Exercise Advice Women 40+ Don’t Want to Hear (But Really Need To)
Don’t shoot the messenger—but this stuff matters. Midlife isn’t the time to just wing it with your workouts and hope for the best. Our bodies are changing, our lives are busier than ever, and our hormones have a mind of their own. What worked in our 20s simply doesn’t cut it anymore.
So here are five slightly uncomfortable - but genuinely transformational - truths about exercising in your 40s and beyond, plus what to do about them.
1
If you’re waiting for motivation… you’ll be waiting forever
Motivation is unreliable. It shows up when you’re already feeling good, not when you actually need it. The real secret is routine. If you only work out when you “feel like it,” it won’t happen often—because life keeps life-ing. Kids, work, exhaustion, laundry, peri-menopause, brain fog… there’s always something. So treat your workouts like meetings. Schedule them, protect that time, and take the decision-making out of it. That’s why I love barre and short, structured online classes—you just press play and go. No planning, no commuting, no excuses. Motivation follows action, not the other way around.
2
Living on cardio alone? Cute—but it won’t protect your bones
Cardio is brilliant for your heart, mood and energy. But it doesn’t do much for muscle or bone strength—both of which decline quickly during peri- and post-menopause. If you want strong bones, good posture, a faster metabolism and long-term independence, you need resistance training. And no, that doesn’t mean you have to throw barbells around a gym. Barre is a form of sneaky strength training—using your own bodyweight, pulses, holds and light weights taken to fatigue. It builds serious strength without the joint stress or intimidation factor. Think of strength training as your midlife superpower.
3
If you only move when you have an hour… you’ll move once a month
The 60-minute workout myth is one of the biggest consistency killers out there. You know what most midlife women actually have? Five minutes before the school run. Twelve minutes between Zoom calls. Twenty minutes while dinner’s in the oven. Guess what? Short workouts count. They’re often more effective because you actually do them. That’s why I created 10-, 15-, and 20-minute barre and strength sessions—efficient, focused, and realistic. Stack them, spread them out, repeat your favourites. Tiny efforts add up to big results. Done beats perfect every single time.
4
Still training like you did at 25? Your body wants a word
Remember those days when you could do HIIT every day, live on Diet Coke and adrenaline, and somehow function? Those days are gone. Your hormones, joints, and nervous system are different now. High stress plus high intensity equals burnout, injury, stubborn belly fat, and cortisol chaos. Midlife training needs to be joint-friendly but still challenging, strength focused, smart with intensity (not all-out every day), and supportive of recovery, hormones and energy. Barre ticks all those boxes: low impact, high burn, deeply strengthening, loads of core and posture work—and you can adjust the intensity to match your energy. Train smarter, not harder. Work with your body, not against it.
5
Skipping recovery because you’re “too busy”? Not anymore
You’re not lazy for needing rest—you’re wise. In midlife, your muscles need more time to repair, your fascia needs mobility, and your nervous system needs calm. Recovery is where strength actually happens. If you never stretch, never release tension, and never slow down, you’ll eventually hit a wall: injury, exhaustion, or both. That’s why barre always ends with a deep stretch, and why I constantly talk about rolling, walking, restorative Pilates, sleep, and proper rest days. They’re not optional—they’re essential. Recovery isn’t a luxury—it’s the secret sauce.
Final Thought
This stage of life isn’t about shrinking or punishing your body—it’s about supporting it, so it can carry you powerfully into the next decade. You don’t need extreme workouts, endless cardio, or an hour a day. You need routine, strength, consistency (even in 5-minute bursts), smarter training, and recovery. And if you want all of that—without the bootcamp vibes or gym bunny energy—you know where to find me. Let me show you how good strong can feel.