Denise Yeats - Coach, Personal Trainer, Event Producer

A slightly different post from me today.
How many of us have quietly set down a part of ourselves somewhere along the way, the part that sang, or danced, or did something purely for the feeling of it?
I'm starting a new series called The Feeling of Strong, and the way in is music. I'm looking at the songs that still do something to us when we hear them.
It begins with More Than Words by Extreme, a song I loved at 22, and the singing lessons I nervously signed up for at 47. I nearly didn't knock on the door. Where that small, terrifying decision eventually led still surprises me.
Find the song that just came to mind as you read this. Put it on properly. Then let me know what it was ? 🎶
Read the full piece here 👉 https://deniseyeats.substack.com/p/the-feeling-of-strong-more-than-words

I am so incredibly proud of my lovely friend Shirley McGill who has received the British Empire Medal for her speech and drama work, inspiring so many young people. I know how hard she has worked over the past 30+ years, but makes it seem effortless as she is so passionate about what she does.
In true Scottish style she is being incredibly humble about it, so I am posting it here, because after all I do love to champion strong women, and here is one of the best! Congratulations Shirley, this is SO well deserved! xx

Aberdonian Shirley McGill receives BEM after more than 30 years inspiring young people through speech and drama. Read more: https://ebx.sh/VBg5Fd

What a great day!
Today we kicked off The Big Step Out 2026 at the beautiful Hatfield House, and we were absolutely over the moon to welcome the incredible Angela Rippon — national treasure, carer champion, and today, one of our very own walkers!
Angela joined our wonderful carers and the people they care for on the walks, chatted, laughed, and was generally a superstar. The thunderstorms couldn't dampen a single spirit, if anything, everyone just huddled closer together and kept going, including a bit of a singalong to the band over lunch. Very on-brand for carers, if you ask us. 💪
Today was Day 1 of our national campaign to raise 10 MILLION steps in celebration of the UK's unpaid carers and the people they care for. The campaign runs until 10th July — and every single step counts. 👣
It was also very fitting that today also marked Age Without Limits Day — a celebration of ageing boldly and without barriers. Here’s to that!
Thank you to everyone who came, walked, volunteered, supported, and sang. You made today something very special. 🎶

There's a moment I watch for every year at The Big Step Out event for carers. It comes when the band strikes up, and a carer who arrived guarded, perhaps not quite sure they're allowed a day for themselves, starts to sing along to a song they haven't thought about in years. For that moment they visibly remember something. Themselves, perhaps.
This week is Carers Week, when we turn our attention to unpaid carers across the UK and everything they quietly carry. Wednesday is both our Big Step Out at Hatfield House and Age Without Limits Day, and this year's theme, ‘the power of questions’, has me thinking about carers.
So in my Substack post this week I ask three questions:
When did you last let yourself be asked how you are, and really answer? When did you last do something that reminded you who you were before you became responsible for everyone else? When did you last feel strong — not coping, or managing, but genuinely, joyfully strong in your body and your bones?
Full Substack article is here: https://deniseyeats.substack.com/p/the-strength-in-the-singing

"I thought I was doing everything right."

I hear some version of this almost every week, from women in their late 40s and 50s who've watched what they eat, turned up to their classes, and tried so hard. Yet the weight creeps up, the knees ache, a scan result lands that they weren't expecting.

Then today, this arrived in the news. New research following over 147,000 people for three decades found that just 90 minutes to two hours of weight training a week is linked to a 13% lower risk of early death — 19% lower for heart disease and stroke, and 27% lower for neurological conditions like dementia. For those who paired strength work with regular cardio, the risk of dying early fell by up to 58%.

Interestingly for people who find time is a blocker, they found that more than two hours of lifting a week added no further benefit. It was never about doing more. It was about doing the right things.

That's the message I return to again and again. Midlife women don't need to train harder. They need to train differently — strength, enough protein, the right intensity. That's what protects your bones, your heart, your brain, and your years.

The great news is that it is genuinely never too late.

I've written more about it here in this week's Substack article 👇
https://deniseyeats.substack.com/p/i-thought-i-was-doing-everything

I Thought I Was Doing Everything Right Welcome back to Reset, Recharge, Reclaim, and this week I want to talk about the conversation I have with women over and over again…

Really pleased to share this one. I've written a two-page feature for Caring magazine, published by Carers UK, all about strength training for unpaid carers.

It's called Strong for Life, and it's for anyone who thinks strength training isn't for them. No gym, little or no equipment needed, and it genuinely is never too late to start.

Have a read and let me know what you think. And if you know a carer who might find this useful, please do share it on 🙏

Carers UK also have a great online hub for staying active, (which I also contribute to!) go to https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/your-health-and-wellbeing/carers-active-hub/

Can you stand on one leg for 30 seconds?
Eyes open first. Then try it with your eyes closed.
I ask almost every new client to do this and the reaction is nearly always the same: genuine surprise at how quickly the wobble arrives. Even from people who are fit, active and moving every single day.
One of my clients has been a runner his whole adult life. Less than 5 seconds on one leg in our first session. He hadn't even considered it might be an issue.
Being active is brilliant. But walking and running move you in straight lines, and your balance needs to be challenged in ALL directions to stay sharp as you age.
This week's Substack is the third in my functional test series and it's a good one. The science of why balance declines, what's actually being tested when you stand on one leg, and the simple things you can start doing today, including one thing that takes exactly two minutes and costs nothing.
Your toothbrush is involved.
Link to my Substack article is here: https://deniseyeats.substack.com/p/can-you-stand-on-one-leg-and-hold

💪 Can you open a jar?
A few weeks ago, after my bike accident I had my grip strength tested at hospital. My dominant hand had lost over 70%. My uninjured hand had lost 30%. In weeks.
The trainer who tells her clients to do farmers' carries couldn't carry a bag.
Grip strength isn't just a gym thing. Science is calling it a "functional vital sign", and the research on women and longevity is pretty striking.
This week's Substack has the science, the why, and practical exercises from zero equipment up to TRX, plus a little test for you at the end.
Link to the article is here: https://deniseyeats.substack.com/p/can-you-open-a-jar

What a joy it was to chat with Anna from the F:Entrepreneur team earlier this week as part of the iAlso100 2026 celebration! 🎉

We talked about my journey, rebuilding my business from scratch after the pandemic, my work supporting women through menopause, endurance athletes, carers, and why resilience is at the heart of everything I do.

If you'd like to hear more, the full conversation is here: https://www.instagram.com/reels/DYO0yMGiMu9/

Thank you f:Entrepreneur for the platform, and for championing women in business so brilliantly. 💪

Lovely to chat with the wonderful @deniseyeats this morning, all about her health and fitness coaching, as well as the events she runs! It was great to chat to her about her journey into entrepreneurship and her passion for helping people of all ages incorporate exercise into their lives. Thanks again Denise! Video shows Anna from the Small Business Britain team speaking to entrepreneur Denise Yeats #femaleentrepreneurship #smallbusinessowner #womeninbusiness

Can you get up off the floor without using your hands?
Sit on the floor. Now stand back up. No hands, not rolling onto all fours, no grabbing the sofa.
This one movement tells us more about functional fitness and independence than almost any other test I know.
In 2012, a study of over 2,000 adults found that people who struggled with this were significantly more likely to die within six years. Because it requires everything working together: leg strength, hip mobility, core stability, balance, coordination.
I was knocked off my bike a couple of months ago with a head injury and a fractured hand. I got up off the road without using my hands. That is exactly why I train the way I do.
My latest Substack breaks it all down: what the movement reveals, why it matters, and how to get better at it whatever your starting point.
Link to the article is here: https://deniseyeats.substack.com/p/can-you-get-off-the-floor
Try the test today. Then do it once every day this week. Notice what's easy and what isn't.
That's information, and information is where we start.