PART 1: How to Grow Strong After 50: The Essential Guide for Every Body

Join the 'Fit & Fierce 50+' Challenge

“Exercise is the single most potent tool we have in the health-span-enhancing toolkit—and that includes nutrition, sleep, and meds.”

– PETER ATTIA, MD, longevity expert, bestselling author, 'Outlive’

Road Trip to Younger is the go-to guide to healthy ageing for all women 50+.

After nearly 30 years as a journalist and magazine editor, I’m thrilled to finally be here, with science-backed guides to healthy longevity as my ‘beat’ — cutting through the hype, and decoding the science so you don’t have to. Destination: Joyspan – the longest, healthiest and most pleasurable lifespan possible.

We’re tapping into a wanderlust for growing younger as we grow (gloriously) older.

It’s Move Your Body Month

Your 5-week toolkit to growing stronger after 50

Ready to transform how you age? This month we're diving into the most potent medicine in the healthy longevity bag of tricks – movement that strengthens your muscles, builds your bones, and fuels your Joyspan journey.

INSIDE WEEK 1:

* Welcome to Move Your Body Month
* 10 Reasons Women Need To Start Moving Now
* Will Exercise Make Me Bulk Up?
* Building Muscle + Your Joyspan
* The Fit & Fierce 50+ Challenge.

WHAT’S IN STORE

Here’s an overview of the 5-week guide:

Week 1: Welcome to Move Your Body Month
The science behind movement for vibrant aging

Week 2: Cardio
Discover heart-pumping moves that work for you

Week 3: Resistance training
Start strong at home – minimal equipment, maximum results

Week 4: Weight training
Embrace weights for strength at any age. Plus, your guide to the weights room

Week 5: Functional Fitness
Train your body holistically for real-life capability

“The more muscle health you have, the better your trajectory of aging.”

— DR GABRIELLE LYON, Functional medicine physician
& bestselling author, 'Forever Strong

Welcome to Move Your Body Month!

If there’s one thing I've learned over these 64 years, it's this: movement is everything, and it goes far deeper than the old hackneyed "Use it or lose it".

This came home strongly ten years ago when I had what I now refer to as my "lucky break".

It was a mid-winter’s night. I’d rugged up for a quick jog around the block. Five minutes in, my foot hit soft ground and my ankle did what felt all the world like a 360° spin.

A devastating spiral fracture, months of immobility and the subsequent osteoporosis diagnosis were unbelievably challenging. But it sparked a fierce determination — I wasn’t going to take osteoporosis lying down,

As soon as I could, I got moving. I ran, walked, skipped, planked, rowed, cycled, huffed, puffed, and ramped up my gym classes. I also hit the weights room for the first time, with a simple weight-training program from my husband David (tapping into his postgrad in Physical Education).

My bone density improved every year, until four years later, like a miracle, my annual bone-density (DEXA) scan revealed I was clear of the osteoporosis danger zone.

Fast forward to now, and the gifts keep coming. Moving your body every day, and getting up a sweat, impact almost every aspect of your life. As you’ll see below, this also boosts almost all key healthy ageing metrics as well.

Movement is medicine!

That’s why I'm excited about the five weeks ahead for you. This first week is the kick off — with the motivation and essentials you need for what’s ahead in the weeks coming up.

Get set for a toolkit of fun, simple, transforming ways to move. We'll be making our bodies strong and "fit for purpose", which means getting ready for a life of ageing without limitations.

It's ours for the taking!

“No matter your age, you need to lift heavy to avoid osteoporosis.”

—STACY SIMS, PhD, Women's Exercise Physiologist

Here we go!

This month is dedicated to the fabulous women of the 50+ club.
We're embarking on a transformative journey together—one that could quite literally add years to your life and life to your years.

My aim here to give you everything you need to make the five weeks ahead a turning point. I hope it will change how you move, the way you move, and how often you move. Perhaps most of all, I hope it will also challenge and change how you think about moving, for life.

As you’ll discover below — as the science says – time is of the essence on this one. These five weeks are your chance to reclaim your power, build resilience, and create a foundation for your vibrant future.

Whether you're already a fitness enthusiast or someone who hasn't broken a sweat since leg warmers were in fashion, this 5-week toolkit is designed for you.

We'll explore the exercises that best suit women over 50. Plus science-backed strategies that work specifically for our changing bodies, with practical steps you can start implementing today.

So lace up the Nikes — your body is waiting to show you just how remarkable it can be at any age!

The human body is designed to move

As any evolutionary biologist will tell you, our bodies are machines designed to hunt, gather, walk and sprint, with a whole lot of heavy labour and lifting thrown in. And that goes for women too.

This holds the secret many of us tend to miss: the human body demands variety. To work at our best, in tune with our biology, we need different types and different intensities of exercise.

And as with the bodies of our cave-dwelling sisters, our bodies, too, need to move every day.

Yes, every day — or at least six days, as a minimum, if you must.

That could mean 20 minutes or two hours. If you’re not already exercising, it might mean starting with 2 minutes a day and working up to more. What's important is showing up, and sending a signal to the brain that says you're not only alive, you're damn well kicking!

The more you move, the longer and better you live. And the inverse, unfortunately, is also true. Fact!

10 Reasons To Start Moving NOW

The urgency of getting moving can barely be overstated.

Every day you wait, is a day of potential strength, mobility, and independence lost.

According to research, each passing year without proper physical activity accelerates your body's decline. Plus, the window for transformative change also narrows with age. It’s not that improvement becomes less possible. It’s just that reversing accumulated damage needs more effort.

Here are 10 reasons to move your body:

1. The Muscle Loss Reality

After age 40, if we do nothing to prevent it, we lose approximately 3-8% of muscle mass per decade — a condition called sarcopenia. This isn't just cosmetic; it's the beginning of a cascade that affects every system in your body.
Check our guide to staving off sarcopenia here.

2. The Accelerated Decline

Muscle loss speeds up after 60, which explains why so many women find themselves suddenly struggling with everyday tasks. Without intervention, this path leads to frailty that can rob you of independence.

3. Bone Density Booster

Women can lose up to 20% of their bone density in the 5-7 years following menopause. Decreased bone density (osteopenia and osteoporosis) follows muscle loss, but resistance training can actually reverse this decline. Studies show even women in their 90s can build measurable bone density with proper exercise.

4. Fall Prevention

Falls are a leading cause of injury-related death for adults over 65. Research confirms that strength and balance training can reduce fall risk by up to 40%, potentially adding years of independent living.

5. Posture Protection

Strong back and core muscles maintain posture, keeping us upright. Along with protecting your bones, this helps prevent the dreaded "dowager's hump" that can also compress internal organs and restrict breathing.

6. Your Metabolic Advantage

Each pound (450g) of muscle burns (at rest) approximately 6 calories (25 kJ) per day, compared to fat tissue's 2 calories (8 kJ). This difference means a stronger body naturally maintains a healthier weight with less effort.

7. Your Joint Support System

Proper muscle development creates balanced tension around joints, reducing wear and tear. Studies show strength training can reduce arthritis pain by up to 40% and improve function significantly more than medication alone.

8. Blood Sugar Regulation

A single strength training session can improve insulin sensitivity for up to 24 hours. Regular training creates long-term improvements in glucose metabolism, and has been shown to reducd diabetes risk by up to 34% in some studies.

9. Mood and Mind Enhancer

Exercise increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which protects against cognitive decline. Research shows physical activity can reduce dementia risk by 30% and alleviate depression as effectively as medication in many cases.

10. Sleep Quality Improver

Regular exercise has been shown to improve sleep quality by 65% in older adults with sleep disorders, reducing the time it takes to fall asleep and increasing deep sleep phases that are critical for cellular repair.

Will Exercise Make Me Bulk Up?

It’s the question that women seem to always ask: but don't fear the myth of bulking up.

Women and muscle go beautifully together—it's one of the all-time great natural partnerships.

Without the typical male testosterone levels, women tend to develop toned, functional strength instead of bulky muscles. Even dedicated female athletes typically have just 50-60% of the testosterone of men, making significant bulking physiologically unlikely without supplementation. The strength you build now is your insurance policy against frailty later.

Movement & The Joyspan Compass

Regular readers will be familiar with the Joyspan Compass that sits at the heart of our Road Trip to Younger. Every road trip needs a compass and this was the first thing I built.

It’s all based on consensus among leading longevity experts, particularly those focused on what matters most for women. The eight key principles that emerged became the eight points of the compass, representing the rock-solid foundations for healthy aging, especially for women 50 and over.

As you can see below, Movement & Exercise bring enormous benefits to our healthy joy-filled longevity. It’s all about tapping into four specific types of exercise: cardio, resistance training, weight training and functional exercises— the exercises we’re covering over the coming four weeks. This regular power combination of movements boost seven of the eight pillars of biological benefits that support a long, healthy, thriving life. The number of checkmarks reveals just how turbo-charged this combination of exercises can be.

In fact, as the ticks below highlight, these exercises, when applied regularly, open the door to 18 specific benefits for healthy longevity none of us would want to miss out on.

Next week we’ll be exploring the first of these — cardio— so you can get on the road and get your body heading in the right direction, stemming the tide of ageing and gaining that upper hand on natural ageing decline.

“With age and menopause, strength and power are the first things to go.”

—STACY SIMS, PhD, Women's Exercise Physiologist

Getting started

Here are some important notes before we get started next week

Talk to your doctor
This is especially important if you have any health conditions or concerns, but as we get older, to be safe. it’s important to talk to your doctor and get clearance before starting anything new.

Progress slowly
Gradually adding more movement and resistance is critical. Don’t run before you can crawl.

Recover
Build in light days after harder days. Recovery helps build muscle. Think of it as part of your training.

The Fit & Fierce 50+ Challenge

YOUR MISSION FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

Choose one or more of the challenges below.

1. Create Your Movement Vision: Take 10 minutes to journal about your 80 or 90-year-old self. What are you doing? How are you moving? Take time to think about the skills you’ll need.

2. Bust-a-Move Brainstorm: List 3-5 movement types you've never tried but have always been curious about. Circle at least one you'll commit to trying during Move Your Body Month.

3. Movement Audit: For just three days this week, jot down all your movements. Include everything—walking, gardening, housework, structured exercise.

4. Strength Snapshot: Can you get up from the floor without using your hands? Can you carry all your groceries in one trip? Note your current capabilities as a starting point.

Let me know what you’re doing and thinking about below. I love reading your comments - and reply to all.

What’s next?

Week 2:
TAP INTO THE SUPER POWERS OF CARDIO!

Your fat-burning powerhouse — cardio boosts your metabolism for hours after you finish exercising.

Your natural energy booster — forget caffeine and sugar - regular cardio naturally increases your energy levels throughout the day and improves your stamina. Many women report feeling years younger after just one week of consistent cardio training.

PLUS
* How much cardio do you REALLY need?
* Discover the best heart-pumping moves that work for you!
* Try something new!
AND handy tools to keep your workouts on track

Thank you for joining Move Your Body Month and The Fit & Fierce 50+ Challenge. Let’s do this together and support each other.

WE’VE GOT THIS!