Ami Baker PT

Sometimes you just have to be selfish. 🔥

Midlife women are very good at putting everything and everyone else first. Work, kids, logistics, life admin… it all gets done. And the one thing that quietly drops off is looking after our own bodies. 🧠

Exercise gets treated like a luxury. Something you’ll “get back to” when things calm down. They don’t. ⏳

From a physiology point of view, this matters. We’re already losing muscle as we age, and that accelerates through perimenopause if we don’t load the body properly. Bone density follows 🦴 Strength drops 📉

That’s how you edge towards frailty earlier than you need to. It’s also how your risk of things like cardiovascular disease 🫀 and dementia 🧩 starts to climb faster than it should.

So the idea that skipping your own health is somehow “for everyone else” doesn’t really hold. You’re not helping anyone by running yourself into the ground and letting your physical capacity decline 🔒

☠️ Our families need us well, strong and properly there for the long term — and that means making sure exercise happens.

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A properly done squat is one of the most efficient ways to train the lower body in midlife. 👌

It challenges the gluteus maximus, quadriceps and hamstrings simultaneously, while the core stabilises the spine under load

💁‍♀️That combination matters because these are the muscle groups 🦿most affected by age-related loss of strength and power. Squats also provide meaningful mechanical loading through the hips and lumbar spine, which is how we support bone density as oestrogen declines.

HOW TO DO A GOOD SQUAT 🪑

Set a chair or bench behind you (not too low).
Stand about 5–6 inches in front of it.
Feet about hip-width apart.
Send your hips right back as if you’re aiming for the seat.
Keep your weight back through your heels 👣
Sit back until you just lightly touch the surface.
Chest steady.
Shoulders down.
Core braced.
Eyes forward.
Stand by driving through your heels and pushing the floor away.
Using a bench gives you clear feedback. It teaches depth and proper hip loading without collapsing forward. 🔎
Add dumbbells and you increase mechanical tension and progressive overload 💪
Keep it controlled and you build strength that transfers directly into real-world tasks.

Four sets of 8–10 controlled reps.
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💾 a quick, high-protein green smoothie after a week away 🥑🍍🥬

Just got back from a week 🎉 holiday, definitely overindulged. When that happens, I’m mindful about what I eat the week after. This protein smoothie therefore makes a nutritious and low calorie swap out for lunch.

You’re getting about 30g of protein from the whey 💪 which supports muscle and appetite control, plus fibre and micronutrients that support digestion and blood sugar regulation rather than sending it all over the place.

RECIPE

🍍 One third of a pint fresh pineapple
Vitamin C and digestive enzymes

🥑 Half an avocado
Healthy fats for satiety and hormone support

🥄 One scoop vanilla whey protein (30g protein)
Complete amino acids for muscle maintenance

🌿 One teaspoon spirulina
Iron, antioxidants, and plant-based micronutrients

🌱 Half a teaspoon chia seeds
Fibre + omega-3 fats

🧊 One frozen spinach cube
Folate, magnesium, extra greens

🍏 A splash of apple juice
Just enough to get it moving

Blend until smooth.

If you don’t have the exact fruit, swap it. If you don’t have spinach, use any greens. The key is: make it green and keep the protein in. 💚💚

If by mid-afternoon 🫖 your feel like your hunching or your shoulders are stiffning you will find this exercise 💪 transformative.

⏭️SCAPULAR SHRUG - HOW TO 💾
1. Start with your arms at 90 degrees.
2. Pull your shoulder blades down with intention.
3. Actively tense the upper back and arms.
4. Lower SLOWLY with control.
5. Return to starting position

4 sets of 12 reps every weekday after lunch.

Next week we will look at a complementary lower back fix - to add on - so make sure to follow💚💚

I ❤️ love this move for my midlife clients who have dumbbells at home but are short on time.

It is the simplest way to hit every muscle in your body, pull in your core, and get a cardio hit in a single movement. The form is easy to master and you can vary the intensity by using no weight at all or going heavier, meaning it works equally well for total beginners or advanced exercisers.

​👉 Squat thrust with dumbbells 🦵🔥

​The Setup: Hold weights at shoulder height, feet hip-width apart.
​The Squat: Sit back into a controlled squat—keep your chest proud.
​The Thrust: Power up through your heels, punching the weights toward the ceiling.
​The Reset: Bring them back to the shoulders with control and repeat.
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Do this 3 to 4 times a week. Aim for 5 sets of 12 reps if you really want to push it. Switch the telly on and just go.

​👉 SAVE this for your next home session 📌

👉 SHARE it with a friend who owns dumbbells and needs to start using them 👀

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Tell me what you think I have to know. 🤔 What’s the most important gift we give our kids? 🎁

Education matters. Money helps. But I keep coming back to something less glamorous: staying well enough to actually be in their lives, properly in them 🧬

My dad 🕯died before he got to walk me down the aisle. 😪

Part of that story is lifestyle, part of it is luck, and part of it is just… life. But the bit that lodges in my ribs is this: the people who love you don’t get a replacement.

That’s why I care about future health in such a practical, unsexy way. When I talk about strength training, I’m not chasing “looking fit”. I’m trying to stack the odds so I’m the mum who can show up, carry the bags, take the trip, cope with the stress, and still have something left over for a chat at the end of the day 🏋️‍♀️

If you’ve had a family loss that changed how you think about health, I’d genuinely love to hear it 💬

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