We often hear that weight training is essential for women in midlife for preserving bone density and maintaining muscle mass (which quickly declines as our oestrogen drops), but personal trainer Chloe Thomas is quick to point out that we mustn’t overlook the humble walk when it comes to losing weight and staying fit.
“Even 15 minutes of walking per day will massively help people lose weight,” Chloe tells HELLO!. “Pretty much anyone can go for a walk – you don’t have to be super fit to start. You can very easily start with 10 minutes a day and work up.”
Singing the praises of the accessibility, Chloe adds: “Walking free and it’s low impact so it’s accessible to many people. If you combine it with a healthy diet in a calorie deficit, you can lose weight.”
© mark bassWalking in midlife
While weight training is crucial to maintain strength, Chloe notes that walking is one of the best exercises for women in their midlife. Here’s why…
1. Joint health
“Walking in midlife is great because as we age, our joints can become stiffer, especially around the perimenopausal and menopause age. Walking is gentle on our body and provides health benefits without any risk of injury from high-impact workouts.
“It strengthens your bones and joints so prevents osteoporosis. It can help with digestion; energy levels and studies show that regular walking is linked to a longer healthier and happier life.”
© mark bass2. Stress relief
Chloe adds that walking is good for our mental health, too, because it helps reduce cortisol, the stress hormone, plus it can boost our mood.
“The mental benefits of walking are that it reduces stress and anxiety, boosts your mood, improves your sleep quality, increases mindfulness and can even improve creativity. For example, when I go for a walk, I find as a content creator I get really great ideas and I always come back from a walk feeling better.”
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She adds: “The mood boost is important as it impacts the major hormonal changes around midlife.”
She adds that walking gives us the time to reconnect with nature, rather than being on screens all the time – which is detrimental to our physical and mental health.
3. Fat loss
“Walking supports weight loss and weight management and it can boost your cardiovascular health.
“Walking also gets your heart rate up and can support healthy fat loss especially when it’s done regularly,” says Chloe. “It’s easy and it’s free – you don’t need any equipment and you don’t need a gym membership. This makes it sustainable and realistic for women who are busy in the midlife to access exercise easily.”
4. It complements other workouts
“Workouts that can complement walking are strength and resistance training using bodyweight or dumbbells.”
If you’re feeling fatigued post-strength session, Chloe points out that walking supports recovery by increasing blood flow to your muscles.
“Yoga and Pilates can also complement walking well because they build your core strength, mobility and flexibility.”
Taking up walking
For anyone inspired to lace up their trainers, Chloe has a few words of advice…
1. Start small
“I would just start with 10 to 15 minutes of walking a day and then gradually increase over time. If you start with a massive walk each day you’re not going to commit to it and give up very quickly.”
© mark bass2. Schedule your walks
“Walking after a meal or during work break makes it easy to stick to,” Chloe says of making a routine of your walk.
3. Bring a buddy
“Make walking more fun by heading out with a friend and pairing it with something enjoyable such as a pub or cafe stop halfway or at the end.
“I started my Instagram account @Kentandsussexwalks over a year ago with my partner where we share walks that stop at a pub or tea room and it is so much fun! It makes it feel more like less of a task and more of a reward.”
4. Pick your routes wisely
“Pick a route you enjoy for your walk – perhaps a nice path, a quiet park or even a different town or village. Don’t do the same route each day as you’re likely to get bored.
“If you get stuck for ideas, I recommend using an app such as Ordnance Survey’s OS MAPs which is the official national mapping agency for Great Britain.
© mark bass“They’ve been mapping the country for over 230 years and are known for producing some of the most accurate and detailed maps available so you won’t trespass or get lost.”
Find out more about Chloe’s work as a personal trainer and coach
