Strong After 45 /55/65– Why Strength Training Matters More Than Ever
I absolutely love working with women over 45 because I think this is such an important time in our lives to start thinking differently about fitness. As we move through our 40s, 50s and beyond, our bodies change, and what we need from exercise changes too. For me, fitness at this stage isn’t about trying to look 25 again or pushing ourselves through punishing workouts. It’s about becoming stronger, protecting our bones, keeping our muscles working, having energy and confidence, and looking after the body that’s going to carry us through the next 20, 30 or 40 years.
One of the things I’m particularly passionate about is getting women comfortable with strength training. So many women of my generation grew up thinking exercise meant aerobics, dieting and trying to make ourselves smaller. We weren’t really taught to think about building muscle or lifting weights. But as we get older, maintaining our muscle and bone strength becomes increasingly important. Strength training can be as simple as using your own body weight, resistance bands or a pair of dumbbells. You don’t have to lift enormous weights and you certainly don’t have to already be fit before you start.
I also understand how intimidating a gym can feel when you haven’t exercised for a while. You walk in and everyone seems to know what they’re doing. There are machines you don’t understand, people lifting huge weights and lots of very fit-looking bodies. It can be incredibly easy to think, I don’t belong here. But you absolutely do. This is one of the reasons I love personal training. I can show you what to do, explain why we’re doing it and help you build confidence gradually, without feeling that you have to keep up with anybody else.
My approach is a little different because I don’t separate fitness from everything else I’ve learned over the years. I’m a yoga teacher as well as a personal trainer, and I’ve also trained in breathwork, NLP, meditation and nutritional healing. I bring those things together because that’s how I see wellbeing. We don’t leave our minds outside the gym door. How we’re sleeping, how stressed we are, how we’re breathing, what we’re eating and how we’re feeling about ourselves can all affect how much energy we have for exercise.
Yoga has also taught me a huge amount about how people move. Strength is important, but so are mobility, flexibility, balance and body awareness. I want somebody to become stronger without losing the ability to move freely. I want you to be able to bend down, get up from the floor, carry your shopping, walk up a hill, lift things, travel, play with your grandchildren, garden, dance or do whatever makes your life enjoyable. That’s what functional fitness means to me — training your body for your actual life.
I don’t believe exercise needs to be all or nothing either. Sometimes the hardest part of exercising is simply getting there. There will be days when you’re tired and really don’t feel like doing it. On those days I often think, just do 15 minutes. Put your trainers on, start moving and see how you feel. You might find that 15 minutes becomes 20 or 30 because once you’ve started, your energy changes. And if 15 minutes really is enough that day, that’s okay too. You still showed up for yourself.
I want women to stop thinking that getting older means becoming weaker. Of course our bodies change, but that doesn’t mean we can’t become fitter and stronger. I genuinely believe we can surprise ourselves with what our bodies are capable of when we start looking after them properly. And you don’t need to compete with the woman next to you, with somebody on Instagram or even with the younger version of yourself. We start with where you are today.
That’s really what my personal training is about. Yes, we’ll work on strength, cardiovascular fitness, mobility and body composition, but we’ll also look at the bigger picture — your confidence, mindset, breathing, nutrition, recovery and what you actually enjoy doing. I want exercise to become something that supports your life rather than another thing you feel you’ve failed at.
For me, being fit after 45 isn’t about chasing youth. It’s about being able to say, this is my body, I’m going to look after it, I’m going to make it stronger, and I want to feel as good as I possibly can for the years ahead.
And it’s never too late to start.
Selena Personal Trainer, Yoga Teacher & Wellbeing Coach In Flow Wellbeing Studio, Cheltenham
