Five years ago, Alice Jordan was made redundant from her corporate job, falling pregnant with her third child soon afterwards. ‘It 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,’ she says. ‘By the time my son was 18 months old, I was exhausted, struggling with my confidence and carrying extra weight. Like many women navigating perimenopause alongside young children and career uncertainty, I had put my own health at the bottom of the list.’
Fast-forward five years and Alice, now 52, is a woman transformed. Having reengaged with fitness during covid, she’s gone on to become a personal trainer specialising in menopause – and says she feels fitter now than she did in her 20s. These are the five habits that she says keep her strong and motivated.
1. She found something she genuinely enjoyed
It’s obvious, really. If you find an activity that you enjoy, you’re much more likely to stick with it. For Alice, that involved a move away from ‘punishing’ cardio towards strength-based, but still high-energy workouts. ‘The activities I enjoyed most were circuit/strength training group classes that incorporated strength training and cardio – although keeping the cardio quite limited. As I started to see my body change, becoming more toned and building muscle – that was a huge motivator to keep going.’
2. She focuses on compound movements
Alice says compound movements – exercises that work more than one muscle group simultaneously, such as squats, lunges and press-ups – have become the foundation of most of her workouts. ‘I typically train three to four times a week and my sessions are full body, combining both upper- and lower-body exercises in one workout. I’ll normally start with one or two compound lifts because they work multiple muscle groups at once and are incredibly effective for building overall strength.’
3. She tracks her progress
Alice has also found tracking her progress rewarding, and says ‘Making a note of weights lifted, reps or even energy levels helped me see real change over time and kept me motivated.’
Alice Jordan / Sportograf
On track: Alice has found it useful to keep a record of her progress over time
4. She prioritises short workouts
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. ‘One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that workouts don’t need to be long to be effective,’ she says. ‘I’ve found the optimal length to be 45 minutes – this gives me enough time to include a warm-up and stretch/cool-down at the end.’
5. She respects recovery
On the topic of recovery, it’s something Alice has ‘come to prioritise much more over the years.’ After every workout, she spends ‘five to 10 minutes stretching, focusing on the muscles I’ve just trained, particularly the quads, hamstrings, glutes and shoulders. I practice static stretching for muscle lengthening and flexibility, and I hold each stretch for 15 to 30 seconds.’
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