Caring for kids while caring for your parents while juggling a career AND the summer holidays… Sound familiar? If you’re part of the so-called sandwich generation, it’s certain to. And the one thing that slides when you’re fire-fighting on all sides is your own self-care. At the end of last year, GH conducted a survey exploring women’s feelings about fitness. More than 1,000 of you responded and only half said they currently feel fit enough. A clear majority (58%) want to exercise more.
‘When life got busy, exercise and seeing my friends were the first things to go,’ Jo Whiley recently said to Women & Home. She was talking about a period in her life when – alongside her Radio 2 show – she found herself looking after both her parents who were unwell.
‘Self-care is so important,’ she said. ‘Friends say that exercise keeps them sane and I agree.’ So how can you put movement back on the agenda, when life gets busy and complicated?
Have a specific goal
Jo propelled herself back into exercise by signing up to a half marathon with her husband. And there’s a lot of sense in this. If you’re trying to stick to fitness goals, it’s a great idea to commit to a plan with someone else or a group of friends, says Michelle Griffith-Robinson, former team GB triple jumper who competed in the Olympics before becoming a life coach: ‘I call this your accountability group. Pledge to keep each other going, never judge and always celebrate each other.’ Having a concrete date and challenge to work towards is also a strong motivational tool, she says.
Write it down 
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Next up, diarise your commitment. ‘Put your movement sessions in the diary,’ says Michelle. ‘Give them the same importance and status as you would a work meeting.’ Next, she suggests, measure and track a few concrete variables. How long you’re running, how far or how fast. ‘Progress is motivating,’ says Michelle. ‘You’ve got this.’
If your motivation is waning, it can also help to visualise the end of your challenge, says Michelle. Picture exactly what it will feel like to have stuck to your commitment and write those feelings down so you can revisit them.
Weight-training at home
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‘I hate not exercising and what an unhappy person it makes me,’ Jo said. ‘Now I’m back doing weights and swimming, and it helps my head so much.’
Weights are a great first step back into fitness – you can do them at home, in snatched intervals between other commitments. ‘Training at home, with simple equipment, is ideal for those finding it hard to carve out time or who prefer not to be in a gym,’ renowned personal trainer Caroline Idiens told GH. ‘Rolling out the mat in the comfort of your own home can also give a confidence boost to those feeling gym intimidation. At home, there’s no comparison and you can follow a workout, shower and get back to the daily to-do list all in the space of a lunch break!’
Weight-training is vitally important in midlife and beyond, she points out. As we age, women experience a natural decline in muscle mass and bone density. Lifting weights stimulates muscle and bone cell growth and maintenance that helps to counters this, while supporting better balance and mobility, aiding weight management and encouraging better cardiovascular health. ‘And these are just the physical benefits!’ she says. ‘I love the way strength exercise makes me feel and I look forward to each session and the endorphin boost afterwards.’
Swimming (for your mind as well as body)
Swimming, meanwhile, is proven to reduce the stress that often accompanies an overloaded diary. A large-scale international study published in the Journal Of Environmental Psychology highlighted that outdoor and wild swimming, in particular, provided measurable improvements in mood and stress.
Indoor swimming counts, too! ‘If I’m feeling not in the best mood, if I’m anxious about something or if I just want to feel happier, then I’ll head to my swimming pool and do 40 lengths,’ Jo said in an interview with PA Media. ‘When I come out, everything will have changed. My headspace will be completely different.’
4 tips to get back into fitness, from GH fitness expert Kim Hawley
The biggest mistake? Trying to change overnight and promising yourself that tomorrow you’ll run 5km, join a gym and start lifting weights. It’s enough to put anyone off before they’ve even laced up their trainers. Instead, think about building small manageable habits.
Start insanely small
Success comes from consistency. So if running feels overwhelming, don’t run. Walk. Literally. Once walking becomes part of your day, increase your pace, then perhaps jog for 10 seconds every minute. Those tiny changes soon add up.
Strength training? You don’t need to master an entire routine on day one. Book a session with an instructor and learn just three exercises. Spend the next six weeks practising those movements until they feel second nature. Then learn three more.
Change the reason you exercise
Instead of seeing exercise as something you do to lose weight or change how you look, think of it as investing in your future.
Strength training helps maintain muscle and bone density. Regular movement supports heart health, brain health, your balance, mobility… the list goes on. It makes life easier, whether that’s carrying shopping, climbing stairs, getting up and down from the floor to play with grandchildren or dancing the night away.
Exercise isn’t about trying to look younger. It’s about living better for longer.
Choose something you really enjoy
Walking, swimming, dancing, cycling, gardening, yoga, Pilates… it all counts. The best exercise is the one you’ll do again next week (with a smile on your face).
Remember: it’s never too late
Research consistently shows that becoming active later in life still delivers significant health benefits. People who begin exercising in their 50s, 60s and beyond can improve strength, fitness, balance, independence and quality of life.
So if life got in the way, don’t beat yourself up. Give yourself some grace, then start moving. ‘Future You’ will be very grateful that you did.