{"id":180550,"date":"2025-06-13T07:51:17","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T07:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/180550\/"},"modified":"2025-06-13T07:51:17","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T07:51:17","slug":"at-52-my-job-is-to-get-women-in-midlife-fitter-than-ever-heres-how-and-my-20-minute-workout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/180550\/","title":{"rendered":"‘At 52, my job is to get women in midlife fitter than ever \u2013 here\u2019s how, and my 20-minute workout’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Say the word \u2018circuits\u2019 and you\u2019re usually met with one of two responses. The first is a shudder, usually fuelled by less-than-fond memories of miserable fitness sessions in sweaty school halls. The second, however, is far more positive, based off a recognition that these kind of metcon workouts \u2013 metabolic conditioning, strength and cardio performed with short rest periods \u2013 can transform your fitness, fast. And if you do happen to fall into the latter camp, it\u2019s likely you\u2019ll already have Caroline Idiens on your radar. Although you probably know her better by her online moniker: Caroline\u2019s Circuits<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Having built a brand based on a fuss-free approach to midlife fitness, the 52-year-old trainer\u2019s superpower is in her ability to make circuits something you actually want to do. Because while the method\u2019s popularity seemingly waned in the wake of Covid, Caroline has continued as the unofficial PR women for circuits in the years since, proving their potency and bringing them firmly back into the fitness fold. To put it simply, Caroline Idiens has made circuits cool again. Don\u2019t believe us? Just ask any of her two million followers online.<\/p>\n

Combine this draw with the fact that her workouts are created by a woman in her fifties for women in their fifties and you\u2019ll understand why she\u2019s amassed such a huge following. Caroline\u2019s videos, all of which are filmed in her living room, are distinctly relatable. \u2018You don\u2019t need to get dressed or leave the house to do my classes,\u2019 she explains. \u2018I haven\u2019t got a smart studio. I\u2019m at home, too, with a load of weights \u2013 and often a spaniel walking around. I\u2019m the same age as the women exercising. I do the workout with you, and I tell you when it\u2019s hard for me, too.\u2019<\/p>\n

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‘You don\u2019t need to get dressed or leave the house to do my classes’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Armed with the knowledge that most of her audience are women who, like her, are juggling work, family and all the other demands of midlife, Caroline\u2019s focus is on getting women to fit in whatever movement they can. \u2018Exercising isn\u2019t about a life overhaul, it\u2019s about tweaks,\u2019 she says. \u2018The one fundamental thing that people forget is that all movement adds up. You can do 10 minutes before work, walk in your lunch hour, take the stairs at work, then do 10 minutes after work. As we age, it\u2019s habits that make the difference. What\u2019s key is consistency.\u2019<\/p>\n

And this woman is nothing if not consistent. Caroline started teaching online at the beginning of lockdown for 40 of her local friends and clients in Berkshire. Five years on and she\u2019s still teaching, only now there are thousands logging into her live workouts. \u2018We thought it\u2019d be a nice way for us to come together,\u2019 she says of those initial classes.<\/p>\n

Since then, the PT-turned-influencer has become the go-to name for peri- and postmenopausal women looking to capitalise on the mind-body benefits of midlife strength-training. \u2018It\u2019s helped that I\u2019m part of this huge conversation around midlife, menopause and staying strong and healthy that\u2019s been happening in the past few years,\u2019 she says. \u2018I always say that strength training makes your muscles strong\u2026 but it does so much more. The exercises I do in classes aren\u2019t, for example, isolated bicep curls on a machine. They\u2019re functional, working the muscles you need to put things away in a high cupboard, to turn as you get out of the car.\u2019 Basically, the kind of fitness you need each day to help you live better, for longer. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s this message around the benefits of strength work for health and fitness \u2013 from posture and balance, flexibility and co-ordination into later life, and how it helps bone health, too \u2013 that Caroline is keen to spread. \u2018People think the bone you\u2019re born with is the bone you have for life, but you can make a big difference to your bones by lifting weights. You can grow new bone and improve your bone density. Clients have told me about their improved DEXA bone-density scan results after doing my workouts regularly.\u2019<\/p>\n

Training for your bone density: it\u2019s a far cry from the kind of fitness tropes doing the rounds when Caroline arrived on the scene in the early 2000s, when the attitude towards women lifting weights was less accurate than a forecast for a sunny August bank holiday. \u2018There was a myth that weights would bulk you up into a bodybuilder overnight,\u2019 she says. \u2018Exercise for women meant cardio, a way to run off what they\u2019d eaten the night before.\u2019<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one reason why so many of her clients come to her workouts having historically prioritised cardio, she says, adding that there\u2019s nothing wrong with the movement type. \u2018If running gives a release and mental clarity, you don\u2019t have to give it up. I always advise strength work three or four times a week, cardio for 150 minutes a week. If you\u2019re not a runner, that can be walking. You can get your heart rate up with weights, too.\u2019 Try her Strength HIIT class on a Friday morning and you\u2019ll see for yourself. <\/p>\n

And yet, speak to any of her followers and they\u2019ll tell you that chief among the draws of Caroline\u2019s Circuits among midlife women is that she is one \u2013 a reality that\u2019s reflected in the muscle groups she prioritises in her sessions; core work features heavily, so do moves designed to strengthen the back and glutes. \u2018Most women spend a lot of time sitting at a laptop or driving a car, leaving the glutes weak,\u2019 she says. \u2018If those muscles aren\u2019t firing, it can lead to back pain.\u2019 But there\u2019s also plenty of arm work \u2013 a testament to how many women talk to her about strengthening the area \u2013 and alongside an ability to carry a heavy shopping bag in from the car are other changes. \u2018One client told me that, at her son\u2019s wedding, she wore a sleeveless dress for the first time in 15 years,\u2019 she says, proudly. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s this kind of insight that Caroline has channelled into her new book, Fit At 50: Your Guide To A Stronger, Fitter & Happier (Mid)life In Just 6 Weeks<\/a>. Based on a six-week programme, it features four pillars of midlife health. Alongside fitness, there\u2019s also sleep (\u2018it\u2019s your superpower!\u2019) and mindset (\u2018by beginning an exercise regime, you will start to notice how amazing endorphins make you feel\u2019). <\/p>\n

For the fourth pillar, nutrition, Caroline worked with menopause-focused dietitian Laura Clark to create 60 easy recipes \u2013 think omega-3 rich tuna wraps for lunch and a protein-rich sausage and kimchi traybake for dinner. \u2018The right nutrition is important alongside exercise,\u2019 she explains. \u2018Your body changes so much during the menopause that it can be a bit of a shock. One of the side effects I hear from women all the time is additional weight around the middle. At this age, it\u2019s not about cutting things out, it\u2019s about moderation. It\u2019s about fuelling your body correctly to be able to exercise correctly.\u2019<\/p>\n

And if you do stick to the plan for six weeks? \u2018I always say that in two weeks you\u2019ll feel it, in four weeks you\u2019ll see it and in six weeks it\u2019ll become a habit,\u2019 she says. Age here doesn\u2019t matter, she says \u2013 anyone will feel the difference. \u2018There are women in my classes of all ages. So why wouldn\u2019t you start now, when you know it\u2019s going to help you into your seventies and eighties?\u2019 <\/p>\n

Sold? Start by trying her 20-minute full-body circuit\u2026<\/p>\n

20-minute full-body circuit<\/p>\n

Do each exercise for 30 secs, taking a 15-sec rest afterwards before moving on to the next. Take 30 secs of rest after completing all 7 moves \u2013 that\u2019s 1 round. Run through 3 rounds to complete the full workout. For the exercises with dumbbells, use the weights that offer a challenge without compromising form (but it\u2019s also fine to use none, FYI). And, as ever, make sure you warm up and cool down.<\/p>\n

Exercise 1: Squat and press\"caroline\"caroline<\/p>\n

(A) <\/strong>With all your weight in your heels, keeping your hips back and your back straight, squat down as if sitting into a chair, holding your dumbbells by your shoulders. Keep your chest lifted and shoulders back as you move. <\/p>\n

(B) <\/strong>Come back to standing. Keeping your knees soft and core engaged, slowly press the weights up above your head. Return to the start position. That\u2019s 1 rep.<\/p>\n

Exercise 2: Alternating reverse lunge\"caroline\"caroline<\/p>\n

(A) <\/strong>With your shoulders back and core engaged, gripping a set of dumbbells, step back so your front leg is bent 90 degrees. <\/p>\n

(B<\/strong>) Power through the supporting heel
to stand. Switch sides and repeat.<\/p>\n

Exercise 3: Deadlift into upright row\"caroline\"caroline<\/p>\n

(A)<\/strong> Hold a pair of dumbbells down by your hips, palms facing your body. With your knees bent and back straight, hinge from your hips, sending them back. <\/p>\n

(B)<\/strong> When your chest is parallel with the floor, drive up to stand. Avoid rounding
your spine or dipping your head. <\/p>\n

(C)<\/strong> Bring your elbows up, lifting the weights in line with your shoulders. Extend your arms back down to return to the start.<\/p>\n

Exercise 4: Bent-over row\"caroline\"caroline<\/p>\n

(A)<\/strong> Hold a pair of dumbbells with your arms extended for a full range of motion. Hingeing from the hips, keep your back straight, core engaged and your head in line with you spine. <\/p>\n

(B)<\/strong> Slowly draw the dumbbells towards your waist, keeping your elbows tucked into
your side, then extend your arms back to the starting position. Don\u2019t round your spine.<\/p>\n

Exercise 5: Press-up\"caroline\"caroline<\/p>\n

(A) <\/strong>Start on your hands and knees, with your palms placed wide on a mat.<\/p>\n

(B) <\/strong>Bring your chest down towards the floor in one movement (without dipping your head), keeping your back straight and elbows back. With your core still engaged, come up in one movement. If the exercise is too hard from your knees, start against a wall or on a bench and progress to on your knees (as pictured). If completing these on your knees is too easy, progress into a plank position on your toes. <\/p>\n

Exercise 6: Slow mountain climber\"caroline\"caroline<\/p>\n

(A)<\/strong> In a high plank position, keep your hips down, back straight, core engaged and shoulders over your wrists. <\/p>\n

(B)<\/strong> Bring one knee up into your chest, then switch legs and continue alternating. <\/p>\n

Exercise 7: Dead bug\"caroline\"caroline<\/p>\n

(A)<\/strong> Lie on your back with your head down. Bring your arms and knees up to 90-degree angles, perpendicular to the floor. <\/p>\n

(B)<\/strong> Extend one arm back above your head and stretch out the opposite leg slowly along the ground without touching it. Switch sides. Keep your back on the
floor and core engaged throughout. <\/p>\n

Original article: Red<\/a><\/p>\n

RELATED STORIES\"Headshot<\/p>\n

As Women\u2019s Health UK\u2019s fitness director (and a qualified yoga teacher), Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism. She secured her first role at Look Magazine, where her obsession with fitness began and she launched the magazine\u2019s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!. Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner\u2019s World and Red.<\/p>\n

Now, she oversees all fitness content across womenshealthmag.com.uk<\/a> and the print magazine, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as \u2018Fit At Any Age\u2019, where we showcase the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise. She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks \u2013 all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how.<\/p>\n

Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.\u00a0<\/p>\n