{"id":342085,"date":"2026-03-12T08:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/342085\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T08:52:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:52:10","slug":"i-started-exercising-in-my-late-40s-these-5-habits-made-me-stronger-than-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/342085\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I started exercising in my late 40s \u2013 these 5 habits made me stronger than ever’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alice Jordan<\/a>, 52, is a personal trainer specialising in menopause. And while her day job now revolves around fitness, things looked very different for her five years ago. <\/p>\n

In her late 40s, Alice was made redundant from her corporate job before falling pregnant with her third child soon afterwards. \u2018It was an unexpected and emotional time, and when covid hit while my baby was only nine months old, I felt completely overwhelmed, isolated and out of control,\u2019 she says. \u2018By the time my son was 18 months old, I was exhausted, struggling with my confidence and carrying extra weight. Like many women navigating perimenopause<\/a> alongside young children and career uncertainty, I had put my own health<\/a> at the bottom of the list.\u2019<\/p>\n

While lockdown was tough for Alice, it was also during this time that she started exercising \u2018to feel better and regain some energy<\/a>.\u2019 She found a personal trainer who ran sessions outside in a car park, and before long, she was hooked. These five habits helped Alice stay committed \u2013 and see consistent results.<\/p>\n

1. She found something she genuinely enjoyed <\/p>\n

If you find an activity that you enjoy, says Alice, you\u2019re much more likely to stick with it. For her, that involved a move away from \u2018punishing\u2019 cardio towards strength-based, but still high-energy workouts. \u2018The activities I enjoyed most were circuit\/strength training group classes that incorporated strength training and cardio \u2013 although keeping the cardio quite limited,\u2019 says Alice. \u2018As I started to see my body change, becoming more toned and building muscle \u2013 that was a huge motivator to keep going.\u2019<\/p>\n

2. She focuses on compound movements<\/p>\n

Alice says compound movements \u2013 exercises that work more than one muscle group at once and support functional strength \u2013 have become the foundation of most of her workouts. \u2018I typically train 3-4 times a week and my sessions are full body, combining both upper- and lower-body exercises in one workout,\u2019 she says. \u2018I\u2019ll normally start with one or two compound lifts such as squats<\/a>, lunges<\/a> or presses<\/a>, because they work multiple muscle groups at once and are incredibly effective for building overall strength.\u2019<\/p>\n

Isolation exercises such as tricep dips<\/a> and bicep curls<\/a> feature, too, as does core<\/a> work and \u2018short bursts of cardio\u2019, but Alice says the focus remains on compound movements because \u2018they make workouts far more efficient and deliver great results.\u2019<\/p>\n

3. She tracks her progress<\/p>\n

Alice has also found tracking her progress rewarding, and says \u2018Making a note of weights lifted, reps or even energy levels helped me see real change over time and kept me motivated.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"aliceAlice Jordan \/ Sportograf<\/p>\n

On track: Alice has found it useful to keep a record of her progress over time<\/p>\n

4. She prioritises short workouts <\/p>\n

Another reason Alice was able to stay consistent with her workouts was because she started to prioritise short sessions over long, punishing hours in the gym. \u2018One of the biggest things I\u2019ve learned is that workouts don\u2019t need to be long to be effective,\u2019 she says. \u2018I\u2019ve found the optimal length to be 45 minutes \u2013 this gives me enough time to include a warm-up and stretch\/cool-down at the end.\u2019<\/p>\n

5. She dedicates time to recovery <\/p>\n

On the topic of recovery, it\u2019s something Alice has \u2018come to prioritise much more over the years.\u2019 After every workout, she spends \u20185-10 minutes stretching, focusing on the muscles I\u2019ve just trained, particularly the quads, hamstrings, glutes and shoulders. I practice static stretching for muscle lengthening and flexibility<\/a>, and I hold each stretch for 15-30 seconds.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Hannah Bradfield is a Senior Health and Fitness Writer for Women\u2019s 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. \u00a0She has been covering sports, health and fitness for the last five years and has created content for outlets including BBC Sport, BBC Sounds, Runner\u2019s 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. \u00a0A 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\u2019s always looking for fun new runs and races to do and brunch spots to try.<\/p>\n