{"id":376036,"date":"2025-12-29T22:51:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T22:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/376036\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T22:51:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T22:51:10","slug":"at-55-i-was-a-slim-gym-bunny-but-had-brittle-bones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/376036\/","title":{"rendered":"At 55, I was a slim gym bunny, but had brittle bones"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\t\t\t\tI wasted so much time and money at the gym. This year, I cancelled my membership and took control of my health\u00a0\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

This was the year I grew up. I stopped lying to myself about how fit I was. It was also the year I decided to put myself first. And I believe (assuming I don\u2019t get hit by a bus) that it will transform the rest of my life.<\/p>\n

Last year, all was well \u2013 superficially. I was, as my grandmother used to say, \u201cgoing along.\u201d I\u2019d been a member of the same gym<\/a> for three decades. I swam outdoors. I even did regular yoga \u2013 the same online session: \u201cYoga for strength\u201d. I was a diligent try-hard exerciser.<\/p>\n

In reality, if I drove to the gym, it worked out at \u00a3100 a visit, as I was so resistant to its dullness. I\u2019d manage a slow 5K treadmill \u201crun\u201d which made my back ache, as I didn\u2019t know not to land on my toes. Or I\u2019d do a bunch of lat pulldowns, ten squats and blither around in the weights room. Despite the yoga, I was as stiff as peanut brittle.<\/p>\n

Swimming I loved though. The colder the water<\/a>, the quicker the swim. And, as I\u2019d heard ad infinitum since my thirties, it was low \u2013 or no? \u2013 impact, great for the joints. It was a buzz, a boost. I felt hardy.<\/p>\n

I would have continued like this, smack-bang in the middle of my fifties, as the oestrogen drained out of me<\/a>, kidding myself I was doing everything right. But then Matt Roberts, the personal trainer and founder of health club Evolution, who I\u2019d known for years, staged an intervention. He invited me to attend his Knightsbridge branch for a \u201cbone health scan\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"AnnaAnna Maxted had been afraid of intense training \u2013 now she can deadlift 60kg, more than her own weight (Photo: Teri Pengilley)<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t keen. I was a young 55 \u2013 hello? I turned up late, relieved that the specialised ultrasound scan took just fifteen minutes. I was thinking fondly of the last time I\u2019d had an ultrasound scan (\u201cit\u2019s a male\u201d) when the sports therapist broke the news. This time, it wasn\u2019t lovely. I had osteoporosis. <\/p>\n

The bone mineral density of my spine was 0.746g\/cm2, and my T-score was -2.7. (If you\u2019re over 40 and it\u2019s less than -2.5 you have osteoporosis.). My Z-score (age matched) was -1.6. My left femur was even worse.<\/p>\n

I actually felt shame. Partly because our society is so vile about ageing that unless you\u2019re strict with yourself any marker of it invokes self-loathing. But also because I\u2019d been idly thinking of taking up ice skating. (Hm, I still might.)<\/p>\n

I was culpable. I knew that lifting heavyish weights was recommended for women my age. And, vaguely, that bone density declined after menopause<\/a> (up to 20% in the first five or seven years.) Want to lower osteoporosis risk? Regularly \u201cload your skeleton\u201d. What had I been doing? Avoiding gravity in a swimming pool. Plus I worked from home, and went days without walking.<\/p>\n

\t\tYour next read<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\"Article <\/a><\/p>\n

Now, I had a choice. Sit at my desk and carry on crumbling, until the day I tripped and my hip shattered like a glass bauble \u2013 or build myself up. Even then, faced with future frailty or the opportunity to become healthily robust, I hesitated. I felt guilty about taking time off when I could be working.<\/p>\n

Friends persuaded me. I had to do this. I wanted to be fit. But I was clueless \u2013 I\u2019m not an intuitive or accomplished exerciser. If I try to push it, I hurt myself. I needed help.<\/p>\n

A year on, I\u2019m a new woman (and not just in terms of body composition). I can deadlift 60kg, more than I weigh. My posture has gone from scoliotic to upright. I\u2019m faster in the pool. I sprint for a bus and barely raise my heart rate. We had a new wrought iron gate installed in our front garden, and I carried it from the back of our house to the builder who spluttered: \u201cThat\u2019s a heavy gate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rebuilding my bones has required commitment. Following Evolution\u2019s bone health programme, which I was gifted (an incentive in itself \u2013 a 12-week course costs approximately \u00a33,600), I began doing two hardcore targeted strength training sessions a week (the journey \u2013 walking, tube, walking \u2013 to central London, adds 7,000 steps, and takes an hour). <\/p>\n

The first months, with my trainer Ollie, got me in shape to train. I was weak, and lopsided, with my lower back muscles saying \u201cI\u2019ll do it!\u201d to almost any move because my glutes and core were on a comfort break \u2013 it was like trying to get Pinocchio fit for deadlifting.<\/p>\n

Strength training is not a treat, it doesn\u2019t have that fun, frivolous feel \u2013 unlike ice skating \u2013 but it is exciting. Ollie \u2013 encouraging, gently merciless \u2013 coached me to feats I never imagined I\u2019d be capable of. Each session is intense and gruelling. I sometimes feel sick. Or dream of curling up and sleeping on the gym floor. Single leg glute bridges. Weighted hip thrusts. Weighted squats on a machine devised by someone spiteful. Also \u2013 jumping. (Another way to load my skeleton, which I\u2019d not done for 40 odd years.) But afterwards, I feel exhilarated.<\/p>\n

In addition, every week I trudge to Knightsbridge (6,000 steps) to use a technologically fancy contraption called a BioDensity machine, under Ollie\u2019s supervision, which enables you to safely lift, push and pull up to ten times\u2019 your bodyweight. It takes five seconds of sustained almighty effort for each static move. So for the \u201cpush\u201d \u2013 a chest press \u2013 I grasp the bar, then, grrr, exert every fibre of force like I\u2019m trying to push a car uphill. The bar barely moves, but somehow, this puts huge load through my bones.<\/p>\n

Along with the weightlifting and the jumping, the BioDensity machine exerts a force through my muscles that tells my lazy bones: \u201cThe bare minimum will no longer suffice \u2013 you need to be tough enough to do this now.\u201d The bones adapt, their bone-building cells are prompted to lay down more mineralised tissue. It takes time to rebuild bone density, but six months ago, I had another scan, and my hip BMD had improved by 4-5%.<\/p>\n

While I believe that most people would benefit from one-to-one assessment and coaching to begin with, to perfect technique and train safely, it is possible to slowly build muscle and bone strength at home<\/a>, with dumbbells, or in the gym, once you know what you\u2019re doing. (The BioDensity machine is terrific \u2013 but not essential. For example, studies have shown that hip BND improves if you do 50 hops daily.)<\/p>\n

When I speak to Jon Roberts, technical director of Evolution, about (cringe) \u201cmy journey,\u201d it\u2019s a familiar story. \u201cPeople are scared of exercise,\u201d he says. Especially for women in mid-life: \u201cThe number one fear is, \u2018If I do weights, I\u2019m going to bulk up.\u2019\u201d In fact, \u201cbulking up when you\u2019re fifty plus is really difficult. We\u2019re losing muscle. Our hormones aren\u2019t on our side.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AnnaAnna Maxted says her personal trainer has transformed her body and posture (Photo: Teri Pengilley)<\/p>\n

What will happen is that your body will become \u201cmore athletic-looking\u201d. He says: \u201cIt\u2019s the healthy version of you, rather than the overly lean version of you.\u201d It delivers muscle mass and improves bone density. \u201cThat\u2019s not a super-skinny body.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year has changed my look \u2013 and mindset. I\u2019ve faced what I was afraid of \u2013 the physical and mental discomfort of intense training, the facts of passively ageing, the guilt that it was selfish to prioritise myself. But the reward is that in my fifties, I feel strong, confident and capable \u2013 more than I ever have. Weightlifting empowers you mentally as well as physically. My mind feels sharp and clear.<\/p>\n

I cancelled my old gym membership \u2013 like binning a safety blanket that was suffocating \u2013 and will continue strength training with my PT from hereon. After decades of half-arsing it on fitness \u2013 clueless, avoidant, courting frailty \u2013 I\u2019m finally being a grown-up, putting in the work, investing in my health and future me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I wasted so much time and money at the gym. This year, I cancelled my membership and took…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[8563,49,48,5105,407,84],"class_list":{"0":"post-376036","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-ageing","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-features","12":"tag-fitness","13":"tag-health"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}