No matter what your age, going to the gym and running are not the only options to build fitness. Gavin and Stacey star Alison Steadman has found a less intense alternative that helps keep her active as she gets older, but it’s beneficial for every decade.
‘I’m 78 so I don’t want to do anything intense like running,’ Steadman explained in an issue of Woman & Home. What’s the alternative? Walking. ‘I just try to walk as much as possible, whether it’s going to the shops or in and around my local woods,’ she said.
Pilates was a big part of her routine back in lockdown times, but she found that too time-consuming once workspaces reopened. ‘I did Pilates online during lockdown; I had the mat and the ball and everything but as soon as you get back to work it’s hard to find the time, so walking it is.’
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Walking is one of the simplest ways to maintain fitness as you age because it keeps your cardiovascular system working while also training your muscles and the functional movement patterns you use to stay independent every day. Brisk walking (quicker than a stroll, so you feel slightly out of breath) is particularly effective and has even been linked to living a longer life – research showed that women who walked at over 4mph could have a 15-year longer life expectancy than those who walked at less than 3mph. Really.
Beyond that, science shows it can boost your mood, reduce risk of heart failure in postmenopausal women, build muscle, reduce diabetes risk, boost immunity and improve your sleep. All for £0 and with zero equipment. It’s no wonder Steadman swears by it.
She’s conscious of her nutrition, too. ‘I eat a lot of fresh fish and vegetables,’ she added in the same interview. ‘We try to have three or four veggies with our meals; I don’t eat a lot of carbs or potatoes so we tend to go very big on veg. My favourite fish is lightly dusted plaice.’
As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism.
After earning a first-class degree in journalism and NCTJ accreditation, she secured her first role at Look Magazine, where she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!
Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red. Today, she oversees all fitness content across Women’s Health online and in print, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, which showcases the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise.
She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how. Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.