I’m 38 and never used to lift weights but this fitness app has given me the confidence to work out from home

Until my late-30s, lifting weights had never crossed my mind. I didn’t own dumbbells and when I had a gym pass I used it solely for swimming and classes. I was apprehensive of the weights section, had no idea how to use the equipment, and was far too self-conscious to pick them up for fear of doing it wrong or looking silly.

But in the last few years, a lot of people I know started to lift weights, and I read article after article listing the benefits of strength training for women, from enhanced bone density to improved metabolism.

I decided I needed to give it a try and my editor suggested I try Peloton’s strength training program so I could begin in the comfort (and privacy) of my own home.

Raring to go, I set myself up at home with three sets of dumbbells: light (2.3kg each), medium (4.5kg each) and heavy (6.8kg each). I then downloaded the Peloton app and decided on Joslyn Thompson Rule’s Discover Strength programme, which schedules three sessions a week for six weeks.

Here’s how I got on.

Weeks 1-2

I was thankful that the first few sessions didn’t push me too much, so I wasn’t put off continuing by sore muscles. To a background of uplifting music, Joslyn talked me though the importance of breathing during lifting, plus how to breathe into the different reps.

I didn’t feel like I was working especially hard at times, but luckily the Peloton app told me how many calories I had burned and which muscles I’d trained.

The mobility sessions covered plenty of stretching and included practising the beginning stages of a push-up. It was enlightening to see how mobility informs technique and Thompson Rule is also great at getting across the why along with how.

While I’m not used to following workouts on my phone, it was handy to be able to move the phone around the mat and change angles depending on the move and where my gaze naturally went.

The other advantage of using my phone was that, towards the end of the first week, the weather improved, so I was able to move my mat outside and exercise in the sunshine.

Things stepped up in the second week, but at a manageable pace. Thompson-Rule built on exercises she taught in the first week, such as progressing the bear plank by lifting one hand off the floor at a time, challenging me to maintain the position with three points of contact with the floor, rather than four.

It was gratifying that exercises like side planks and goblet squats were becoming more familiar, and I didn’t have to look at the screen to copy every pose. Just a couple of weeks ago I didn’t have a clue what those terms even meant!

Weeks 3-4

Weights began to be incorporated in week three as we continued to build on what we learnt in the first fortnight. The intensity certainly went up another notch and I found myself breaking out in a sweat and getting out of breath.

The sessions were divided into a series of blocks, such as a combination of renegade rows, half goblet squats and forearm side planks.

By now I had learned that I had to embrace the chaos of my home life to work out regularly. To begin with, I tried to carve out a quiet and clutter-free space, but with a partner working from home and a young child on school holidays, solitude and tidiness just wasn’t part of the equation.

Instead, I accepted practicing planks while my child threw a ball over me, or perfected my goblet squats in the space between the washing line and the paddling pool.

In week four, as we finished phase one of the program and started phase two, the workouts increased from 20 to 30 minutes. Using a combination of light, medium and heavy weights, I noticed that for the first time it felt like a whole-body workout, and I enjoyed an invigorating whoosh of endorphins during and after each session.

It was around this point that I finally felt like I was making progress. For the first few weeks of the program, I had itchy feet and was desperate to see immediate muscle or proof that what I was doing was working, but from week four many of the moves became second nature to me, and I was able to hold them for longer or use heavier weights.

Weeks 5-6

As the workouts increased to 30 minutes, the warm-ups became more involved, and Thompson-Rule took time to explain the importance of rest to make sure the strength gains were realised. It was refreshing to get this balanced view and not just be told to push harder.

Thompson-Rule also introduced new movements designed to improve balance and stability, such as the single-arm reverse fly. While this was a challenge, it was a confidence boost to be able to quickly learn an exercise.

The final week was the hardest of all, with Thompson-Rule giving the option to use heavy weights for familiar moves. It was testing, but I did it—which was a fantastic feeling.

I’ve loved following this program. While I was impatient to see improvements at first, I feel so much stronger now, and confident to continue. I can now plank, and know the difference between a goblet squat and a Romanian deadlift.

Strength training is now firmly part of my exercise routine and I can’t see myself stopping—the endorphin release is just too addictive!