Well, the clocks went back at the weekend. Apparently, we all gained an extra hour in bed. Lovely! Except nobody bothered telling my bloody body clock, which still thought it was time to get up at the crack of dawn! 😂 But it got me thinking about something I find absolutely fascinating. Did you know we've all got our very own little clock ticking away inside us? And it has a lot more influence over how we feel than you might imagine. What Is Your Circadian Rhythm? It's calle

Struggling to find the motivation to exercise? Discover why small daily challenges, short workouts and regular movement can make such a difference to your physical and mental wellbeing in midlife. I was listening to a Mel Robbins podcast recently, and it got me thinking… What if doing something a little difficult early in your day actually made the rest of it feel easier? Now, don't panic. I'm not about to suggest getting up at 5am, jumping into an ice bath or running ten mil

Do you ever have those days where it feels like everybody wants a little piece of you? I think it's one of the strange things about this stage of life that we don't really talk about enough. You get to your 50s and beyond and perhaps imagine life might start getting a little less hectic. The kids are grown up (or mostly grown up), so surely they don't need you quite so much anymore? Hahahaha. 😂 (Turns out nobody told them that). And then, just as our children are becoming mo

There are certain things about exercise that many of us have believed for years. Cardio is for your heart. Weights are for your muscles. Simple. Except… like most things when it comes to our bodies, it’s not quite that black and white. 😂 I certainly grew up thinking this way. If you wanted to get fit or look after your heart, you ran, cycled, swam or did aerobics. If you lifted weights, it was because you wanted bigger muscles. But our bodies are far cleverer, and slightly m

“Well… I suppose I’m just getting old.” How many times have you said that after getting up from the sofa and taking those first few slightly creaky steps? 😂 Or perhaps you’ve noticed it’s a bit harder to turn and look behind you, getting down to the floor isn’t quite as appealing as it once was, or putting your socks on suddenly seems to require considerably more effort than it should. It’s very easy to put all of this down to one thing: AGE. There’s a common belief that bec

Summer has a funny way of knocking our normal routines completely out of the window. Holidays, days out, children/grandchildren, BBQs, glasses of something cold in the garden… and suddenly the exercise routine that was ticking along quite nicely has gone a little bit AWOL. And if your exercise over the last few weeks has mainly consisted of walking to the fridge, lifting a glass of something cold or occasionally wrestling with a sun lounger, please don't panic! 😂 You haven't

If you've ever looked at a 20-minute strength workout and thought... “Can that really be enough?” You're definitely not the only one, I used to think it myself! We're surrounded by messages telling us we need to do more. More exercise. More sets. Heavier weights. Longer workouts. Harder workouts. And preferably finish in a sweaty heap on the floor so we know we've actually achieved something. 😂 But what if getting stronger isn't really about doing more? What if it's about do

I talk a LOT about consistency. Moving regularly. Keeping our muscles strong. Looking after our mobility. Making exercise part of our lives rather than something we dip in and out of. But do you know what else I think is really important? Having a break. Yep. A fitness instructor just told you to take some time off. 😂 Especially at this time of year, routines change. We go on holiday. Family comes to stay. It's ridiculously hot. We're out for the day. Or sometimes we simply

I was thinking about this the other day… Do we become less adventurous as we get older? And I don’t mean throwing ourselves out of a helicopter or suddenly booking a one-way ticket to Thailand. 😂 I mean the really little things. Trying a food we’ve never eaten before. Going somewhere new. Walking a different route. Learning something completely random. Joining a class where we don’t know anyone. Trying an exercise that looks a bit scary. Even putting something on and thinkin

Have you ever found yourself thinking... "I really need to get back into exercising." Maybe you've missed a few workouts, life has got busy, you've been away, or perhaps it's just been too hot to feel like moving very much (I think we can all relate to that lately!☀️). The good news is... You don't need to spend hours in the gym or suddenly become one of those people who jumps out of bed at 5am full of energy (if that's you, I salute you... but it certainly isn't me!). The re

Have you ever found yourself thinking... "I've missed my workout this week... I may as well wait until Monday and start again." If you have, you're definitely not alone. It's something I hear all the time, and if I'm honest, I've had those thoughts myself over the years. But can I take a little pressure off you? At this time of year especially, routines often go a little bit out of the window. Holidays, family visits, grandchildren, BBQs, weekends away, long walks in the suns

Have you ever felt like your body has quietly changed the rules without telling you? Maybe you've noticed it's become a little easier for weight to settle around your middle, even though you don't feel like you're eating any more than you used to. It can be incredibly frustrating, and it's something I hear all the time. The good news is that it's not simply about eating too much or exercising too little. As we get older, several changes happen inside the body that can make ma

I want to talk about four weird health hacks I try to do every day, and I thought it would be fun to talk about them here. Because yes, some of them do sound a bit strange. But there is always a reason behind them. The first one is eating red or purple foods every day. I actually started this a while back, and somehow it became one of those habits that has just stuck. My favourites are berries, red cabbage and sometimes beetroot (it's not my absolute favourite but I do love i

Have you ever noticed how every week there seems to be a new health trend that promises to change your life? One minute it's ice baths. The next it's red light therapy. Then it's the latest supplement with a name I can't pronounce, followed by another gadget that's apparently going to help us live to 100! Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely love learning about health and keeping up with the latest research. It's one of the things I enjoy most about my job. But if I'm honest,

With temperatures soaring this week, many of us are reaching for our sunglasses the moment we step outside. I certainly have a collection of them, and there's no doubt they have an important place when we're driving, spending long periods in bright sunshine or if our eyes are particularly sensitive. But recently I've been reading about the fascinating role that natural light plays in our health, and it got me wondering whether many of us are wearing our sunglasses more often

Have you ever found yourself thinking: "I'm eating pretty well, I'm exercising, I'm trying my best to get enough sleep... so why do I still feel puffy, tired and like all my weight wants to settle around my middle?" If that sounds familiar, you're definitely not alone. For years, we've been told that if we gain weight, particularly around our tummy, it's because we're eating too much and moving too little. Whilst food and exercise are obviously important, the reality is often

Every now and then, a piece of research comes along that makes me smile because it confirms everything we've been working towards together for years. A huge new study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, published last week, has done exactly that. Now, I know what you're thinking... "Another health study?" But bear with me, because this one is a little different. Researchers followed more than 147,000 adults for up to 30 years (yes people actually gave 30 years

There’s something I’ve been reflecting on recently. Over the bank holiday weekend, I spent time with our ever-growing extended family, 16 of us, across three generations. The weekend before that, I was walking through bluebell woods with two of my closest friends. Fresh air, sunshine, simple conversations… nothing strenuous. I came home feeling completely different. Clearer in my mind, lighter in my body and more relaxed than I’d felt in weeks. It really got me thinking… We F

Hydration is one of those topics we all think we've got sorted, and I know we have talked about this before so many times, but for those of us over 50, the truth is a little more nuanced. Getting it wrong could be quietly affecting how you feel every day. This week I want to talk about water. Not in a "drink eight glasses a day" way, but in a way that might actually change how you feel in class, how well you recover, and even how sharp your thinking is. "I'll drink when I'm t

You might not have seen this in the headlines, but something quite important has changed in the world of fitness… Hot off the press, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has updated its strength training guidelines. Now before you switch off thinking this sounds a bit technical, stay with me, because this actually makes things simpler , more achievable, and far more relevant… especially in midlife. 💡 So, What’s Changed in Strength Training Guidelines? For years, th