strong curves - adaptable?

SuzanneC1l9zz

Hi

I'm a 5'6", 130 lbs, 44 year old woman. The navy body fat calculator said 29%, which I find highly unlikely. I'm happy with my weight but I'd like to put on some visible muscle. I also have a connective tissue disorder that makes my doctors a little hesitant to let me lift really heavy. I've been using some of Garmin's full-body workouts, but I'd like to get on more of an established program and I know I've seen Strong Curves mentioned on here quite a bit. Thing is, I don't have access to a barbell, only adjustable dumbbells (bar and plates, not the selectawhatever kind), and that's not likely to change in the next couple of years at least. They go up quite a bit heavier than I can currently manage, so lots of room to grow. Can the program realistically be adapted? Asking about this program specifically because I was at the bookstore yesterday and they have it, but it was shrink-wrapped so I couldn't flip through it. Thoughts? Or is there another program that would be more suitable? The most I can manage is 3 sessions a week, 2 of which have to max out at half an hour.

Thanks!

cupcakesandproteinshakes

There’s a body weight only beginners programme in strong curves. The other programmes in the book are definitely adaptable.

cupcakesandproteinshakes

The sessions will probably take longer than half an hour though.

Xellercin

Be very, very careful lifting weights with a connective tissue disorder.

I personally don't think it's worth the risk.
Ask me how I know...

There are tons of amazing exercises you can do, which will strengthen your body and help you look amazing without putting you are risk of permanent injury.

Many of us with connective tissue disorders do really well with clinical Pilates. I personally have excellent muscle mass from gentle exercises and using only light weights.

SuzanneC1l9zz

Thank you both for your thoughts! I used to do Pilates, actually, and loved it. I should look into getting back into it.

Xellercin

SuzanneC1l9zz wrote: »

Thank you both for your thoughts! I used to do Pilates, actually, and loved it. I should look into getting back into it.

Definitely do that. Pilates is amazing. I'm approximately your same age/height/weight and all I do is pilates and a bit of light weights for my arms. People always assume from looking at me that I'm ultra athletic because of the results that I get.

I'm literally on crutches right now because of my injuries. It's almost impossible to tell when you are getting injured when you're hypermobile because everything stretches to accommodate what you're doing, so it's always too late when you realize you've done damage. But despite being literally crippled for the past year, most people assume I'm an athlete with a sports injury, because I look that fit.

I find it hilarious, since I just do the most gentle of clinical pilates, not even the hard stuff in the commercially available videos, lol. Suffice to say, I don't need to risk damaging more joints with heavy weight to look fit and feel strong.

And when it comes to strength, being too strong is a MAJOR risk with hypermobility, because if your muscles are stronger than your joints, you will rip your joints apart with your day to day function. So you don't actually *want* to be overly strong. You really don't want to be weak, but you also don't want to be disproportionately strong either. Hence why gentle, body weight exercises are best, as opposed to intense strengthening lifting exercises.

I did a lot of my joint damage in my early 20s when I got into body building, so learn from my mistakes, and don't bother with lifting anything beyond light weights. It's not worth it, and you don't need it to get excellent results in terms of how you feel, how you age, and how you look.

SuzanneC1l9zz

I did find that putting on a bit of muscle stopped some of my joints from randomly slipping out as I was doing normal things... like my arms gently swinging at my sides as I walk (there go my shoulders 🙄). But what I'm hearing is that there's a definite point of diminishing returns on that. And I suppose my Very Specialised Specialist has been right about literally every other thing so far lol, and he wasn't thrilled that I was lifting. Fair enough. Thanks for talking some sense into me!

Xellercin

SuzanneC1l9zz wrote: »

I did find that putting on a bit of muscle stopped some of my joints from randomly slipping out as I was doing normal things... like my arms gently swinging at my sides as I walk (there go my shoulders 🙄). But what I'm hearing is that there's a definite point of diminishing returns on that. And I suppose my Very Specialised Specialist has been right about literally every other thing so far lol, and he wasn't thrilled that I was lifting. Fair enough. Thanks for talking some sense into me!

As a very specialized specialist myself, I'm happy to hear that.

Yes, strengthening your muscles is absolutely critical to manage your condition, but the very exercises that strengthen can also damage. It's a process of learning to thread that needle, and the more professional support you have on that front, the less chance you will end up crippled and disabled like me.

I got so hurt because I wasn't diagnosed until my late 30s when the damage was already done. When I was young, I naturally figured out that my body needed strengthening to function well because my joints were weak, but like you, I thought more was better, and I literally ripped my own body apart. I have multiple joints that my sports med describes as "trying to separate from my body."

Don't be like me.

SuzanneC1l9zz

Yeah. It had been suspected for a while but I wasn't actually diagnosed until a few years ago either. I'm definitely still learning!