Lifting at age 40 and beyond

I'm a few Days off 45 and I cant lift for my life,well I can if they are lightish weights,to be honest Im terrified of them,I can swim for an hour walk as long as I like uphill,cycle for hours,but just could not hack the weights,I left one gym cos the instructor was constantly on at me as to how I could look with some effort,Im not lazy just dont feel compelled to do this!

No one says you have to lift.

There are a great many benefits though and you are deciding to do without them.

I am nearly 70, so you would say I'm definitely over 40, I didn't start working out until my 50s so I can't compare myself to then. I lift 2 or 3 days most weeks and walk 3 to 5 miles several days a week. With all of that, I have flabby arms and a muffin top. Really, compared to most women my age I look and feel fantastic. Don't expect to be 20 again. Just be the best you can be at this point in your life. When I was 40 and complained about getting old, my now late husband would tell me that in 20 years I would look back at that age and lament how good I looked, felt, could perform. He was right. Celebrate who you are!

Or, as my late mother used to say, "The only thing worse than getting old is the alternative."

I am one who agree with you I am 43 and I work out very intense. I do battle fatigue. all i can do is try to sleep as much as I can...its sad but true!..lol

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Wow, it really is just me then? LOL

You are so not alone. I'm 61 and working my way through New Rules of Lifting for Women 2/5 of the way through Stage 6. I LOVE lifting! I don't even care if there are no physical changes (there are loads) I just enjoy the workout. I haven't done anything at all for the previous 10+ years except a short walk to and from work occassionally and I sit at a desk 80% of my day. I LOATHE cardio (although I recently discovered spinning which strangely is fun to me!), and never could consistently keep up a program. When I started NROL4W I could only do bodyweight squats lunges deadlifts and 3#DBs on OHP. I'm squatting 85 DL 150 and OHP 20.

My shoirt term goals are to squat my weight, DL 1.5 my weight, OHP 75#, and do 5 pullups!

Yes I do battle fatigue but I sleep crappy even with all the workouts.I broke my ankle last year and yes have some balance issues but there's a lot you can do to improve that. Practice standing on one foot for as long as possible, change feet. When that beomes easier, add weights. You can improve your balance!

Never give up!

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You are so not alone. I'm 61 and working my way through New Rules of Lifting for Women 2/5 of the way through Stage 6. I LOVE lifting! I don't even care if there are no physical changes (there are loads) I just enjoy the workout. I haven't done anything at all for the previous 10+ years except a short walk to and from work occassionally and I sit at a desk 80% of my day. I LOATHE cardio (although I recently discovered spinning which strangely is fun to me!), and never could consistently keep up a program. When I started NROL4W I could only do bodyweight squats lunges deadlifts and 3#DBs on OHP. I'm squatting 85 DL 150 and OHP 20.

My shoirt term goals are to squat my weight, DL 1.5 my weight, OHP 75#, and do 5 pullups!

Yes I do battle fatigue but I sleep crappy even with all the workouts.I broke my ankle last year and yes have some balance issues but there's a lot you can do to improve that. Practice standing on one foot for as long as possible, change feet. When that beomes easier, add weights. You can improve your balance!

Never give up!

Glad you're on my FL :flowerforyou:

Just started lifting this year. Concentrating on form and being patient with myself are priorities at this stage in my life.

You and I were separated at birth. Sorta.
I am currently 44 years old. I did Taekwondo in the past, but when I quit smoking after 32 years of carrying a pack a day habit, I started at a professional studio. This was back in February of last year. I am now a blue level three. In the past year I have battled stomach issues, I broke my collarbone, wrenched BOTH my knees (one just racing my kids to hit the birdie in badminton and I'm still nursing it), but I continue to press on. Why? Because I am in better shape NOW than I ever was.

You are definitely not the only one! I am 45 years old (today) and feel aches and pains (and overuse injuries) more now than I used to. The caveat is that I am in better shape than when I was 25 years old, so it is all good!

Happy birthday, funnily its my 45th tomorrow :bigsmile:

I work out 6 days a week a mix of weights, circuit training, classes, squash and running. I lift heavy and have made big gains in my strength this year. I have only been lifting 15 months, and exercising 21 months (before I would only walk and sometimes played netball). I have had a problem with the tendons in my wrist, but no other injuries (touch wood). I used to carry the bulk of my weight around my middle, so I actually have less stress on my knees and lower back now I have dropped so much weight.

Personally I have never felt better, I love working out and have never felt so confident. I am now worried that following sods law, I will probably end up injuring myself tomorrow.

Im in my early 40s and working out with this older body surely feels different then it did even just 5 years ago! Can't wait for tonight when I can read through this thread!

I am nearly 70, so you would say I'm definitely over 40, I didn't start working out until my 50s so I can't compare myself to then. I lift 2 or 3 days most weeks and walk 3 to 5 miles several days a week. With all of that, I have flabby arms and a muffin top. Really, compared to most women my age I look and feel fantastic. Don't expect to be 20 again. Just be the best you can be at this point in your life. When I was 40 and complained about getting old, my now late husband would tell me that in 20 years I would look back at that age and lament how good I looked, felt, could perform. He was right. Celebrate who you are!

^^^ Thank you for sharing, I'm 48 and my saying for years now has been, "getting old sucks". I'm going to try harder to embrace where I'm at.

I started lifting right around my 40th birthday. Yes, I get tired pretty quickly these days, some mornings are harder than others, but the way I look at it is I'm going to age anyway, so why not do something that is going to help me fight it?

I have been extremely careful with form and the amount of weight I lift and have, thankfully, avoided injury thus far. But if I feel too run down or too sore to do more, I stop and give myself a break. It's part of being middle-aged.

I don't want to compete with the younger girls who see faster results or have fewer aches. This for me and I do it at my pace.

I'll be 40 this year and I lift as well. I'm in the best shape now than I ever was in my 20's/30's even though I have been able to stay pretty fit and lean all these years.

No, your not alone! I have just turned 40 and have lifted on & off for the past 10 years. Had son 4.5 years ago and started back lifting about 18 months ago. I now lift & Crossfit and man, it is so much harder now!
The weight just doesn't come off as easily, I fear my *kitten* will never be pert again and I just do not have the strength I used to.
While I applaud other younger women lift & crossfit I wish I was 20 years younger so I could really kick some *kitten*!

I'm also 40 and haven't yet experienced the "falling apart" aspect of working out, though I've been doing it consistently for over 20 years (and am probably more fit than ever now). MY HUSBAND, on the other hand...phew. He is a very fit Marine and works out hard, but MAN, he is always getting hurt--and not from being sloppy or doing things improperly or anything like that. He's extremely consistent about warming up, stretching, etc. Plus, we are both super, SUPER anal about form and always have been.

So, that said, I haven't gotten hurt but I definitely see the changes in my body and way more looseness and wrinkly-ness than ever before. Ugh. But it could certainly be way worse.

I love this thread!