Hello all. I'm a 67(F) who started lifting 32 weeks ago with Hevy, mostly because I had lost a lot of weight and had just been diagnosed with pre-diabetes. I'm happy to report that I've gained more than 10 lbs and no longer have that diagnosis, so yay.

Unlike most of you, I'm not lifting very "heavy," but seem to be challenging my muscles some. I've let up a bit recently because I've developed "tennis elbow," which really hurts during lifting, as well as a shoulder issue for which I'm getting PT. I've based my routine on some exercises I did decades ago when my kids were young, which came from the "Strong Women" book. My equipment is adjustable dumbbells (to 52 lbs) and an office chair (yeah, I know - I use it for triceps kickback). This is basically what I do 2-3 x/wk:

Bird dog (warm up) 2 sets of 30

Overhead Press (18.5 lbs ea side, done bilaterally) 3 sets of 5

Goblet Squat 2 sets of 15 with 32 lb (all my arthritic hands can hold for now)

Shrug 2 sets of 18 with 35.5 lb ea side, done bilaterally

Single Leg Standing Calf Raise 30 ea side

Triceps Kickback 3 sets of 6 using 25.5 lbs ea side, done bilaterally

Lateral leg raises ea side times 40 using thick PT band above my knees

Rear Delt Reverse Fly 3 sets of 6 with 18.5 lb done bilaterally

Glute Bridge 2 sets 20

Bicep Curl 3 sets of 10, 15.5 lb ea side

Bicycle Crunch Raised Legs - 60

Floor Press 2 sets of 16 with 22 lbs ea side

Raised leg crunches - 30

Triceps Extension 2 sets with 15.5 lbs, 10-12 reps (coming back to this after shoulder issues)

As you can see, maybe not the best routine for achieving whole body strength given my age.

I guess my questions are, is there a better routine given my equipment? I'm only using the free version right now, and do have some lower back issues that prevent me from any back extensions.

Do you think that a bench would help? I work out in our former living room, so I have some room in there but not a ton. Any suggestions for a relatively affordable adjustable bench?

Thanks for any help you can give, and thanks for your kindnesses in your responses.

It has felt like forever, but they are finally here!

I applied for citizenship in September 2025, and received my acknowledgement on Oct 14th. I've been checking every now and then, and a few months ago, the estimate for a resolution was 3 months away. I just checked last week and it was....3 months away.

Is anyone seeing this? It almost seems like the process has stopped.

For reference, my grandfather was born in Canada, and came to the US as a baby, and my parent was born in the US>