‘There are so many simple ways to reduce the chance of breaking bones as we get older but it was frustrating that as a surgeon I didn’t have the opportunity to help,’ says Dr Kate Ella. ‘But as a PT, I can help women improve their balance and strength through simple, everyday movements that reduce the chance of falling.’
Indeed, the most common injury Dr Kate treated during her career was a fractured neck of femur – otherwise known as a broken hip. ‘They happen most commonly when someone falls from standing height and are nearly twice as common in women than in men,’ she says. The good news? We have a lot of power when it comes to reducing fall risk. ‘A study of nearly 1,500 women found that exercising six times a week reduced their chance of falling by nearly two-thirds.’
But that doesn’t mean you need to spend hours in the gym, adds Dr Kate, whose newsletter focuses on ways to get moving without a gym. And the earlier you start, the better. ‘Osteoporosis – changes in the structure of bones that make them weaker and more likely to break – often starts a long time before women are aware of it, but there is so much women can do to reduce their chance of developing it,’ she notes. The exercises with the best evidence base? ‘Strength training and weight-bearing exercise, eg, running, hopping and skipping,’ says Dr Kate.
The most important fitness habits for midlife women
The three most important things midlife women should be doing for long-term health and fitness, says Dr Kate, are:
‘Strength training to keep your bones and muscles strong, so if you fall you’re less likely to break a bone and more likely to be able to get up again – but you don’t necessarily need a gym.’‘Weight-bearing cardio to keep your heart and lungs working well and your bones strong, and to give you the best chance of living in good health for as long as possible.’‘Balance exercises to reduce your chance of falling and allow you to keep doing the things you love for as long as possible, whether that’s riding a bike or getting on a paddle board.’
And all of these can easily be ‘sprinkled’ into your day, adds Dr Kate.
5 overlooked exercises you should never skip
For arm, leg and core strength, she recommends the wall press (low-impact, standing push-ups against a wall), high-heeled squats – which she explains how to do here – and an overhead weighted march. Translation: ‘Holding a weight overhead while marching – the washing basket works particularly well!’
For dynamic and static balance, Dr Kate recommends heel-to-toe-walking (walking in a straight line as if you’re on a tightrope) and ‘balance with a lemon’, a.k.a. ‘standing on one leg while throwing a lemon up and down’. Other round fruit works, too.
As for how to sprinkle weight-bearing cardio into your day, Dr Kate suggests incorporating a fartlek session into your dog walk or run.
‘Start with a 5-minute walking or running warm-up. Then, choose a tree or lamp post 100m or so away and up your pace to about 80% of your max until you get there. Once you do, slow back down to your warm-up pace until the next tree or lamp post, and repeat for 10 minutes, followed by a cool-down.’
‘Increasing the pace of the more intense sections keeps challenging your cardiovascular system as you get fitter.’
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Hannah Bradfield is a Senior Health and Fitness Writer for Women’s Health UK. An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Hannah graduated from Loughborough University with a BA in English and Sport Science and an MA in Media and Cultural Analysis. She has been covering sports, health and fitness for the last five years and has created content for outlets including BBC Sport, BBC Sounds, Runner’s World and Stylist. She especially enjoys interviewing those working within the community to improve access to sport, exercise and wellness. Hannah is a 2024 John Schofield Trust Fellow and was also named a 2022 Rising Star in Journalism by The Printing Charity. A keen runner, Hannah was firmly a sprinter growing up (also dabbling in long jump) but has since transitioned to longer-distance running. While 10K is her favoured race distance, she loves running or volunteering at parkrun every Saturday, followed, of course, by pastries. She’s always looking for fun new runs and races to do and brunch spots to try.