Big Beautiful Women, and the "Big" Weights :

Until the WNBA came along, Athletic modesty was cruelly dictated for XLT Women's Sizes. The Sports and Fitness Industry continue to resist heavyweight resistance exercise (strength) training for women, and still maintain an unwritten rule for size acceptance: particularly for wide-fitting 1x-6x women, women over 40, large and tall women.
 
   Too many bigger people, male and female, have only modest confidence in their athletic abilities. The feeling is, why spend money on equipment if you are made to feel you could never master certain athletic skills because you are too thick, too old, too heavy, or look too ridiculous or way too imposing trying to do it?
 
 The posters on the walls of most health clubs or, the images in advertising of slenderized 19 year olds skiing or mountain-biking with wild abandoned, have no meaning for any woman with limited athletic experiences or who may be discouraged about the ongoing bias and misconceptions of strong women and large women.

 Inactive or not, you want an environment in a health club that provides an ongoing learning experience and lifts your self-confidence: as YOUR "Lifting Confidence" improves! The financial investment would be very worthwhile, if and when there's a lot of personal attention and support. Unfortunately, most folks don't get that once they've enrolled in a membership and all too often, it's not a very welcoming experience, either.

 Also, being middle aged and discouraged, with limited athletic experience, past injury, heavy job and family commitments, you don't want to be in more pain or risk injury and be humiliated trying to fit a size six fitness regimen. You're lifting and pulling more weight standing still. Body-type resistance training you can tailor to your own needs and desires would seem to be a likely fit for the one-third of the population of women over size 16.

 If anything, you would likely prefer being regarded as a leader in something new and bold. More than this, you do not want to waste more time and cash on something silly. I believe women's weight lifting is the answer. Whether you do it briefly, infrequently and recreationally, do something breath-taking like Women's Powerlifting, or you want to consider bodybuilding as the true path to size plus swimwear fitness.