{"id":657718,"date":"2026-03-15T16:06:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-15T16:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/657718\/"},"modified":"2026-03-15T16:06:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T16:06:19","slug":"i-started-exercising-in-my-late-40s-these-5-habits-made-me-feel-stronger-than-i-did-in-my-20s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/657718\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I started exercising in my late 40s \u2013 these 5 habits made me feel stronger than I did in my 20s\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Five years ago, Alice Jordan<\/a> was made redundant from her corporate job, falling pregnant with her third child soon afterwards. \u2018It 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,\u2019 she says. \u2018By the time my son was 18 months old, I was exhausted, struggling with my confidence and carrying extra weight. Like many women navigating perimenopause<\/a> alongside young children and career uncertainty, I had put my own health at the bottom of the list.\u2019<\/p>\n

Fast-forward five years and Alice, now 52, is a woman transformed. Having reengaged with fitness during covid, she\u2019s gone on to become a personal trainer specialising in menopause \u2013 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. <\/p>\n

1. She found something she genuinely enjoyed<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s obvious, really. If you find an activity that you enjoy, you\u2019re much more likely to stick with it. For Alice, that involved a move away from \u2018punishing\u2019 cardio towards strength-based, but still high-energy workouts. \u2018The activities I enjoyed most were circuit\/strength training group classes that incorporated strength training and cardio \u2013 although keeping the cardio quite limited. As I started to see my body change, becoming more toned and building muscle \u2013 that was a huge motivator to keep going.\u2019<\/p>\n

2. She focuses on compound movements<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alice says compound movements \u2013 exercises that work more than one muscle group simultaneously, such as squats<\/a>, lunges<\/a> and press-ups<\/a> \u2013 have become the foundation of most of her workouts. \u2018I 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\u2019ll normally start with one or two compound lifts because they work multiple muscle groups at once and are incredibly effective for building overall strength.\u2019<\/p>\n

3. She tracks her progress<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alice has also found tracking her progress rewarding, and says \u2018Making a note of weights lifted, reps or even energy levels helped me see real change over time and kept me motivated.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"aliceAlice Jordan \/ Sportograf<\/p>\n

On track: Alice has found it useful to keep a record of her progress over time<\/p>\n

4. She prioritises short workouts <\/strong><\/p>\n

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. \u2018One of the biggest things I\u2019ve learned is that workouts don\u2019t need to be long to be effective,\u2019 she says. \u2018I\u2019ve found the optimal length to be 45 minutes \u2013 this gives me enough time to include a warm-up and stretch\/cool-down at the end.\u2019<\/p>\n

5. She respects recovery <\/strong><\/p>\n

On the topic of recovery, it\u2019s something Alice has \u2018come to prioritise much more over the years.\u2019 After every workout, she spends \u2018five to 10 minutes stretching, focusing on the muscles I\u2019ve just trained, particularly the quads, hamstrings, glutes and shoulders. I practice static stretching for muscle lengthening and flexibility<\/a>, and I hold each stretch for 15 to 30 seconds.\u2019<\/p>\n

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