Tamsin, 60. Started going to a gym for the first time in my actual life eight weeks ago and I want to talk about the awkwardness because nobody seems to mention that part. The instructor is about 28. He is very kind and very patient and every time he corrects my squat form I feel like a giraffe learning to use a stepladder. The other women in the class are mostly younger and very confident with the equipment and I spend half the session pretending I know what I am doing while quietly reading the labels on the machines. But here is the thing. I went. And I went again. And last week I lifted slightly more than the week before and I nearly texted my daughter about it like it was news. I started this because my GP mentioned bone density at my last review and I left the appointment with a referral for a DEXA scan and this low-level hum of worry that I could not quite shake. Started reading about what actually helps and strength training kept coming up. So here I am, in leggings, mildly terrified, trying to eat more protein than I ever have in my life because apparently that matters too. If anyone else came to this late and felt completely out of place at first, I would genuinely love to know it gets more normal. x