I am very new to weight training. I've been doing some arms with dumbbells and machines for years but never got serious about full body. Now in my 40's I realise how important lifting weights is as we get older and we start to lose muscle tone and bone density. I did a bit of research and found a fantastic YouTuber, Cheryl Coulombe or "Lift with Cee" (@ceelifts on IG). She targets exercises for over 40's and since she started lifting in her 40's and at 59 looked absolutely incredible and I was sold to at least try out her workouts. My biggest fear was not knowing where to start or injuring myself further.
So having said that, this is my 6 month account of doing her weight training videos. I have a lower back injury so I started with core exercises and followed her beginner lifting videos for the entire 6 months, deciding I would only start a new workout after the 6months. I could increase the weights if I felt like I need it though. She has some great introduction videos here too. I love that she talks about "fat loss" over "weight loss" since as we gain muscle we may not see a big difference on the scales but certainly will in how our body looks, feels and burns energy.
This is what my workouts looked like;
7 days a week - 8,000+ steps (Cardio), moved to 10,000 steps a day in October
2 days a week;
- July - Started with Beginners lifting
- August - Moved to Full Body Workout 30mins (these are great when I don't have time for the full 60mins)
- September-December - Moved to 30min Upper Body + 30min Lower Body
In the beginning I added in 3-5 days a week - 10 min Core exercises (Core) because my back needed the core strength. Probably for a couple of months I did this.
And here are the results by month (July 10 - Starting stats);
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|
July 10
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Aug 8
|
Sept 30
|
Oct 23
|
Nov 10
|
Dec 10
|
Jan 9
|
|
|
Weight
|
146.5lbs
|
147lbs
|
146lbs
|
145lbs
|
146lbs
|
145lbs
|
144lbs
|
|
|
Biceps
|
12"
|
11.5"
|
11.5"
|
11.5"
|
12"
|
12"
|
12”
|
|
|
Chest
|
38"
|
37.5"
|
37.5"
|
37"
|
38"
|
37"
|
38”
|
|
|
Waist
|
35"
|
35.5"
|
35.5"
|
33.5"
|
34"
|
34.5"
|
34”
|
|
|
Hips
|
40.5"
|
41"
|
40.5"
|
39"
|
40"
|
39"
|
39”
|
|
|
Thighs
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22"
|
22.5"
|
22"
|
21.5"
|
22”
|
22.5”
|
22"
|
|
|
|
So it's December and I have to say I feel amazing. As you can see from the results on paper though it doesn't seem like a dramatic change and with not much difference on the scales I see how one would get discouraged but the weight shifts from fat to muscle. I want to eat more and yet and not gaining weight, I definitely see the changes in my body, how my clothes fit, how my muscle is developing and how strong I feel. Bonus is my back pain has been diminished quite a bit. I'll do a 12month progress post but I'm definitely sticking with it. People have been noticing and commenting on how good I look. I definitely noticed the saddlebags diminished and my butt is higher from all the squats LOL
Toward the end I found her "30-Min Full Body Workouts" the best option, three times a week ideally. Consistency is key and giving yourself a realistic goal like 6 months. I've even upped my weight a couple of times and am closer to the weights she uses in the videos.
