F 55, 5-7” CW 145. I have lost 64lbs 209 - 145, 45 of it in the last year. I am fine with where my weight is. I would like to firm up and sculpt a bit. I have exercised however I have never been in a gym let alone worked out. Looking for suggestions, ideas and where to start.
Most gyms will have some kind of introductory class to help new members get acquainted with the equipment and facilities. You might also want to try a few classes or do a one off with a personal trainer just to see what you’d like to work on and what you enjoy doing. The r/fitness30plus sub could also be a good resource for you.
F 60 here. What kind of gym are you looking for? I can share my experience: I joined a boot-camp style “gym” 5 months ago. I’ve lost only 5 pounds (but have not been IFing in those 5 months, and ate like a horse through the holidays … ), but have toned up and lost inches in waist, hips, and thighs. And can see a reduction in love handles and back fat in the bra area.
The workouts are intense, but the trainers help modify any movement as needed for individual circumstances (prior injury, pregnancy, etc.). Hope this helps in understanding options out there.
Barre classes are a nice place to start. This style of exercise targets small groups at a time but is a full body workout each session. They are ballet inspired so working on elongating, balance, strength, and stretching.
At 55 having done no exercise and basically starting from scratch, i would start with machine work to get yourself acquainted. When youre ready i would move to light compound movements like bench press, deadlift, squats. If mobility is an issue and youre worried you might hurt yourself, there are plenty of machines that do that work with minimal risk with the downside that it doesnt work any stabilizing muscles because the machine is fixed. Thats my recommendation as a guy who has been lifting for 15+ years.
Mark Sisson from Marksdailyapple.com has a good free resource that provides valuable perspective on fitness . . .
With this approach, a gym may not be needed, but in any event the perspective is useful, especially with a start later in life.
Congratulations. If you’re looking to “sculpt” or “tone” you’re essentially trying to build bustle and lose a little more fat, so a gym that has decent barbell & dumbbell equipment is the way to go. Planet fitness is a good cheap intro gym but their lifting equipment is trash. Go look around a couple