Just like the guests on her hit podcast How to Fail, Elizabeth Day is proving that new passions and success can develop at any age. In her case, it’s fitness.
‘In your 40s, you will realise, it’s not that you hate exercise; it’s that you haven’t found the right kind,’ she captioned a recent video of her working out.
TRX headstands, deficit kettlebell deadlifts, pull-ups, cable hip abductions, bike sessions and yoga sequences including Tree Pose were just a few of the movements she demonstrated in her montage.
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‘At school, I thought I hated exercise. Turns out I just didn’t like team sports,’ the 47-year-old broadcaster and novelist continued. ‘In my 30s, I discovered I liked spin classes and yoga. In my 40s, I’ve fallen in love with strength training. Sometimes it takes a while to understand that the ‘fit’ in fitness is also about what fits YOU the best.’
What stands out is that Elizabeth is training different systems simultaneously, says Eryn Barber, personal trainer at The Fitness Group, leading provider of personal training courses, and founder of Three Flo coaching.
‘She’s not just focusing on strength, cardio or mobility. Instead, she’s created a routine that works on all three. This holistic approach is essential for ensuring that she is fit for life. As you get older, the decline in oestrogen during (peri-)menopause can negatively impact your strength and heart health, so having a combination of different exercises helps combat these effects.’
Research agrees, as resistance training has been shown to increase muscle strength, balance, flexibility, and lean body mass in women aged 40-60.
Barber emphasises that your approach to exercise shouldn’t differ too much as you age. ‘Whether you’re 20 or 40, you should be thinking about how you can get stronger, keep your heart ticking and be more mobile. Load and weight-bearing are hugely important, so you should continue doing strength work, sprint training and plyometrics.’
Full-body strength
From lat raises to goblet squats, Elizabeth’s strength exercises reveal a well-rounded training programme that work various muscle groups, says Barber.
Sumo deadlifts target your glutes and hamstrings. ‘The wider stance focuses more on the quads and inner thighs (adductors) and is quite often a more accessible variation of a deadlift compared to conventional deadlifts.’
Arnold presses work your shoulders (deltoids), chest, and triceps. ‘It works on shoulder rotation, which is often neglected, and can help keep your shoulders mobile and strong.’
Focusing on posterior chain strength (the muscles on the back of your body), the hip thrusts engages your the glutes and hamstring, explains Barber. ‘That’s important for good posture, especially if you’re an office worker and spend a lot of time sitting down.’
Elizabeth’s message clearly struck a chord with fans. ‘I’ve had the most extraordinary and heartwarming responses to my post about finding exercise that works for you,’ she wrote the next day. ‘A lot of you commented [that it] resonated.’
Acknowledging that not everyone had the resources, ability or interest in exercise, however, she also reassured her followers.
‘You are good enough and strong enough doing exactly what you are. Even if it is walking for a little bit every day, that is so amazingly good for you. There’s no hierarchy of one thing that is better than another. [Just because an exercise is popular] doesn’t mean that it will serve you, your lifestyle and your needs.’