As we navigate through midlife, one thing becomes clear: staying active is one of the most powerful ways to take control of our health, boost our confidence, feel empowered and future proof our body.
During midlife, fitness isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about mental clarity, emotional balance, and physical well-being. Exercise becomes a tool to feel stronger both inside and out.
In this blog, we explore how making small, non-negotiable changes to your daily routine can lead to real results, helping you feel stronger, more energized, and truly empowered.
LET'S DO THIS!
For midlife women and beyond, strength training is the perfect place to start. Why?
As we journey through perimenopause and beyond, our muscle mass naturally begins to decline. This decline in muscle can affect our strength, metabolism, and overall health. That’s why it’s essential to not only hold onto the muscle we have but to improve it through strength training.
Building lean muscle is a game changer, especially during midlife. In fact, women can lose up to 5% of their muscle mass every decade after 30 if they don’t engage in strength training. But with regular weight training, we can rebuild that muscle, which leads to a host of benefits, including:
Protection against midlife concerns like osteoporosis, arthritis, and joint pain.
Improved bone density, which lowers the risk of fractures as we age.
Better posture, as stronger muscles support a more aligned spine.
Future-proofing your body, helping you stay active and independent for longer.
And here’s the best part: more muscle = a better metabolism. When we build muscle, our bodies burn calories more efficiently, even when we’re at rest. Strength training also has a lasting effect on your metabolism, meaning after your workout is done, your body keeps burning calories as it repairs and strengthens those muscles. So, while you’re resting, the magic of strength training continues, getting you closer to the results you want.
If you’re looking to feel stronger, boost your metabolism, and protect your body as you age, strength training is where it all begins!
TIP 1:
What Weights Should You Begin With?
Start with 2kg hand weights in each hand. As you build strength, you can gradually increase the weight to continue challenging your muscles and see progress.
TIP 2:
No Weights at Home? No Problem!
If you don't have weights, head to your kitchen and grab some tins of food, water bottles, or anything with a bit of weight to get started. These household items can act as perfect substitutes while you’re building your routine.
TIP 3:
Commit to Consistency
Aim to complete strength training at least 3 times per week, alongside your daily walks and other workouts. Consistency is key to seeing results and feeling stronger over time!
As midlife women, walking: low-level cardio, is one of the most important and effective ways to support your overall health. Here’s why:
Boosts Heart Health: Regular walking strengthens your heart and improves circulation, reducing the risk of heart disease.
Supports Joint Health: Walking is a low-impact exercise that’s gentle on the joints while still keeping them flexible and mobile.
Helps Manage Weight: Incorporating daily walks can help manage weight gain, especially when combined with other forms of exercise like strength training.
Improves Mental Well-being: Walking outdoors, even for 10 minutes, can lift your mood and reduce stress, making it a great mental health boost.
If you're a beginner just starting out and haven't been exercising yet, that's perfectly okay. The key is to start small and build a routine that works for you. One of the simplest yet most effective ways to begin is by walking. A 10-minute walk each day can work wonders for your health, and as you get more comfortable, you can gradually increase the time. Make this a non-negotiable part of your daily routine.
Adding meditation, breathwork, and stretching to your daily routine can make a huge difference in managing stress, reducing anxiety, and improving flexibility.
As we age, these practices help calm the mind and keep the body moving smoothly.
Meditation helps reduce stress by calming your mind and giving you mental clarity, allowing you to better handle life’s challenges.
Breathwork relaxes your nervous system and brings focus, helping you manage daily stress and anxiety more easily.
Stretching improves flexibility, relieves tension, and helps prevent stiffness and injury, which is key as we move through midlife.
At Cara Fitness, we make it easy for you to incorporate meditation, breathwork, Pilates, and yoga into your weekly routine. These simple steps can help you feel more relaxed, flexible, and strong as you take on life’s challenges.
NEAT: Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis – The Secret to More Movement
What is NEAT? It stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, which is simply all the movement you do throughout the day that doesn’t feel like formal exercise.
These small bursts of activity can make a big difference in your overall health.
The good news? We need to do more of it! By increasing your NEAT, you can boost your metabolism, improve fitness, and feel more energized.
So, think about your day: where can you add more movement? Here are some simple ideas:
Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Walk rather than drive for short distances.
Get off the train a stop early and walk the rest of the way.
Walk the escalator instead of standing still.
Desk sitters, listen up: set a timer every hour and use "movement time" to walk around the office, take the stairs if you’re at home, or do some stretches.
Try desk exercises like squats, calf raises, or simple stretches throughout the day.
Make these small changes your NEW rules for daily life. These little bursts of activity will not only increase your daily movement but truly transform your health over time. Making NEAT a priority can change your life: quite literally!
Incorporating strength training, walking, meditation, and adding more NEAT to your day are all simple yet powerful ways to take control of your health and feel empowered during midlife and beyond. These small, consistent changes can lead to big results!
At Cara Fitness, I'm here to support you every step of the way. Right now, we’re offering a 14-day beginners’ course completely free of charge! Along with the beginners' course, you’ll have full access to everything Cara Fitness has to offer.
Click the link below to get started on your journey
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Testimonials
I have a whole new mindset since finding Cara Metz the menopausal fitness master, motivator who leaves you wanting more with her realness and amazing 15 min workouts !!!!! Thank you so much, I feel alive again!!! Good riddens hot flashes, bingo wings and muffin top !!!!
Susan Marie
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What can I say. Cara Metz truly understands her tribe and approaches us all as individuals at the same time. This makes a huge difference when you feel so understood and supported, gives you a lift.
The group of women here, worldwide, are incredible. We all have our own ups and downs and the reward of being here is feeling genuinely cared for.
I lost my way about 18 months ago and briefly left the group feeling quite lost. It soon became apparent that I was menopausal and that Cara Metz was exactly what I needed! I rejoined and am a very happy woman for it, thank you to every single member.
Nadine Pruce
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How can one sum up Cara?
Well life is like a train ride, we will meet many new passengers on our journey, but the inspiration, encouragement , friendships and support that you experience on this train ride with Cara Metz will make an everlasting impact on you! You will learn to give yourself grace, to get up and move, to make healthier eating choices, to embrace menopause instead of feeling frustrated and trying to run from it because you can’t !!! You will learn to love yourself just as you are… you be you no competition here.
Mary Pritchett Gueldenzopf
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Cara fitness has taught me how to understand the changes due to menopause and learn to love my body again through realistic fitness classes that have made an incredible difference. Meditation, that has helped me not to feel like I'm losing my mind . Cara has given you a sense of normality which is definitely needed at this time in our lives and she's created a community of women who are all going through these daily challenges and are incredibly supportive on the good days and the bad. In a nutshell, Cara fitness is just simply addictive.
Claire Leadbeater
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Cara has redefined what it means to workout after 50. I feel energized and motivated again because of Cara and the community.
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Cara is encouraging, empathetic and kind. So happy to have found her app. It’s like having my own little personal trainer in my iPad. I actually look forward to working out now as the 15 minute workouts are manageable and worthwhile. There is so much content available and the programs are well structured. I feel committed, motivated and strong and I am excited to see my progress!! Thankyou Cara fitness!
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A message from me, Cara, to you.
'Surely 15 minutes is not enough, what else do you do?'
This is the question I get all the time. It works because it allows you to stay consistent. All the time you put too much pressure on yourself to workout, you find it difficult to stay consistent because you tend to stop when life throws a curve ball your way!
AND LIFE ALWAYS THROWS CURVE BALLS!
Having the mantra 'it is just 15 minutes' let's you know it will be over before you know it! Therefore allowing a sustainable workout lifestyle to be born. We work on mindset and nutrition for women over 40 too and this will all become clear once you become part of the Cara Fitness family.
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