HOW TO FIT EXERCISE INTO YOUR MENOPAUSAL LIFE with Carly Corrigall

I have a confession…. 

I may be a personal trainer, but I don’t have time to work out.  Seriously.  Once I’ve factored in work, driving my children around (which is a full time job in itself!), not to mention all the general life “stuff”, some weeks I look at my calendar and simply cannot see how I’m going to fit in any training. And that is assuming that I can muster the energy – as we all know, there’s nothing like our hormones at this time of life to make us feel completely sapped! 

Many of the ladies I work with tell me that they struggle to find the time, too.  These are bright, knowledgeable women who often know what they “should” be doing, but it can be a different matter putting this into practice.   I can write you a training programme, but if you never find the time to actually do the sessions, you may feel as though you’ve failed. This can very quickly lead into a negative spiral and leave you wondering why you ever started!  Believe me, I’ve been there too. 

If you want to get results from any exercise programme, you need to be consistent.  Whilst I don’t have a magic wand to give you more time (I wish!), I thought I would share some ideas as to how I manage to stay on track.   

If you find just one of the strategies below resonates with you and you can put that into practice this week, I guarantee that you will be laying the foundations for making exercise a habit and more than that, one which you enjoy and look forward to. 

Find Something You Love 

This is so important.  If you don’t enjoy your workouts, how are you going to find the motivation and therefore carve out the time to do them? Life is too short to force yourself to do something you hate for the sake of it. To have the stickability factor, you need to find a form of exercise that you really enjoy.  I truly believe that there is something out there for everyone – so don’t be afraid to try new things.  

Little and Often 

If I set my PT clients homework, it is only ever 10 minutes in length.  It is remarkable how you can make a massive difference to your fitness and energy levels just by moving your body for 10 minutes per day, trust me on this one! This is super-achievable and by doing something every day, you will very quickly make regular exercise a habit which you can’t live without.  

Get Creative 

Stop looking for that magic hour staring back at you in your diary, begging to be filled with a workout! The truth is, if you wait around for that, it’s not going to happen.  This is where you need to be flexible.  It doesn’t have to be textbook perfect every time, the main thing is that you are getting it done. Loads of us are working from home these days which means we have some flexibility we haven’t had before - who says you can’t squeeze 10 mins of HIIT in before that 11am Zoom? It’ll definitely add some colour to your cheeks and will leave you feeling more perky than that double espresso! 

Be Pragmatic When Things Go Wrong 

Because they will.  There are times when your plans will need to change. Sometimes you may hit a particularly busy patch, or your hormones just aren’t playing ball.  Remember that these are just temporary blips, go with the flow and pick things up when you’re ready again.  Remember, all is not lost. This isn’t failure, this is being sensible and respectful of the other demands on your time and energy, not to mention your hormones.  It’s self-care and part and parcel of developing a healthy mindset towards exercise and making habits that will last for the rest of your life. 

For more fitness advice tailored to your body during perimenopause and post menopause from Carly Corrigall -  click the image below: