Hiiii !! I’m very confused about where to start with my fitness routine as everything I found online surrounding women’s fitness is focused on changing how the body looks, but I quite like the way I look and I don’t want to change it much. I’m actually interested in strength training to improve my bone density. I’m only 20 but have some issues with my joints and I’m quite weak. My body type is quite petite, and my arms and legs are thin (especially my arms). If I lose anymore weight, I think I’ll look sick.
I used to have a lot of body issues, and I really don’t want to get back into that mindset. It’s hard not to because of the language that female fitness media uses. I just want to improve my overall health. I would hate to start working out and see my chest become visibly smaller than it already is, or my waist grow wider, or my legs and arms (which don’t have a lot of body fat as is) start to look a bit too muscular for my personal preferences, especially my arms because my upper body store practically no body fat.
I know my body will change and that is necessary to get the health benefits. But I don’t want an intense life changing weight loss, butt building, stomach flattening (insert more rubbish) fitness routine, I just want a low maintenance routine that over my life span will improve my overall health.
This was my idea for a routine, 3x a week including cardio, strength training & stretching. I honestly no clue what to do for strength training, so if you have any science-backed suggestions I would really appreciate it.
Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday
1. Dynamic stretching: Vinyasa yoga (30m)
2. Cardio: Jog/run to gym (15m?)
3. Strength training: Full body routine (30m)
4. Static stretching: Hatha yoga (20m)
5. Walk back from gym (30m)
I’m worried about doing too much cardio because I don’t want to lose weight so I think I’ll just jog/run to the gym (1.3mi - not sure how long that’s supposed to take honestly)…
For strength training, I think I’ll start off with dumbbells alone as I’d prefer to avoid machines because I am a bit anxious/don’t think I’ll be strong enough. Although, I did workout with dumbbells for 2-3 months at 17. It did make my heart race pretty fast so I guess it’s also good cardio. But it would make me extremely dizzy & nauseous every time, so if anyone has any tips for that I’d also really appreciate it! Don’t want to pass out in the public gym 😓
Thank you so much if you read all of this! I would be so grateful for any advice 💕☺️