Hi, Nancy. Thought I'd stop by and visit you over here at the gym. Sounds like you have a pretty ambitious program going on there! Hope things are going well. I actually don't believe in "no pain, no gain." But I do like that feeling of really working a muscle.

I'm another aging woman. Not clawing my way back from a precipice but trying to recover what I'd achieved in 2011 (see my gallery photos). I loved my weight training classes at the Y, but my favorite instructor went away, and so did the fun.

Now that I've moved back into a house (from a condo) I'm getting together a workout space where I can resume regular workouts with my videos. As Whofan said, good form is important, as well as choosing the right weights. Less is fine until you're really ready to move up. You'll know!

Wish me luck. My house has a lot of stairs, and the old quads will need to be strong. They say old ladies lose their ability to get up from the toilet, and I'm aiming to prevent that, too.

Enjoy yourself!