fitness plan advice

[La Colibri]

Hi

I have been doing body pump 45mins 3-4 days a week for 9 months now and I have been getting stronger but feeling plateaued from March.  I had energy left from the class and added some weights (to the barbell, well not to me I hope :P, haven't really weighted me).

BP is fun but I am wondering if I should do strength training workout.  My goal is to get stronger just for daily activities, think gardening, traveling / cycling / hiking type of things.  Secondary goal is body tone.

I got easily bored without a class instructor pushing, but I don't want to spend for a PT at the moment.

How do people progress from the BP/beginner stage to 'serious training'?

I have created a plan after some reading, does it look okay?  Most of the exercises I chose I already done in the BP or circuit class.

Thank you!

Sun   Body Pump 30mins OR Walk/Cycling/Hike                        HIIT / Activities
Mon   Body Pump OR Medium intensity intervals run(30mins)        HIIT / Cardio
Tue   Full body workout with weight (40min)
OR
Circuit training - 30mins                                                        Strength OR HIIT
Wed   Medium intensity walk (60min)                                         Active Rest
Thur   Body Pump or Upper body (40min) or REST                        HIIT OR Strength
Fri   Upper (if not done Thur) and/or Lower body (40min)        Strength
Sat   Rest   

Dynamic warn up and cool down (10mins)

Full body workout
Squat
Reverse Lung
Shoulder Press
Bent over row
Bench Press
Push up

Core - 1min each
Bicycle Crunches
Lying Leg Raise
Side Plank
Crunches
Russian Twist
Dead bug
Flutter kicks
Abs Leg Extension
Toe Touches

Upper body 1
Low Incline Dumbbell Press
Inverted row Pulls up (start at chest height)
Dumbbell Lateral Raises
Dumbbell Chest Supported Row (mid/ upper back focused)
Close grip Push up

Lower body 2
Barbell back squat
Bulgarian Split Squat
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
Heel Elevated Goblet Squat
Standing Weighted Calf Raises (barbell or dumbbell)
Barbell Hip Thrust

***Progressive overload**
Start 3 sets of 8 reps one week, 10 reps, the week after, and 12 reps the week after, and then increasing to a weight you can only manage for 8 reps and repeating the process.
Rest 20-60s and then 2-3mins between Super sets*

[use2betrix]

As a whole I think your upper/lower body splits look pretty good. Some items I might throw in more (bicep/triceps) specific exercises but not really that necessary in the big picture.

Your general schedule seems way too confusing and lacking some organization (to me). Too much “or” or stipulations elsewhere.

I’d separate the strength training from everything else. If body pump is what I think it is, it’s probably a good program to move and get blood flowing but probably adds very little benefit in comparison to dedicated cardio or dedicated strength training.

I think you’d be best to target 1 full body weight lifting session, 1 upper body session, and 1 lower body session each week. Those should be your non negotiable with the body pump being secondary when you have time/feel like it. You shouldn’t lift heavy weights the day before/after your fully body weight lifting section. You could do your upper/lower body strength training on back to back days if you needed to.

[La Colibri]

Thanks @use2betrix

Yes, I tried it out, and like you said, it’s too confusing, going back to basics might be easier for me to follow.

So I’ve simplified it to:

D1 - BodyPump + Leg day ;  I begin to make some buddies here so good to keep going for more 'social' and consistency
D2 - moderate intensity cardio - 30mins @ 5km/hr walk + 15mins rowing
D3 - BP class - full body 40mins;  (well, more for social and fun, plus some good ex)
D4 - moderate intensity cardio - 30mins stairs climber
D5 - Stronglift 5 *5 program + Assistance Work for Glutes & Abs (https://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5/workout-program/#quick-start-guide)
D6 - rest or gentle cycling or walk outdoor
D7 - rest

I’m going to start with a 10kg weight instead of the suggested one (20kg+). Once I feel confident with the form and movement, I’ll gradually increase the weight.

[GuitarStv]

There are a couple weird things about your programming.

First of all, you have two rest days in a row.  This is almost always suboptimal.  In my experience, going in little mini-cycles of 2-3 days on and then one day off will help you progress faster.  You sound like a beginner, and typically a beginner just isn't capable of pushing hard enough to need two rest days in a row.  How old are you and how long have you been involved in athletics?  I ask because age will change your ability to recover from exercise.  An untrained person who isn't carrying a lot of fat in his/her 20s can actually skip rest days for the first couple months as things are ramping up, and then get away with only one rest day a week for around a year typically.  If you're carrying extra weight, if you're old, or if you've been lifting long enough to plateau on a couple good programs than this equation will change.

What's the point of the moderate intensity cardio?  Like, why walking, rowing, and stair climbing?  From what the internet tells me, Body Pump is effectively moderate intensity cardio (low weight, high rep, generic untargeted 'just do stuff' type exercise), so this just seems to be sort of repetition of the same.  What specifically are your goals?  For cardio, I've found that it tends to be best to pick a particular activity (jogging, cycling, stair climbing, whatever) and then either slowly increasing intensity over time, or slowly increasing time spent doing the activity.

Stronglifts is a decent program, but it's going to be a short term one.  I don't know anyone who will get a year out of it, and most will stall out in around 6 months . . . the weight increases are just too aggressive once you get out of the untrained level.  Why are you doing assistance work for glute and abs with this program?  Why are you doing a leg day if you're doing stronglifts (a program with plenty of leg work in it)?  This is weird, and probably counter-productive.



My 2 cents based on your statements so far would be to do the stronglifts program 2-3 days a week.  Don't do accessory exercises, focus on the core lifts.  Add in cardio 2-3 days a week (ideally for an hour and a half each time and picking one or two types of cardio where you can measure and slowly increase intensity/distance as you go - jogging, cycling, stair climbing, etc. are great for this).  If you're dead set on doing this BP stuff for social reasons, then go to the class and do an hour of cardio afterwards.  This is plenty of exercise to make you strong and durable, but remember not to get carried away early on.
- Don't add a bunch of random accessory crap.  Accessory stuff is fun, but not essential (and often unhelpful in the long run).  Focus on a few core exercises for strength and for cardio.  Otherwise what happens is the accessory crap ends up leaving you too drained to make proper gains on the core stuff.  The more exercises you're doing, the worse you're doing each one.  You want to master a few exercises for a few years before thinking about changing it up.
- Start with small stuff that you can easily do, and make steady slow increases over time.  Healthy living is an ultra-endurance marathon.  It's a lifestyle, not a short term goal.  The people who win aren't the ones who get into shape fast, they're the ones who get into shape and stay in great shape (slowly increasing fitness) over years and decades.
- Forming good habit is vital and crucial.  You will eventually get to the point where you fear doing your heavy squats but feel compelled to do it because it's part of who you are and feels weird if you miss it.

[use2betrix]

@GuitarStv - while I would agree with most of your comments as being great for a “absolute best programming for a beginner,” if that’s not what the OP is looking for, it’s very very likely to burn them out and make it unenjoyable.

They mentioned enjoying body pump, largely for the social aspect. I personally find those kind of classes to be a bit garbage, but hey if it gets someone moving and doing “something” vs getting burnt out and doing nothing, it’s definitely better than nothing.

While 2 consecutive rest days absolutely aren’t necessary, it’s not enough time off that’s going to stall progress or push them backwards. Maybe they have other hobbies or time commitments? I would love to bike 20 hrs/wk, but I also have a full time job and 9 month/3 year old, so I usually draw a line around 10-12 hrs. I know I’m sacrificing progress, but that’s where I am in life for a hobby.

Again, I agree with most of your directives, but from first hand experience helping a lot of people over the years, finding a program that someone enjoys and finds manageable and can maintain for 20+ years is far better than the “most optimal program ever” that they hit hard for 6 months and then quit. Maybe the OP is looking for the exact most optimal program and the directive is perfect, but I definitely caution anyone to consider what is “optimal” vs what they actually enjoy and will stick to long term. Whatever someone will stock to in the long run is always better than nothing.

[GuitarStv]

@GuitarStv - while I would agree with most of your comments as being great for a “absolute best programming for a beginner,” if that’s not what the OP is looking for, it’s very very likely to burn them out and make it unenjoyable.

They mentioned enjoying body pump, largely for the social aspect. I personally find those kind of classes to be a bit garbage, but hey if it gets someone moving and doing “something” vs getting burnt out and doing nothing, it’s definitely better than nothing.

While 2 consecutive rest days absolutely aren’t necessary, it’s not enough time off that’s going to stall progress or push them backwards. Maybe they have other hobbies or time commitments? I would love to bike 20 hrs/wk, but I also have a full time job and 9 month/3 year old, so I usually draw a line around 10-12 hrs. I know I’m sacrificing progress, but that’s where I am in life for a hobby.

Again, I agree with most of your directives, but from first hand experience helping a lot of people over the years, finding a program that someone enjoys and finds manageable and can maintain for 20+ years is far better than the “most optimal program ever” that they hit hard for 6 months and then quit. Maybe the OP is looking for the exact most optimal program and the directive is perfect, but I definitely caution anyone to consider what is “optimal” vs what they actually enjoy and will stick to long term. Whatever someone will stock to in the long run is always better than nothing.

This is a great point.

Something that you can stick to long term is waaaaay better than nothing.  My recommendations are for a younger, generally fit person who is a beginner.  This is why I was asking about experience level and age and should have asked about general level of physical fitness as well.  Probably also should have asked about work/life time available (although from the first post, it sounds like there's a fair amount free to allow for focus on fitness).  Those factors will heavily impact recommendations!

The beginner phase is great because you can do anything and almost all of it will help you get stronger.  Every person is eventually going to hit a point where advancing in whatever they're trying to do becomes more slow and difficult, which is where you've got to start making choices and then pick one thing to optimize for (trying to do it all will kill you).

FWIW, I'm currently focusing on competitive Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  I lift weights for short sessions four mornings a week, but am not trying to push personal records at all . . . it's a supplement to hitting five hours of class and five hours of rolling each week in BJJ.  This is my maximum.  If I add another class, or try to push the weight training I will start to fall apart in a week or two.  In the past I've focused on long distance cycling and before that power lifting.  Both required quite different programming to meet my goals, and gave my body radically different results.

So OP, give me some specifics and I can make more specific recommendations that might fit you better.

[Morning Glory]

I like group fitness classes too. You could spend a couple weeks just exploring which other ones your gym has. My Y has a few that are more intense than body pump but the titles can be a bit misleading.  I prefer the ones that don't follow a branded program because the instructors have more leeway to make them different every time. 

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

I used to do Body Pump! In like, 2014-5?  Everytime I hear "Somebody Told Me" by the Killers I have an urge to break into a squat routine. Fun class.

My case study of how I went from neophyte to Serious Lifter is just, I used a couple of library books. New Rules of Lifting Supercharged, Strong (for women) by the same authors, and Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. But that was years ago and I haven't kept up with new titles. (I haven't been back to the gym since covid for a variety of reasons.) For me it was helpful to have it all written out telling me what to do each day.

I also used an app that did things like congratulate me on a new one rep max and showed my progress really well, and I splurged on a set of fractional plates so I could keep making progress.

Good luck!

[GuitarStv]

Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe

This book is still worth a read by anyone interested in picking up a weight.

[La Colibri]

Hi

Thanks for the replies!

I used to do Body Pump! In like, 2014-5?  Everytime I hear "Somebody Told Me" by the Killers I have an urge to break into a squat routine. Fun class.

Yeah.  Super fun and hilarious sometimes it becomes a karaoke or dance class when some songs are played!  I found the New Rules of Lifting Supercharged, Strong (for women) in library so I am going to get that.

I like group fitness classes too. You could spend a couple weeks just exploring which other ones your gym has. My Y has a few that are more intense than body pump but the titles can be a bit misleading.  I prefer the ones that don't follow a branded program because the instructors have more leeway to make them different every time. 

Unfortunately my gym (the closest and cheapest) doesn't offer much variations.  Guess it's a way to push you to find a PT :P

@GuitarStv

So OP, give me some specifics and I can make more specific recommendations that might fit you better.

Thanks @use2betrix and @GuitarStv for your great insights and comments

Background
- mid forties female
- no prior weight lifting experience.  a social gym/sports person before COVID, so like 30mins treadmill, gym class, tennis or swimming or hike/walk on weekend.  Fun level but get me moving.
- office worker, so sitting a lot

so why now?
I stopped any exercise around covid.  I had a serious pnuemonia last year.   After recovery my doctor said I had gain back my weight to optimal level but what I gained are mostly fats, so he recommended I started weight lifting and cardio.  I have been going to the gym for 9 months now and causally following gym classes and some cardio.  I went from dead tired after 40mins body pump to "I have energy left to do another 30mins" so I knew I could/need to up the intensity.

I tried to measure last month my 'fitness' at home

1. Test: 3-Minute Step Test (metronome set to 96 beats per minute) - 104 heart rate (I count myself so might not be accurate)
2. 1 minute sit up test - 28
3. push up test - can't do a 'proper' pushup
4. Sit and reach Test  - 18+ (approximately again)

My goals
1. Play a game of tennis 
2. Up my fitness for summer travels, a lot of walkings and hope to do some paddle boarding and hiking (My guess is I can do 10km, elevation 200m for a day and then need to rest next day at my current level)
3. Up my fitness for future - the Canadian Rockies would be a nice goal and provide a visual motivation to train for e.g. https://hikingwalking.com/index.php/destinations/ab/ab_rockies/banff/plain_6glaciers
4. body tone my skinny fat belly and bat wings :P

My trainings
- Schedule - Mon-Fri max 90mins, prefer 60mins;  Weekend reserved for social events, might be fun exercise, might be not. 
- Want to keep at least 2 BP classes
- There's one 30min leg class after BP.  I like the instructors and classmates, and schedule fits, so that's why I am going.
- I choose stronglift because it (looks) fairly straight forward to follow

Questions:
1. Should I treat BP as a medium intensity cardio, not a weight lifting sessions?
Then I will pick smaller weights in BP and my schedule will be

D1 - BodyPump + Leg class
D2 - Upper body focus weight lifting?
D3 - BP class - full body 40mins
D4 - moderate intensity cardio ???  Yoga???
D5 - Stronglift 5 *5 program + Assistance Work for Glutes & Abs (https://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5/workout-program/#quick-start-guide)

D6 - rest or social fun gentle cycling or walk outdoor
D7 - rest

[GuitarStv]

Background
- mid forties female
- no prior weight lifting experience.  a social gym/sports person before COVID, so like 30mins treadmill, gym class, tennis or swimming or hike/walk on weekend.  Fun level but get me moving.
- office worker, so sitting a lot

Don't be afraid to start the Stronglifts program using the lowest numbers they give on the website, or with even less weight than that.  As an older beginner weight lifter, it will take a while for your body to adjust to the exercises you're doing.  You want the first session to be ridiculously light (don't worry, as weight increases they will become more challenging).  I'd also consider increasing the weight at half the recommendation as well - 5x5 tends to be a little aggressive.  It will also help you out a lot if you've got access to 2.5 lb plates for these small increases - especially with the overhead press, a 5 lb jump quickly becomes too much.

My goals
1. Play a game of tennis 
2. Up my fitness for summer travels, a lot of walkings and hope to do some paddle boarding and hiking (My guess is I can do 10km, elevation 200m for a day and then need to rest next day at my current level)
3. Up my fitness for future - the Canadian Rockies would be a nice goal and provide a visual motivation to train for e.g. https://hikingwalking.com/index.php/destinations/ab/ab_rockies/banff/plain_6glaciers
4. body tone my skinny fat belly and bat wings :P

The good news is that 1, 2, and 3 are all totally doable and you're on the right track for them.  4 is most likely going to require that you change your diet a bit as well as exercise more.

'Toning' a particular muscle or area of the body is a myth.  Your body stores fat wherever it wants and you don't get input on this.  Doing crunches doesn't reduce belly fat.  Doing arm curls doesn't reduce fat on your upper arms.  Doing squats won't reduce fat on your butt.  Lifting weights will increase the size of your muscles under the fat, but it comes down to diet and to a lesser degree cardio to actually reduce the amounts of fat so you can more clearly see the muscles.

My trainings
- Schedule - Mon-Fri max 90mins, prefer 60mins;  Weekend reserved for social events, might be fun exercise, might be not. 
- Want to keep at least 2 BP classes
- There's one 30min leg class after BP.  I like the instructors and classmates, and schedule fits, so that's why I am going.
- I choose stronglift because it (looks) fairly straight forward to follow

Stronglifts is a pretty straight forward program to follow.  I've done it before, and it works well.  The volume and weight increases will help you convert fat into muscle and the constant repetition of the same exercises will help you develop good technique doing them.  It recommends a good mix of whole body exercise that will strengthen your upper and lower body, and work your core pretty hard.  You should get very strong before you start to stall out on your lifts.

The stronglifts program is designed to be run three times a week.  I think you could probably get by with twice a week, but cutting it down to once a week will reduce it's effectiveness quite a bit and I don't think you'll get the most out of it if you do this.

Questions:
1. Should I treat BP as a medium intensity cardio, not a weight lifting sessions?

Yes, that's what I'd do.  This type of exercise program is at best strength endurance if not outright cardio.

D1 - BodyPump + Leg class
D2 - Upper body focus weight lifting?
D3 - BP class - full body 40mins
D4 - moderate intensity cardio ???  Yoga???
D5 - Stronglift 5 *5 program + Assistance Work for Glutes & Abs (https://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5/workout-program/#quick-start-guide)

D6 - rest or social fun gentle cycling or walk outdoor
D7 - rest

I think that you would get much more out of following something like:

1 - BP
2 - 5x5
3 - BP
4 - Whatever you want
5 - 5x5
6 - REST
7 - REST


Two notes:
- By the second month, following the 5x5 program should feel quite challenging.  Depends on what exactly is going on in the leg class, but you might find that it drains you too much to push hard the following day with your lifting.  It's probably OK to keep in there for the first little while, but be aware that it may need to be dropped to develop strength later on.
- Assistance work is not necessary in Stronglifts.  I do not recommend doing extra glute and abs work.  You will be getting plenty just by doing the basic lifts.  Any time you lift a bar and put it on your shoulders, or lift the bar over your head, it requires that you tighten your whole core.  Any time you're squatting or deadlifting with weight, you will be using the glutes.

If you're still hellbent on doing this assistance, just do the hanging leg raises, hip thrusts, and planks.  Cut the RDLs though.  SL should be hammering your lower back and core every session and RDLs on top of that  going to be an awful lot.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Starting Strength is super similar to Stronglifts but based on 3 sets rather than 5. 5 sets was just a no for me! Strong and NROL are both much more variable so it just depends what sounds more interesting to you! For me they were a more accessible starting place but YMMV. I agree with Steve that you might be planning too much hitting of the same muscle groups on consecutive days.

I would get incredibly sore if I did BP and weight training on days right next to each other! Full disclosure, currently this is my routine:

Monday: Jazzercise for Women in Decline (not its real name. A 45 minute at home class using 12 pound weights with cardio bursts and a lot of getting on and off the floor)
Tuesday: 20 minute interval run, lunch walk
Wednesday: More Jazzercise
Thursday: try to take my toddler for an ebike ride
Friday: At home strength training with barbell that only goes up to 53 pounds*, lunch walk

*However, at @GuitarStv 's encouragement, I have also started including negative chin ups and sometimes I bust out my suspension system

About 40% of the time, I miss one of these workouts for whatever reason.

I'm losing a little weight and getting a little stronger and it's a pace that is sustainable. I think my point is, the main thing is to do things that you like. I don't think you would, like, lose muscle mass if you just kept going to BP and if you are upping your weights sometimes, you're gaining. I think you will gain muscle mass if you replace 1 BP with a full body strength workout, even if you wouldn't see the gains you would if you did 3 full barbell workouts a week.

Anyway, good luck and I hope you find the best rhythm for you!

[Hula Hoop]

Reading this thread with interest as I need to change my exercise routine.  I've been doing mat pilates 3 times a week for 9 years in the gym that's in the same building as my work.  Super easy as it's just downstairs and I'm motivated by seeing my friends in the class. However, unfortunately, my pilates teacher has a serious health issue so she's out until September.  My exercise routine was basically pilates 3 times a week plus walking 10,000 steps every day and often more than that on weekends.

I can still go to the gym in the building where I work and I've been trying to do pilates by myself either at the gym or at home on weekends.  However, it's difficult at home as I don't have all the equipment and even at the gym I don't work out as hard as normally as i need the peer pressure provided by the class.  The pilates that i do involves 2 kilo weights, bands, etc and quite a lot of squats, sit ups, planks etc.

My current plan in addition to the 10,000 or more steps per day (basically my walking commute to work and back):

Monday - cardio at the gym - usually 30 minutes on the eliptical or exercise bike
Wednesday - mat pilates by myself
Thursday - cardio at the gym
Friday - mat pilates by myself at the gym
Saturday - pilates at home
Sunday - rest, some walking and maybe some leisurely swimming

Since i'm a menopausal woman, I was thinking of replacing some of the pilates with weight lifting at the gym.  However, I'm not sure where to start with this.  Maybe starting strength?  I have no idea what I'm doing and it's a bit intimidating as there a lot of buff guys and very few women at this gym. And some are my colleagues.

What do you recommend?  I'm keen to keep doing to cardio as I've noticed that I'm not as fit as I could be when I go on hikes with my husband.  Should I be working out every day but alternating weights and cardio?

[the lorax]

According to the research I have seen, women in their 40s and 50s need to do heavy lifting and most of us didn't learn weightlifting in our younger years.
Stacy Sims's stuff seems good to me https://www.drstacysims.com/ - she's a researcher and her book Next Level specifically covers training and nutrition needs for women heading through perimenopause and beyond. Obviously the science is continually evolving but the point is that fluctuating/declining oestrogen levels significantly changes how our bodies respond to exercise. We need our training to reflect that.

Another resource I've found useful is Meg Gallagher's Stronger by the Day programme - she has a free programme called before the Barbell (it's on Instragram) that aims to get women using barbells for training. she does a lot of post partum stuff I really wish had been around when I was at that stage!

I'm probably in that plateau bit personally of having made big gains initially and I probably need to do more intensive cardio so some useful stuff in this thread for me tahnks :)

[GuitarStv]

It was mentioned earlier, but if you can find Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength book and give it a read it's a very good explanation of all the aspects of basic weight training and his program.  The SS program will take you from beginner to novice efficiently (although the same issue that I've got with the weight increases in the stronglifts 5x5 applies - starting strength is mostly aimed at highschool age men putting weight on for football as an older trainee you probably want to do slightly slower weight increases).



There's a balancing act that I think anyone new to strength training needs to be made aware of.

You don't get strong by lifting heavy weights.  You get strong by recovering after lifting heavy weights.  There is a tendency for people to over-complicate things, and add way too many exercises to their routines when starting training.  This can be sustained for a little while at the start, but eventually will seriously limit your ability to develop strength by limiting your ability to recover.  Those regular increases to the weights will really start to kick your butt after a few months.  Have faith in the program and stick to it.  Strength training is a marathon where surviving to the end is the win.  This isn't something that I knew when I started and I overdid things many times before figuring it out.



That's not to say that you can't be active in other things and still get reasonably strong.  My current routine (which I've been following for the past couple years now) goes like this:

M - (morning) 30 minutes run, squats / (evening) 1 hr BJJ class, 1 hr BJJ sparring - Gi
T - (morning) 30 minutes run, bench press and pull-ups / (evening) 1 hr BJJ class, 1 hr BJJ sparring - No gi
W - (morning) 30 minutes run, deadlifts
Th - (morning) power cleans / (evening) 1 hr BJJ class, 1 hr BJJ sparring - Gi
F - (morning) military press and 1 arm row / (evening) 1 hr BJJ class, 1 hr BJJ sparring - No gi
S - (morning) 1 hr BJJ class, 1 hr BJJ sparring - Gi
Su - rest

At 44 the biggest difference I'm running into from when I was in my 20s is that recovery takes longer and I get more sore when adapting to new stuff in the routine.  I'm still following similar reps to what I did with starting strength, working up to sets of 3x5 but I'm not really pushing big numbers anymore on the weights or trying to make strength gains (squatting and benching body weight, and deadlifting around 1.5x).  I have to split up the workouts to keep soreness manageable with Jiu-Jitsu.  The jogging is hit and miss, and usually just something I do when it's needed to drop down in weight for a tournament.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

@Hula Hoop - Yes, you should add some barbell work! Most people at a gym are nice, maybe too nice to women. (Like over helping.) The most intrusive thing anyone ever said was that I was "really hitting it." As it was a kindly old fellow speaking, I decided to take it in the helpful spirit that it was intended.

Starting Strength is a great place to start and includes mature women in the photos. What I would suggest since you already have things you like, is to learn one thing at a time. Start with squats. You're already at the gym wearing gym clothes, throw on a pair of Chucks* and do some squats. Practice the motion ahead of time so you feel more confident, and start with the empty bar and just a set or two. When that feels good, add something else. Good luck! I really think adding strength training will improve your hiking performance more than you would think.

*Weight lifting shoes exist but I always wore Chucks. You need flat shoes with limited padding for squats

[GuitarStv]

Any of the minimalist type shoes will work well for lifting too.

[Weisass]

About two years ago I started doing strength circuits every day, except Sunday, 30 min per day.

Six months ago, I started a concerted lifting routine that looks as follows:

Monday: lower body (quad emphasis) plus cardio
Tuesday: upper body plus cardio
Wednesday: lower body (glute emphasis) plus cardio
Thursday: cardio
Friday: upper body plus cardio
Saturday: lower body (hamstring emphasis) plus cardio.

Most of the cardio is steady state, heart rate zoned for 60-75% of my max. Two sessions include 15 minutes of sprint repeats.

In addition I have eaten in a slight deficit with a macro focus.

I’ve lost twenty pounds, gained muscle, and I’m at the point where I’m starting to see real definition, and I can’t believe I didn’t start sooner! For reference, I am a 41 year old female who cardio bunnied her way through life prior to this. Weightlifting and lifting heavy has been a game changer.

[Weisass]

Any of the minimalist type shoes will work well for lifting too.

I wear my converse.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Any of the minimalist type shoes will work well for lifting too.

I wear my converse.

It's definitely the pink Chucks and hot pink lifting straps (along with the demand for a women's bar) that earned me the nickname Iron Diva from one of the employees.

I need to get back in a gym.

[classicrando]

Another motivational benefit to weightlifting that no one has mentioned yet: it promotes brain health, it promotes neural plasticity, and it promotes neural growth.

[GuitarStv]

More importantly, your ass will look better.  :P

[jeninco]

Any of the minimalist type shoes will work well for lifting too.

I wear my converse.

It's definitely the pink Chucks and hot pink lifting straps (along with the demand for a women's bar) that earned me the nickname Iron Diva from one of the employees.

I need to get back in a gym.

Women’s Olympic bars are the bomb for anyone with less-huge hands! As you increase the weight, it’s so reassuring to be able to securely hold the bar!

I think I’m older than most of you, and I find one day of HIIT ( weight involvement varies by how the instructor is feeling) and two day of lifting heavy , along with one day of shorter faster running and one day of longer mid-exertion-level exercise (several  to 6ish hours of hiking typically) along with trying to walk around 10,000 steps per day is what I can manage without getting overtrained. 

Sometimes 3 days/week lifting, but mostly 2.  I probably lift heavier than average, though, and  I do Olympic lifts: this month I’m working with a trainer to clean up my snatches. last month I did 5x5 just over body weight deadlifts on Fridays.