When to start exercise and how
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Viktoria2022
Posts: 16 Member
Hi everyone, a person that is NOT used to work out here. Think about me as "skinny fat" that stayed skinny until I got older/career stressed/childbirth/pandemic happened. IN my mid 40s. Very little muscle and I am getting back problems now, loosing my breath running or even walking up a couple of stairs. So a bit scared. I have no trouble switching to eating healthy/restricting calories. I lost 20 pounds before the pandemic and gained it all back of course. So back on the plan now. I am female, 5,4 and weigh 140 pounds. I plan on loosing 1 pound a week, my goal weight is 120 (I know that is skinny, but it is just what I need, and I don't care so much if I weigh more if I build muscle). My question is: I know I need to add exercise in. But when and how do I start? I heard you get closer to your goal weight before starting to build muscle, or you bulk up. I also need a slow start since I am so out of shape. Any advice for youtube channels, activities, and then when to start to build lean muscle. The tricky thing is that with 1200 cal/day, I can't really build muscle, right? I know you are supposed to eat back your exercise burnt calories but I've heard that can be deceiving. Thankful for advice!
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What you're wanting to do is called a "recomp," short for "recomposition." Someone who knows more about the mechanics of a recomp will hopefully chime in with specific tips about how that works, but maybe having that word will help you find additional resources.
But broadly speaking, to build muscle you need to pick up heavy things and put them back down again, repeatedly. So, you'll need access to heavy things, and a space in which to pick them up and put them down. If it's safe where you are, I would find a gym that has weightlifting equipment. Planet Fitness may serve you well to start, if there's one near you (and again, if it's safe to go there). They generally have only pre-loaded barbells and and dumbbells that stop around 60-80 lbs, but that might be plenty for you right now. They do usually have Smith machines that you can load plates on, which are okay, but not ideal - it's a barbell but the bar is on a track, so it moves along a fixed path that really isn't well suited to any of the lifts you might want to do with it (weighted squat, deadlift, bench press, etc).0 -
I stopped working out for almost 2 years due to back and hip problems, and when I started back up, I did Yoga With Adrienne on YouTube. There's a 30-day program called "Breath" that I highly recommend. It's a slow start, building up to stronger exercises. It's what my body needed to remember what it feels like to move again and identify the areas of my body needing more flexibility and strength. It took me two months to finish the 30-day program, and I am thrilled with the results. Following the program, I transitioned straight into heavy lifting with no issues with my back or hip. I'm 50+, my calorie goal each day is 1200, I do not eat back calories, and my goal weight is 145. Even with the calorie deficit, I have plenty of energy to finish a complete workout. Also, if you are a biological female, you will not and cannot get bulky.5
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I'm curious about this too, so I'm interested in what other more experienced posters have to say for a total beginner!
I walk and run, and enjoy both. I do the "couch to 5k" program to help me build up endurance. I did that program years ago and it was great, so I'm excited to be doing it again. When I was regularly running I found it to be great exercise and also good stress relief. I also do some postpartum specific YouTube videos, which I like because they are not very stressful on the body and offer lots of modifications for uncoordinated newbies. Those are all using my bodyweight only, or maybe a water bottle as an added weight. But once I feel confident with those I am curious about what to do next, and don't really know where and how to make that leap.0 -
Maybe start with walking to build up some stamina? and yes, eat back your exercise calories otherwise you'll get really hungry and sabotage the weight loss. You don't have to wait to get to goal to start building lean muscle, just know that when you begin muscle building that the scale will not be the way you measure progress. Don't worry about getting too bulked up, most people don't do enough work to get that way without strong intention and lots of time put into it.2
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Viktoria2022 wrote: »Hi everyone, a person that is NOT used to work out here. Think about me as "skinny fat" that stayed skinny until I got older/career stressed/childbirth/pandemic happened. IN my mid 40s. Very little muscle and I am getting back problems now, loosing my breath running or even walking up a couple of stairs. So a bit scared. I have no trouble switching to eating healthy/restricting calories. I lost 20 pounds before the pandemic and gained it all back of course. So back on the plan now. I am female, 5,4 and weigh 140 pounds. I plan on loosing 1 pound a week, my goal weight is 120 (I know that is skinny, but it is just what I need, and I don't care so much if I weigh more if I build muscle). My question is: I know I need to add exercise in. But when and how do I start? I heard you get closer to your goal weight before starting to build muscle, or you bulk up. I also need a slow start since I am so out of shape. Any advice for youtube channels, activities, and then when to start to build lean muscle. The tricky thing is that with 1200 cal/day, I can't really build muscle, right? I know you are supposed to eat back your exercise burnt calories but I've heard that can be deceiving. Thankful for advice!
"Bulking up" is a very deliberate action both in terms of food and training...nobody just bulks up from hitting the weight room and certainly not in a calorie deficit...bulking up requires a ton of energy to build muscle mass. I've been lifting for years...I look healthy and fit...not remotely bulky or even big by any stretch of the imagination.
Walking is always a good place to start...just moving your body more. Resistance training is also important and shouldn't be reserved for later...if you think you're skinny fat now, you will be even skinnier fat at a lower weight without resistance training. Resistance training while dieting helps preserve the muscle mass you already have as well as making some short lived and nominal, but important noob gains. Waiting just means you lose more muscle mass during the dieting process than you otherwise would...and it's way easier to maintain muscle mass than to build muscle mass. Putting on significant muscle mass requires very specific training protocols and diet (surplus calories).5 -
Start now.
Start gently, don't try to go from zero to hero overnight.
Both cardio and strength/resistance training are great for your long term health. They should be for life and not just for weight loss.
Build up progressively.
Enjoy what you do.
"I heard you get closer to your goal weight before starting to build muscle, or you bulk up."
Utter rubbish, where does this nonsense come from? It's extremely difficult to "bulk up", it takes dedication and a whole lot of deliberate, targetted exercise over a very extended period of time. During that very long process you can also stop / maintain at whatever physique you choose.
" when to start to build lean muscle. "
All muscle is lean, all tissue except fat is also lean mass.
Start training to try to now, at the very least you will hold on to as much muscle as you already have rather than risk losing it and taking twice as long to build back up again. There is no good reason to wait and good reasons to start now.
"tricky thing is that with 1200 cal/day, I can't really build muscle, right?"
Probably but training is the strongest signal to retain what you have.
"I know you are supposed to eat back your exercise burnt calories but I've heard that can be deceiving. "
Yes every sensible calorie counting method takes the calories burned during exercise into account - just like your body does. Just like you take your food and drink and your daily activity into account. They aren't different calories, just part of your genuine overall energy needs.
The deceiving part is part mythology and part people using inaccurate methods or part blaming their exercise calories for what is often even more inaccurate food calorie counting. Depending on what your exercise actually is the database here may well not be the best choice to get your estimates. Don't make a hard job harder by over-restricting your calories in.3 -
Those are all using my bodyweight only, or maybe a water bottle as an added weight. But once I feel confident with those I am curious about what to do next, and don't really know where and how to make that leap.
Where: You can start anywhere with body weight exercises. Eventually, you're going to need to add weights/heavy things. That might best be done in a gym because they already have all the weights. But you can use all kinds of heavy things if gyms aren't your thing or try to acquire some weights at home.
How: Learn to do it properly so that you don't hurt yourself. Pay a personal trainer for his or her time, find a friend who knows, or study it on the internet. Slow reps, increasing weight, concentrating on different muscle groups. In order to build muscle, you're going to first have to really tax it (tear it) and then let it rest and repair making sure your body has enough calories and time to do the repairs.
Disclaimer: I am only a novice and have no real experience in this subject...yet.1 -
I agree with others, walking is a great place to start. You don't need equipment (except shoes) and you don't need to join a gym. If the weather won't cooperate, go on-line. There are lots of walking-style workouts on YouTube for free. Leslie Sansone and Jessica Smith just to name two.
There are lots of styles of yoga, find what fits you.0 -
Viktoria2022 wrote: »Hi everyone, a person that is NOT used to work out here. Think about me as "skinny fat" that stayed skinny until I got older/career stressed/childbirth/pandemic happened. IN my mid 40s. Very little muscle and I am getting back problems now, loosing my breath running or even walking up a couple of stairs. So a bit scared. I have no trouble switching to eating healthy/restricting calories. I lost 20 pounds before the pandemic and gained it all back of course. So back on the plan now. I am female, 5,4 and weigh 140 pounds. I plan on loosing 1 pound a week, my goal weight is 120 (I know that is skinny, but it is just what I need, and I don't care so much if I weigh more if I build muscle). My question is: I know I need to add exercise in. But when and how do I start? I heard you get closer to your goal weight before starting to build muscle, or you bulk up. I also need a slow start since I am so out of shape. Any advice for youtube channels, activities, and then when to start to build lean muscle. The tricky thing is that with 1200 cal/day, I can't really build muscle, right? I know you are supposed to eat back your exercise burnt calories but I've heard that can be deceiving. Thankful for advice!
First, 100% endorsement of how sijomial (among others) put it just a bit above. But I want to add on, if that's OK.
Start now. Start with something that's just a bit of a challenge (in terms of frequency/duration/intensity and exercise type), but not fatiguing. There can (should) be a bit of a "whew" feeling for a few minutes after the exercise, but you should not feel exhausted or fatigued for the rest of the day. If anything, you're aiming to feel energized for the rest of the day. (Overdoing, to the point of persistent fatigue, tends to bleed calories out of the rest of the day via subtly doing less; since it's clear you want to lose weight, that's counter-productive.)
Context of my advice: I started becoming routinely active in my mid-40s, after cancer treatment and a generally sedentary preceding life. I was just over the line into class 1 obese. So, I was probably at least as out of shape as you are now, possibly more so. I'm now a quite-active 65 y/o woman, I believe in better than average condition for my demographic, both strength and cardiovascular.
The usual recommendation for *basic* general fitness is to think in terms of 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or an equivalent combination of moderate and vigorous activity, for cardiovascular fitness; and at least 2 weekly sessions of strength-challenging exercise for each muscle group. It's good to spread this over the week.
However, if starting from a low fitness level, it's fine - a good idea even - to work up to this gradually. It may also need to be tempered by your individual time budget, basically how much time you can devote to exercise and still have enough time and energy for job, chores, family, social life, and any other essential (or very important to you) other activities, for good life balance. Note that some moderate exercise can be woven into one's day without requiring much extra time, however.
Don't assume that "exercise" has to be in a gym, or that it needs to be super-intense or punitive-feeling to be effective. That's just not true. In fact, if you can find things that you consider enjoyable, that makes it easier to stick with. Cardiovascular exercise can be walking outdoors, riding a bike, swimming, dancing, playing games (frisbee, ping-pong, basketball, whatever), skating, martial arts classes, active video games, and any of a thousand other things - anything that gets your heart rate up and your blood moving.
Personally, I started with yoga, and branched out from there to taking some weight training classes, doing low-impact aerobics, and moved on to rowing (boats when I can, machines when I must), bike-riding, and other things. (I have bad knees so I avoid running, and do walk but don't do massive volume.)
Women don't get bulky by accident. Muscle mass gain - adding new muscle fibers - is very slow, under the best of conditions (and a calorie deficit is not the best of conditions). You can expect to gain strength rather quickly at first, from strength exercise (from better recruiting and using existing muscle fibers, a.k.a. neuromuscular adaptation). Strength is useful in daily life! You may even see a firmer appearance before gaining actual muscle mass, in part from a bit more water in the muscles for muscle repair giving them a filled-out appearance: This can be very nice!
Because mass gain is slow, you'll have plenty of time to see how your body is adjusting. You won't just wake up one morning and suddenly be bulky. Women have to work hard for a long time, if they want to gain muscle mass. If you reach a look you like at some point, you can switch to a maintenance-mode level of activity.
You can find strength program recommendations in this thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1
Despite the title, it includes some bodyweight programs that require minimal or no equipment. Whatever level of effort is a challenge for *you* *now* is where you start (for example, in weight lifting, you start with weight that is a challenge for you for each exercise). It doesn't matter if the weight is "heavy" to anyone else, all that matters is challenging yourself a bit, from where you are right now. The program you choose will have more specific details. It's also fine to ease your way into a program, if it's *too* challenging at first. If that's necessary, you shouldn't feel bad about it. We start where we are.
On the cardiovascular front, start with something that seems approachable, convenient and at least kind of fun. It can be walking in your neighborhood, or dancing for a few minutes to music you like, or playing active video games . . . whatever. I don't have a link, but there are threads here where people talk about their favorite YouTube videos. If video is appealing, start with some free stuff to get an idea what you like.
Recognize that everyone feels awkward at first, and that some given activity may feel *impossible* coordination-wise. That's normal. As long as you don't feel as if you're risking injury, stick with it for a while, to get past the newbie blues, so you can see whether it can be fun. (Things that are easy to do right away tend to get boring fast; things that seem "too complicated" right at first tend to hold interest longer, IME.) If you're trying things in group classes, remember that everyone there was new once, and the decent humans will remember how that felt, and encourage you. (The ones who don't, aren't worth worrying about.)
After you've experimented and tried some things, then found a set of things that's enjoyable, you should find that one activity leads to another, in natural ways; and that it becomes appealing to set improvement goals for the activity, and feels good to achieve them.
In the longer term, it's likely you'll reach a point where you *don't* feel great if not active, because your body will have internalized the value of activity for health and mood. That feeling tends to make an active life self-sustaining. That's kind of magic, IMO!
For now, just start, and think in terms of enjoyment and mild challenge. If you do that, long term, just sticking with always keeping a bit of challenge, you'll surprise yourself with what you achieve.
Best wishes!8 -
I just want to thank everyone - really - for all this detailed and excellent advice!! Starting with walking, light rowing on our rowing machine and perhaps a yoga/pilates video or two!3
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Add weights.
Women often avoid this because they're afraid of getting 'bulky'. That doesn't happen without a LOT of work. That 'toned' look? That's from weights/resistance. Get some light dumbbells or resistance bands to start and add it in, at some point, when the other stuff is habit. Building muscle makes you look better, feel better, and, bonus, burns more calories than fat.
And also yes, find something you love. Dog agility is my thing. It's still exercise. And my desire to be faster and with better endurance there is good motivation to do other stuff.0 -
If you want YouTube suggestions...one of my favorites is Sydney Cummings. She posts a new workout every day. All you have to do is do it! She shows low impact and body weight modifications for beginners. Her programs are very balanced and always include a Sunday stretch. Just remember to go at your pace and use lighter weights to start. I tried to go heavier too quickly last summer and developed elbow tendonitis!1
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Viktoria2022 wrote: »I just want to thank everyone - really - for all this detailed and excellent advice!! Starting with walking, light rowing on our rowing machine and perhaps a yoga/pilates video or two!
Good idea...start slow...fitness is something that is built over time and one of the biggest mistakes people make is doing too much too soon. Leads to injury, burnout, and frustration that fitness levels aren't commensurate with vision and enthusiasm.
I was guilty of that myself...when I started out I desperately wanted to be a runner (ultimately determined running wasn't my bag) because that's mostly what I saw fit people, including my wife doing. I was maybe a couple weeks into things and I remember asking my wife how she could just go out and run 5 days per week...5, 8, 10 miles whatever 'cuz I can't even run a mile...I remember she gave me a funny look and said something to the extent of, "I didn't just start running yesterday...I've been doing this for 20 years."5 -
Is your goal to be able to lift a large amount of weight or to build endurance and stamina? I’m no expert but I think people have different goals. Also, without claiming any sort of expertise, it seems to me that jumping into lifting heavy weights when you are out of shape and have not done so in the past could lead to injury. I’d talk to someone with expertise, but it sounds like you’re concerned about cardiovascular health, since you mentioned getting out of breath. I wouldn’t think that lifting heavy weights would be necessary for increasing cardiovascular health and stamina.0
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I highly recommend Sydney Cummings on YouTube. She posts a new workout daily and you don’t have to think about what to do or reps. Just follow her every day and your weekly exercise will be well-rounded and complete. Even she says all she does is her daily posted workout for exercise. It’s so easy and fun. She makes modification suggestions for beginners. You basically need a set or two of dumbbells. And there are a few other pieces of small equipment she uses but that aren’t necessary (glute bands, jump rope, kettlebell, sliders) as she give modifications if you don’t have them.0
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Whatsthemotive wrote: »Is your goal to be able to lift a large amount of weight or to build endurance and stamina? I’m no expert but I think people have different goals. Also, without claiming any sort of expertise, it seems to me that jumping into lifting heavy weights when you are out of shape and have not done so in the past could lead to injury. I’d talk to someone with expertise, but it sounds like you’re concerned about cardiovascular health, since you mentioned getting out of breath. I wouldn’t think that lifting heavy weights would be necessary for increasing cardiovascular health and stamina.
"Lifting heavy weights" just means lifting weights that are heavy enough to be a moderate but safe challenge for the person doing the lifting.
I'm a li'l ol' lady, 5'5", 125 pounds, age 65. The "heavy weights" I would lift, even as an active person (rower), are dramatically lighter than the weights that would be lifted by a 21-year-old female rower in a competitive collegiate rowing program, let alone an Olympic rower. (I've seen the collegiate elites do it. Weight plates the size of freight-train wheels, it looked like, I swear! 😉 As an aside, they also weigh much more than I do at roughly the same body size, because so much more muscle mass . . . and they also look cuter in their strapless party dresses, because so much more fit.)
For some of us, starting out, just lifting the bar - no plates - is enough of a challenge, and that's fine. There are even shorter/lighter bars, if needed. To us, that's heavy and a bit of a challenge, which is enough to begin making progress. If no start, no progress.
ETA: IMO, too many people are afraid of strength training, believing that they must lift gigantic scary weight plates that will be significant injury risks. That myth is unfortunate, because improved strength is valuable for everyday life and health, and it's accessible to most everyone. The only difference is the starting point.0 -
Thanks for the clarification.1
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I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything since I'm not knowledgeable. I get frustrated when I hear that everyone needs to lift "heavy" weights. In my ignorance, this sounds like heavy means heavy, not that it means heavy for the person's ability. So I hear a one size fits all directive. But my frustration is not based on any training and is probably unreasonable. So I apologize.2
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For what it's worth I started with two pound dumbbells.
I'm up to TEN pounds now.
After (more than 6) months.
They're heavy for me. I am not a strong person - but I AM a stronger person than I WAS.
I didn't mean to imply you needed to do huge deadlifts or anything. Just that the pick up things that are a heavy for *you* is a good part of a fitness routine.4 -
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