My exercise choices have changed significantly across the different stages of my life:
In my teens, I played a LOT of netball and touch football, and did a bit of long distance running.
In my early 20s, I was into the gym – lifting some weights, running HIIT. I even tried some cycling & a couple of triathlons.
By my 30s, I’d had my babies. And for some reason, I just didn’t want to run. It didn’t feel good for my body at the time. so I was drawn to walking, Pilates and a bit of swimming.
And now as I’ve just hit my 40s, I am still enjoying my walks, but I’m loving the combination of Pilates and heavy lifting for my strength training, along with a little plyometric/jumping for my muscle power & bone health.
And when I actually look at the research, and what was likely happening for me hormonally at these different stages in my life, it makes complete sense that my exercise choices have varied so much! I’m just so glad that I was able to listen to my body and give it what it needed.
If you feel like you’re pushing a boulder up a hill every time you think of exercising, maybe you’re choosing the wrong type of exercise.
There is so much noise out there when it comes to what we SHOULD be doing, it can overpower the little voice from our body that is telling us what it NEEDS us to be doing.
I spoke recently about how I think the term ‘midlife crisis’ needs to be re-branded to ‘midlife reevaluation’. And I really do believe this…most of the time.
But at other times, I feel like I’ve been walking a long, winding path, looking down at my feet the whole way, and all of a sudden, I’ve looked up and thought ‘Is that my destination on the horizon?’ 🌅
I wouldn’t say it triggers full-blown panic, but it’s definitely a feeling along the same spectrum 😆
Questions start flooding in: ‘Am I doing enough? Am I reaching my potential? Have I made an impact?’ 🤔
But, these feelings also extend to how I look after my body.
Even for me, having worked in this space for a long time, I can still sense this mild panic creeping in. Because I know intellectually, but can also feel physically and energetically that things are shifting 🔄
From bone density to joint pain, from pelvic floor to heart health, it’s all on my radar more than ever now.
I know that from the age of about 35 (and definitely after 40) we need to work harder to maintain our bone density and muscle mass.
I know that tendon pathologies and joint pain are more common.
I know that our pelvic floor might need a bit more attention.
And I know that heart health is more important than ever.
So, now that I’m 40, I’m mixing things up…
I still love my long walks and jumping on a Pilates reformer, but I’m adding some new flavours:
✅ Heavier lifting for muscle mass.
✅ Jumping / plyometric training for bone health.
✅ REHIT (reduced exertion high intensity interval training) for heart & muscle power.
✅ I’m also going to get serious about giving my nervous system what it needs – no more coffee on an empty stomach, a serious focus on protein intake, and prioritising my sleep++
Does your exercise routine need a mix up?