Are you an older woman doing serious lifting?

I'm 51 and started lifting in the eighties. Have been doing it off and on ever since, though I took most of the nineties off. I used to do a lot of free weights, but since getting a neurological disease in 2011 that affects my balance it is no longer safe for me to carry plates and dumbells from the machine to the rack. Hence, I am pretty much limited to machines nowadays. I still do pullovers, isolated arm work, and lateral raises with dumbells. Also due to balance issues following nerve damage in my feet and legs, it is not safe for me to squat, lunge or deadlift. I do plan to learn how to squat in the smith machine, which might be an option for me.

My first set of machine bench is 66 kg and my three sets of machine rows is 88 kg, which is heavy for me. My workouts are maybe a little stuck in the eighties, in that I do more isolation work than is recommended these days.

Love this thread Resolve2B!

I'm 49 and working out at home with FitnessBlender videos (dumbbells and bodyweight) some day I hope to advance to lifting heavy :-)

Thanks, Ladies!

If any of you would like to have a "friend" connection, please send me a request.

I really want to make some changes and it's always easier with the motivation of like-minded souls!

The problem with being "older" is that it's harder to find people in the same demographic who are really wanting to work hard at something like this. To look at me you'd probably not believe I'd ever be able to take on any kind of lifting. I'd like to defy the "odds".

Beautiful arms CHFay!!

You and I are friends, and I'm a bit younger (49), but if you ever want to bounce ideas for lifting off me, send me a message. I've been lifting since about 1996, with a one year hiatus last year.
cheers!

Given my age (almost 61), my clients tend to be older and many are female.

Unless you have specific limitations, there is no inherent physical reason why you can't lift weights, and ultimately push it as hard as you want.

You approach of starting on machines is perfectly fine. This is not a race. The one concession to age is that progress can be a little slower, and when starting out you have to allow the joints, tendons, ligaments, etc to adapt and catch up to your muscle strength. So starting off with lighter weights (12-15 reps) is fine. However, it is still important to progressively increase your weights as your strength increases.

The women I work with are not athletes or started off being fit or experienced lifters--most had never lifted weights at all. But they have all made significant progress and they all do "regular" exercises--squats, deadlifts bench press, rows, etc--all at weights that match their abilities, of course.

So no need to put any limits on yourself--you're never too old to start lifting weights.

While I am only 42, as I grow older I want to continue lifting. Keep it up.