Do you ever have those moments, maybe days, weeks even, where you just don’t feel like getting up and exercising?  

I get it.  We’re only human right?  I had that moment last weekend.  I hadn’t got as many workouts as I had planned during the week and I had said to myself that I was going to workout on Sunday.  Argh.  It was hard.  I really didn’t want to workout, maybe I felt a little unmotivated (we can all experience that) & I certainly didn’t feel like lifting weights for an hour.

So I didnt.   I didn’t workout for an hour.  I did drag myself up to the gym though. 

Guess what?   I felt SO amazing afterwards.   

When you have those moments or days when you don’t feel like getting up to exercise or move, ask yourself this question (because it’s the same question I ask myself when I’m in that moment).

Is exercising important to me?  If you answered yes, then ask yourself why?

If you answered No, then I’d also ask why.

If exercising is important, you will find a way, you will re-motivate yourself, even if it means dragging yourself to the gym, or in your special room at home where you workout, or move.  You know why you do this?   It’s because you know how good it makes you feel afterwards and you have a strong enough reason to do so. 

When I had my back injury in 2016, where I was flat on my back on the floor for 8 weeks and then the months of rehab that followed, all I wanted to do was to be able to go for a long walk with my boys and dog.  I’d stare out at the clear sunny skies for days, manifesting that I would get out there again.  I remember thinking how much I had taken – how much we all take for granted.  

I never want to be that way again.  Every time I have a niggle in my back (which can rear its head from time to time) it reminds me of where I was in 2016.  That is one of my strongest motivators to keep moving., particularly strength training.  It’s one of the reasons why I exercise – moving in ways with specific exercises that will keep me strong from the inside & outside.

Unfortunately and very often, until we experience pain, we may not have a big enough motivator to get us up and exercise, or to move.   Having a reason certainly helps!  

Just as exercise/movement is beneficial for all walks of life, it is particularly important for women in midlife for various reasons. 

Movement doesn’t have to mean thrashing your body for hours.  You can take a bike ride, play tennis,walk along the beach & take a dip in the ocean.  Move your body!  Your body needs to move.  It loves to move.  There are definitely better ways to move than others being a woman in midlife, which I’ll outline below.

• Strength training – to increase bone density; to boost metabolism which will improve body composition; to improve joint mobility; to give us the ability to do the things we want to do for longer and helps improve mental clarity, releasing feel good hormones.  With the correct type, frequency, intensity and speed, where you aren’t left feeling exhausted – strength training is an absolute must!
  
  
• Balance & Stability – reduces the risk of falling and injuries; focuses on core strength around every joint; gives us the confidence to stand strong in our skin and feel that we have strength from the inside out.
  
  
• Flexibility & Mobility – Improves circulation, blood flow and nourishment to the connective tissue (fascia) organs and joints.  
  
  
• Working In – Physical stress is good, however if your body is overstressed from other stressors (there are 6) then we need to pay attention to how our body is feeling (like any day) and move accordingly.  Perhaps on these days, you move, but work-in instead of working-out.
  
  
• Movement maintains youthfulness !

Have a think about why you exercise or why you don’t?

Is it important to you? You’ll find a way. Even if it is 20 minutes.  You know you’ll feel better for it.

“When thinking about life, remember this; no amount of guilt can change the past and no amount of anxiety can change the future”