Roll back the years with this full body, anti-aging resistance band workout which can be done anytime, anywhere.
Of the many, many anti-aging tips and tricks out there, strength training is one of the most critical. Whether you use resistance bands, weights or your own bodyweight, incorporating strength training into your routine can make a real difference to the way your body ages.
The best resistance bands have an advantage over adjustable dumbbells as they're extremely portable and safe for beginners to use, which means this workout is great for all fitness levels. Not finding it very challenging? Double up a longer band to increase the tension, or use a thicker band.
PT Kate Rowe-Ham (founder of Owning Your Menopause) has put together a 20-minute anti-aging resistance band workout, together with diagrams from resistance band company The Slouch Potato. For best results, use a long loop resistance band.
Kate recommends aiming for 10-12 reps and four sets of each exercise. “These moves will help with functional movement as well as building strength for mobility and longevity,” she says.
“Perform each movement slowly, smoothly and with control,” adds Vicki Williams, founder of the Slouch Potato. “Engage your core & remember to breathe. Challenge your muscles by increasing resistance slowly and give your muscles time to recover. Rest days are good!”
Double up the band and hold the looped ends at knee height with legs slightly bent, back straight.
Squeeze your shoulders to pull it up to your ribs. Return slowly to start position. That’s one rep
Grip the band at both ends, holding it out in front of you at shoulder height with your arms straight.
Pull the band apart as far as you can, keeping your back straight. Hold it for a second then return slowly to start position to complete the rep.
Stand on the band with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, bring the top of the band up to rest on the front of your shoulders.
Lower into a squat, with your chest up and your knees over your toes. Then push up to the starting position to complete the rep.
Stand with both feet, shoulder-width apart, on the resistance band. Grasp the band with both hands and hold it with arms down at your side, palms facing forwards.
Bend at the elbow and lift your hands toward your shoulders. Return slowly to start position. That’s one rep.
Stand with both feet, shoulder-width apart, on the resistance band. Grasp the band with both hands and hold it with arms down at your side, palms facing forwards.
Bend at the elbow and lift your hands toward your shoulders. Return slowly to start position. That’s one rep.
Not only is strength training critical in preventing the muscle and bone loss that occurs as we age but it has also been found to improve resting metabolic rate - which naturally slows with age and can result in the ‘middle age spread’.
According to a 2001 paper, strength training can also improve risk factors for age-related health issues such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease while a 2022 study found resistance training can even improve sleep - a common problem for older adults and one which can impact on weight, skin and health.
The good news for those who don’t enjoy lifting weights is that a meta-analysis of research published in 2019 found training with resistance bands to provide similar strength gains as conventional weight machines and dumbbells.
Check out our long loop body bands here
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The struggle is real -- but what if it doesn't have to be?
Sociologist Christine Carter shares a simple step to shift your mindset and keep you on track to achieving your grandest ambitions.
"It's because once we hard wire a habit into our brains, we can do it without thinking, and therefore without needing much willpower or effort. A better-than-nothing habit turns out to be incredibly easy to repeat again and again until it's on autopilot."
"Here's why we need to be willing to be bad: being good requires that our effort and our motivation be in proportion to each other. The harder something is for us to do, the more motivation we need to do that thing."
"When motivation wanes, plenty of research shows that we human beings tend to follow the law of the least effort, meaning we just do the easiest thing."
Watch Christine's TED talk here:
Your bones are living tissues that get stronger when you use them.
Bones stay strong if you give them work to do. Your bones respond by renewing themselves and maintaining or improving their strength.
They are constantly regenerating, by being broken down, absorbed into the body and rebuilt.
Unfortunately however, this rebuilding process changes as we age, as the rate of breakdown exceeds the rate of rebuilding. Thus resulting in weaker bones.
While this is a natural process, you're not powerless to do something about it.
Exercise is an amazing tool to promote healthy bones!
For exercise to be most effective at keeping bones strong, you need to combine:
👉 weight-bearing exercise with impact
👉 muscle strengthening exercise
You are weight bearing when you are standing, with the weight of your whole body pulling down on your skeleton.
Weight bearing exercise with impact involves being on your feet and adding an additional force or jolt through your skeleton.
Low Impact
Higher Impact
As your muscles get stronger, they pull harder, meaning your bones are more likely to become stronger.
To strengthen your muscles, you need to move them against some resistance. Increasing muscle resistance can be done by adding a load for the muscles to work against.
Examples of resistance exercises include:
So what?
Walk (if you don't like running & jumping)! It's easy & you'll reap other benefits including boosting your mental health.
Don't be afraid to start strength training. As a minimum, just use your own body weight.
Add progression by adding in hand weights and/or resistance bands.
If it's completely new to you and want some advice, don't hesitate to speak to a qualified fitness professional.
If you have any health concerns, always get the go ahead from your GP first.
Information courtesy of the Royal Osteoporosis Society. Read more here
Shop resistance bands for healthy bones here
]]>You've got loads of time before you even need to think about it, right?
Every ovulating woman will go through the menopause at some point in their life.
While ultimately the menopause means an end to your period (whoop), there's actually a vast array of symptoms that often accompany it. Far more than the infamous "Hot Flush".
Some women can navigate this phase relatively easily, while others can suffer with debilitating symptoms.
Whatever your age it's important to understand this phase and the potential effect on your life.
While the average age in the UK is 51, you can go through the menopause at any age and perimenopause can last for YEARS up until this point.
I'm nearly 40 so statistically have another 11 joyful years of menstruation ahead of me 🥳
From a personal perspective, I've always been ignorant to my hormones. I've historically been very even throughout the month, little to no PMS and I can count on 1 hand how many people I've cried in front of.
In the last few years however, since having my daughter 2yrs ago, I've noticed a massive shift in my hormones.
Symptoms I've experienced in the last few years are on this list of symptoms. While I'm not diagnosing myself as menopausal, I now know that it's all related to fluctuating hormones.
Menopause & Perimenopause symptoms can often be the same.
Peri means 'around' so some people have perimenopausal symptoms some 5-6 years before their menopause.
Lots of people think they can’t be menopausal because they are still having their periods but sometimes periods can be the very last thing.
Symptoms can include:
Changes to your period
Hot flushes
Night sweats
Mood changes
Fatigue and poor sleep
Brain fog
Lack of sexual desire
Joint pains & muscle aches
Hair & skin changes
Worsening migraines
Vaginal & urinary symptoms
So ladies, if something starts to feel a bit off, you're not feeling yourself or you have any of the attached symptoms, don't be afraid to speak to your GP. Or anyone! You never know who else is struggling until you start talking.
There's a big conversation about menopause happening right now so use it as an opportunity to learn, talk to others and be prepared. You're not alone and you're not crazy.
Further reading:
Dr Lousie Newson | @menopause_doctor | Balance
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In simple terms Menopause is "when a woman stops having periods and is no longer able to get pregnant naturally." NHS
Menopause itself is just 1 day. The day when a woman has been 12 months without a period with the average age for a woman in the UK to reach the menopause is 51.
Roughly 50% of the world is born female and all ovulating women will at some point go through menopause.
So, if you were born with ovaries you have either been through the menopause, going through it now or will go through it at some point in the future.
If you were not, you will more than likely know someone who is one of the above.
"Knowledge is power" as they say, so learning about the menopause and the effect is imperative for EVERYONE, no matter your age or gender.
Despite the average age in the UK being 51, the menopause can actually occur at any time. Before the age of 40, it'll usually be classed as premature menopause.
Like Menopause itself, peri-menopause can start at any age and could last for several years.
Alongside the impact to your periods, there are actually a myriad of different symptoms that accompany menopause. All as a result of the now deficient sex hormone Oestrogen/Estrogen.
Some women may experience little to no symptoms, whereas others may experience an abundance.
Dr Louise Newson (GP & menopause specialist at menopausedoctor.co.uk) has some really helpful factsheets available on her site. Find out about the many symptoms to look out for here.
The menopause is a natural part of ageing that occurs due to a woman's oestrogen levels declining.
Oestrogen (or Estrogen) is the female sex hormone produced by the ovaries.
It's a clever little hormone that can have huge benefits for women including protecting your: brain, skin, bones, heart, urinary functions and the genital area.
So during menopause, when the body stops producing it naturally, the body can go through a whole range of symptoms and can put you at risk of conditions such as osteoporosis.
"Osteoporosis is a health condition that weakens bones, making them fragile and more likely to break." NHS
Living with osteoporosis means you are at higher risk of breaking a bone. As bones lose strength, they can break after a minor bump or fall.
You may not even know you have osteoporosis until you break a bone!
Until this point, the best way to understand your risk of osteoporosis is through a bone density scan (DEXA).
If you have gone through early menopause naturally or due to surgery, you may be able to get a scan through the NHS. Consult your GP if you have any concerns.
This scan may show that you have low bone density (osteopenia) which is the stage before Osteoporosis.
There are steps you can take to lower your risk of developing osteoporosis including:
"For exercise to be most effective at keeping bones strong you need to combine weight-bearing exercise with impact and muscle strengthening exercise." Royal Osteoporosis Society
When you exercise regularly, your bone adapts by building more bone and becoming denser. In particular, our muscles pull on the bones which prompt them to rebuild.
Although most muscle-strengthening or resistance exercise can improve your bone health, the NHS recommends the below forms of exercise for bone health in adults:
Even if you already have osteoporosis or fragile bones, regular physical activity can help keep your bones healthy and reduce the risk of a fracture in the future. Always speak to your GP first or a specialist personal trainer in this area.
Yesterday. But you are never too old or too young to take action to protect your bone health.
Consider it like a pension. You should be contributing to it regularly BEFORE you need it. You can continue to top it up as you are needing it however.
The good news is that you don't need to lift weights like a body builder to enjoy the benefits of resistance training for bone health.
The only caveat is that it should be progressive, meaning you need to continually challenge yourself. That can be in the number of reps, sets or frequency of the workout as well as the load volume/resistance.
The NHS recommends a minimum of 2 muscle strengthening sessions a week, where you target the whole body. This can either mean 2 whole body sessions per week or broken up into alternative upper & lower body sessions.
If you've never done strength training before, you can start off very easily with body-weight or using resistance bands.
Every purchase from us includes a free How To guide to get you started. Also be sure to follow us on Facebook or Instagram for more handy tips & tricks.
Want to learn more?
For more information about the menopause visit the NHS website here
Click here to find out more from the Dr Louise Newson (menopause doctor)
Shop resistance bands here
Learn about the benefits of strength training for women here
Learn about the myths surrounding strength training for women here
]]>There's a few possible reasons for joint pain.
The knee is arguably the most complained about joint in the body and is one of the most complex.
It’s particularly vulnerable as it takes the full weight of our body. We use it heavily every day so it can be prone to pain & injury.
While knee pain is a common complaint and a popular reason to see a doctor, it’s actually something that can be prevented or treated fairly simply.
Pain in the knee is not always a problem with the knee itself!
Amongst the many symptoms of menopause, joint stiffness, aches and pains is a common one for many women.
Backs, knees and hips are the most affected joints, followed by hands, fingers, wrists, shoulders and even your jaw! For some women, these will be no more than minor twinges, but for others it can cause chronic, debilitating pain.
Although there is no clear direct link between the decrease in oestrogen and painful joints, HRT has been shown to alleviate symptoms during trials.
It can also help to prevent thinning of the bones, which can lead to osteoporosis.
Arthritis is another cause of joint pain.
Arthritis is a common condition and refers to inflammation and stiffness of the joints and can affect people of any age, including children.
The 2 most common types are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Fibromyalgia is another condition that causes widespread musculoskeletal pain.
Symptoms can often be confused with Menopause and Arthritis. The exact cause is unknown but it's believed to be a combination of genetics & environmental factors.
There are several treatments available (medication, therapy, lifestyle changes etc..) but exercise in particular has been found to have a number of important benefits for people with fibromyalgia, including helping to reduce pain.
Yes! (Always check with your GP if you have any concerns)
Exercise will not do any harm to your joints. Even though you might not feel like exercising, there is strong evidence that exercise can reduce swelling in inflamed joints.
If you have a particularly bad flair up and your joint is particularly swollen, it is best to rest. But you can still exercise the other joints!
Exercise is beneficial to EVERYONE but this is especially true for anyone suffering from stiff and painful joints.
Regular exercise is essential as it helps to strengthen the muscles that protect and support the joints.
Avoiding exercise altogether is not the solution if you have joint pain, although you may wish it to be true!
The reason is that as you become less active, your muscles become weaker (remember muscle naturally deteriorates with age anyway), which makes your joints MORE unstable and therefore MORE stiff & painful.
Firstly, if you are at all concerned about starting to exercise, speak with your GP or a qualified fitness professional.
It is always best to start slowly and build up the length & intensity of exercise over time. You don't want to injure yourself on day 1!
Any exercise can be beneficial and it doesn't have to involve running or jumping.
Try to find something you enjoy and that you'll be able to stick to. Even a few minutes a day can make a big difference.
If running or jumping is uncomfortable for you, seek out low impact exercise that won't put any undue stress or impact on your body.
Exercise using body weight & resistance bands is a great low impact example of resistance training.
Check out low impact movement with long body bands here or movements with short booty bands here
Further reading:
]]>I ran a poll on my Instagram last week asking how many of you didn't mind running or jumping.
Here are the results:
👉 82% hated jumping
👉 80% hated running
👉 91% said burpess can f*ck right off (not your exact words but I paraphrase...)
(My followers may not be a representative sample of the UK population, but it's still indicative)
Someone said to me recently "I so wanted to be into yoga or running but I have to accept that it's not me" (hi Kerry!)
If the thought of running, jumping or yoga is stopping you from doing anything, know that firstly, you are not alone. Secondly, you don't NEED to do them.
NHS guidelines recommend all adults (irrespective of age & fitness) should be aiming to do:
👉 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity
👉 75 minutes of intensive activity
Per week. That equates to:
👉 21 mins per day (moderate)
👉 11 mins per day (intensive)
In addition, we're also recommended to do strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups, at least twice a week.
You can achieve both these recommendations without the need to run or jump.
And while exercise classes are great, they can also be a bit daunting if you're a beginner or returning after a break.
Break it up throughout your day. Start small and you may find that once you start the balls rolling, the momentum keeps you going.
Soon you may find those classes more achievable and even, dare I say it, enjoyable!
Check out the low impact range of banded exercises with your long body band here and your shot booty band here
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Whatever your age, gender or goal, strength training is an amazing activity to do.
Any form of exercise using resistance (such as bands, kettlebells, dumbbells, bodyweight, or gym equipment) counts.
The goal is to challenge your body to gradually get stronger over time. Which could be by doing more repetitions, doing them with better technique, or lifting more weight.
Strength training won’t build big bulky muscles. You have to train hard, often, and eat a lot if big bulky muscles are your goal. And even then it’s hard for women, as we lack the levels of testosterone required for natural muscle-building.
What will happen?
Among many beneficial outcomes, you’ll:
As we get older, strength training protects bone density and muscle mass.
From around age 30 we start to gradually lose both muscle and bone, and after menopause that loss accelerates.
This puts us at higher risk of falls and fractures, but resistance training can dramatically slow that process.
You can literally change the course of your life by keeping your body strong.
If you’ve never done it before, you have so much to look forward to. The quickest improvements come at the beginning.
And while the gym is brilliant, you don’t have to go there if you can’t or don’t want to.
The majority of my clients are busy mums who do workouts with dumbbells, kettlebells and resistance bands at home.
If you want to find out more, you can find the original post here
Shop resistance bands here
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