for a couple of months I added in more and more. I now train 5 or 6 times a week but it's all been built up gradually. Previously when I've tried to get in an exercise routine I've gone too hard at it and ended up injured and out for 6+ months and then it's so hard to get back into it again.
i understand your point about making the gym trip worthwhile but I think you're really being quite over-ambitious. better to start slowly and build up.

Ive got 3 weights sessions which Ive been repeatedly told I need.

2 cardio and either 1 or 2 pilates/yoga.

Im not sure what I can drop? I dont want to just do weights and I feel like I need pilates/yoga to improve my flexibility.

(Ive looked at the swimming this morning and that isn't possible).

Why do you need 3-4 weights a week out of interest?

OP, you know yourself best, so you know if you will realistically stick to this kind of schedule.

I have recently been in a similar situation, and have gone from no exercise at all in April to a position where I feel significantly stronger and more mobile. I signed up to an online strength training programme and I do it twice a week. At the beginning I was so enthusiastic I actually had to stop myself doing it more, because I know from previous experience that I tend to go all in, and then burn out or get injured. And, barring holidays, I've stuck to it for 6 months I'm just starting to go to 3 a week. So, I get what people are saying, that three times a week is ideal, but twice (or even once!) a week for 6 months is better than 3 weeks of enthusiasm and then ditching it. (For me! You might be different)

In terms of cardio, I really liked michael mosley's advice on a just one thing podcast. This is a massive paraphrase. But he said your body doesn't really care if you're running or walking fast in terms of fitness. So, take something you do anyway, and then just make sure your heart rate goes up to 100bpm. So, I just upped my pace for my walk to work and found that really helpful, and now I'm fitter have replaced it with cycling. But I don't have to worry about motivation because I'm doing it anyway iyswim.

Anyway, everyone is different, different things work for different people, this is just what has worked for me (I am 47, was edging into obese territory, and my knees were complaining every time I stood up, and now they aren't). Good luck with it all, I found the idea of maintaining mobility into older age to be the best motivation, I hope you get to where you want to be.

I do understand what people are saying about walking but honestly that isnt going to happen. I HATE just "going for a walk".

Last year I paid a fortune to do 2 of those virtual "walk the great wall of china" type things where you get a medal at the end. I thought it would get me into good habits. I regularly walked about a mile above my normal activity for several months. I HATED every second. Physically it was fine but I really, really struggled with the boredom and monotony. There is nowhere "nice" to walk by me but even if there was I still dont think Id like it. Similarly I joined a walking group when I was on maternity. I managed I think 3 sessions and I joined the lunch time walk at work a few times but It was all just sooooo dull and I couldnt get past it being pointless (I know it isnt but it feels that way iyswim?).

I dont like walking with headphones because I cant hear what is going on around me. I walk to 90% of things anyway so I cant just get off the bus early.

I know myself, I hate walking without getting somewhere. That's one of the reasons we dont have a dog although Id love one!

If I say Ill take a 30min walk every day, that isnt going to happen. I dont mind exercise. I really enjoy some types but I wont keep walking up. Ive tried in the past and I know myself well enough to know I cant motivate myself to walk.

Go to a closer gym would be my advice. Why do you think you need to work on your cardio? Who has told you that?

The only other gym is next to work. Which would be great but they dont do spin and I want to do spin.🤣 plus they are much more expensive. They wont do plans without (very expensive) PTs and I dont know what Im doing so I need a plan.

Also, they let people openly deal in there and the joint owner is (was?) in prison for assault and almost certainly hospitalised his wife. I dont want to pay lots of money to be surrounded by steroided up angry men.

No one has told me I need to do cardio but I like cardio and I always feel better after it and get a buzz from it that I dont from weights. I feel like I can feel the results of cardio quickly too if that makes sense?

To be honest, Id rather just do all cardio but I know I need weights.

Sorry o didn’t see you’d added some strength work in. That’s good!

I still think 5 gym visits a week is a lot to start off with (and I speak as someone who goes every day!). Better to start less ambitious and build I think, once you’ve got your gym routine established.

But good luck, I hope you start living it and get your gym buzz on.

I don't think it matters what you do (though non weight bearing like swimming, aquafit and cycling are great when you are overweight) but I would just try lots of different things and try to build it into your life as much as possible. I upped my exercise by adding bits and tracking it so I found it a massive win every time I got ten minutes in. Also making it a non negotiable habit and before I knew it I was more active.

I know you dislike walking but it is the easiest win e.g. 10 minutes before work, 30 minutes at lunchtime and 10 minutes in the evening would mean you have done 3 miles you weren't doing before. You could also change that up to ten minutes of flexibility exercises or HIIT morning and evening with a half hour "active" lunch break.

Also don't give up on the weekend it is generally your best chance to get out with the family, friends or grab an hour to yourself and do something active.

Thank you

I feel like I need to do something physical (not walking! 🤣). Ignoring all the actual health issues Im having, I just feel "flat".

I know weight is 99% diet but I also know I need to go slowly with that so it sticks. I'm not in the right frame of mine to make big changes on that right now. As I say, Im concentrating on no snacks (big issue for me), then sugar intake (probably bigger issue but Im hoping that snacks will automatically reduce sugar intake anyway), then Ill be looking at what my meals contain. Im not calorie calculating, Im not stopping whole food groups. Ive tried fasting but I couldnt keep it going. I just want to be in a place where Im eating consciously.

Im 5st overweight which is obviously awful but I mainly want to feel better. If Im 2st overweight but feeling amazing, then that is fine. Its not about the scales.

Plus it kind of goes hand in hand for me eg if Ive just worked hard at the gym then I know I wont undo that by eating a chocolate bar no matter how much I think I want it. Im also oddly more conscious of food being "fuel" when I feel like I need fuel. I know I always need fuel but if Im not consciously using said fuel then I kind of forget about it. I dont know if Im explaining that well.

Basically, I know you are right that I should focus on diet but my head isnt there yet but it is for exercise.

Not read the whole thread but just wanted to add that body pump is great and it’s a full body workout lifting weights to music. Start light and you will be fine!

Ive taken on board what you've all said. I've dropped the classes idea for the time being and will just focus on weights.

I've started going into the office most days so that's 2 x 30min walk each day. Ive tried just "going for a walk" but nope, cant do it. I need this to work so Im not setting myself up to fail by saying I'll do something knowing I wont. So beyond that, walking is out despite what everyone says.

I've booked 6 PT sessions. Im planning to do 2 a week for 3 weeks and then see where I am. I see this as a long term thing. I do need to get some sort of stretch/pilates/yoga thing in though.

Ive met the PT and I'm not sure how good he will be tbh. He didnt really ask what my goals were etc, he just asked what exercise I did and said I needed to start at the basics (which I already knew). My "induction" was 5mins. I think Im going to have to be quite demanding with him.

He did talk about cardio but I'm not going to pay for him to watch me on a running machine!

I have set myself SMART goals (#projectmanagernerd) so I know what Im aiming for.

Hope it goes well.

i aim for two weight resistance, two cardio, one flexibility

Agree!

It sounds great. I have been getting back into movement after a lot of injury/chronic illness/disability and what I found was, it is perfectly possible to do five workouts a week from nothing if you are very very gentle with what you try to achieve in them. So either you need to go slowly in terms of twice a week, build up like another poster said, OR you need to really be Ok with a small amount of exercise each time you go to gym initially. Like, walk quite slowly on a treadmill for thirty minutes or bike for 15 on low setting is all I did at gym at first. But I did it five times a week to get my brain into the routine of gym mode.

OP I'm a PT and work a lot with peri/post menopause/middle aged women. Have you thought about buying a spin bike for home, and working out at home? I'm a gym freak and would live in a gym if someone let me but I do NOT have a gym membership because life gets in the way, doesn't it? The time spent getting ready for the gym/driving there and back, all that faff, plus the membership cost, is a real time sucker. It got in my way so I swapped a long time ago to some gear at home and it's SO much easier.

Amazon etc often do amazing deals on exercise bikes etc and really you just need a yoga mat and dumbbells and a couple of exercise bands and you have everything.

The absolute golden word in fitness is not gym, it's consistency. Getting on the spin bike in front off the TV then knocking out 15 mins of weights daily or a few times a week is way easier at home. Just a thought and but worth considering!

What I would say is please include decent dumbbell workouts as you HAVE to prioritise bone loss by this point. You also need regular stretching with every workout to counter the stiffness.

Btw regarding hip stiffness, can you pinpoint why this might be e.g., a lot of sitting for work, c section scar, any usual suspects? I might be able to recommend a couple of things to help there.

I'd LOVE a spin bike but no room.

But here is an update, I decided I was being optimistic travelling that long to the gym that many times a week.

I have accepted there will be no spin or classes for me. That makes me sad.

I cant afford a PT at a closer gym either. So...

For the last 3 weeks, I have had a weekly PT session at the far away gym. I've been able to book a slot when I'd be in the approx area anyway so that's more practical but it means I cant fit a class in around it.

I have also joined a gym closer to me with the plan to do at least 2 additional weights sessions a week there.

However, the closer gym had a flood just after I joined so I've not actually been. They are planning to reopen next week.

So from next week I hope to have 1 weekly PT session at the far away gym plus 2 additional weights sessions in the closer gym. Then in a few weeks Ill look at fitting some cardio in.

I've also been making myself go for a walk most days in addition to what I'd normally do. As predicted, I hate it. I really, really hate it. I dont know how long I'll keep it up. Today I took almost 12,000 steps and last week I took between 5000 and 15000 every day apart from 2 last week. I think my watch is overly generous though.

Obviously I'm not doing enough to feel or see any difference yet.

I'm still not making great choices with food but I'm logging and consciously eating. I said before, that this needs to stick so I'm doing it gradually and in an order that makes sense to me.