Monique PT

One of the best things about getting older is you just stop caring what other people think.

Ran in shorts for the first time today and my only regret is that I haven’t done it sooner!

Part of the fear comes from regardless of what we’re doing or where we’re going, women still face so much judgement when it comes to what we’re wearing.

With every year that passes, I care less and less about these judgements and it feels so good!

I also can’t believe how much more comfortable and cooler it is to run in shorts so I’m officially converted 🙂

We can't control the fact that we're all going to age, but we can influence how we get there and how fast we get there.

Research is starting to show that lifestyle is a stronger determinant of health and lifespan than genetics. How you treat your body today and tomorrow is going to have a huge impact on your future self.

It's never too late to start either. Exercise is so beneficial, regardless of age.

Quoted directly from the authors of a study which looked into physical exercise as an anti-ageing intervention:

“The most recent scientific evidence shows that regularly and appropriately practiced physical exercise, in order to improve physical fitness, is currently the best way to delay or even prevent the consequences of ageing. Such exercise always brings benefits, irrespective of the age, s*x, health, or the physical condition of the person who undertakes it.”

If that's not motivation to get moving, I don't know what is 😊

It’s disappointing to hear so many women still saying they don’t want to lift heavy because they’re scared of getting bulky.

If I could go back in time, I would have started lifting weights long before I did!

I never thought I’d be happier in my body at the age of 40 than I was at 18 (goes against everything society tells us right?)

Plus there’s the added benefit of knowing that I’m doing everything I can to give my body the best possible chance of staying strong, fit and healthy as I get older.

Women will not get bulky from lifting weights. You’ll get stronger, feel more confident, improve bone density (this is very important as we get older) and providing you’re eating well, you’ll see positive changes in body composition.

Rest days make you stronger and running slower makes you faster. On the surface, this defies all logic but... it really does work!

When we exercise, we create microscopic tears in our muscles. This is nothing to be alarmed about because our bodies repair these tears itself. In fact, it's this very process that makes our muscles stronger.

However, if you never take rest days, you're not giving your muscles a chance to repair themselves. Hence why rest days play such an important role in getting stronger.

Easy runs can be difficult to get on board with, but as much as 80% of our training should be done at a lower intensity. These easy runs are going to help boost aerobic capacity, aid recovery, prevent injury and overtraining and overall, make you a faster runner.

There's a lot of truth to the saying 'take the easy days easy and the hard days hard!'

The other day someone said to me I’m lucky because I just get it when it comes to diet and exercise. Nothing could be further from the truth!

· I went on my first diet aged 11.
· I hated exercise.
· I haven’t always been the size I am now.
· I struggled with disordered eating behaviours for 15 years.
· Confidence doesn’t come naturally to me. I have to work on it every single day.
· I was a member of my gym for two years before I plucked up the courage to walk into the weights section.
· I’m a chocaholic. I’d eat it all day every day if I could. I’m also a comfort eater and have to work incredibly hard to push through on those days I just want to eat my emotions (I don’t always succeed!)
· I don’t always feel motivated to exercise and I don’t enjoy every single workout.

Believe me when I say I understand, it’s so hard to ‘get it’ when it comes to food, exercise and body acceptance.

It’s okay if you don’t have it all figured out (who does?!)

Just keep trying and don’t give up on yourself. Perfection isn’t the goal, progress is and it’s those small, consistent steps that will get you there!

Can’t even begin to tell you how nice it was to do a race that doesn’t involve burpees! Enjoyed that so much!

Now to start training for the Windsor half marathon. Hill sprints here I come 🥵

After spending the last 18 months training for one event after the other, I was expecting to feel a bit lost with nothing imminent in the diary.

I’ve enjoyed training so much over the last couple weeks though and I’m feeling more motivated than I have in a long time.

I’ve remembered how much I love pushing myself with the strength training and I’ve totally fallen back in love with running.

Sometimes I think we put way too much pressure on ourselves when it comes to exercise (not helped by comparing ourselves to everyone else on social media.)

It’s so important that we enjoy exercise. When we do, we’re more likely to stick to it and we’ll naturally push ourselves harder anyway.

As with anything in life, if it puts a smile on your face, do more of it 🙂

What a difference some decent weather makes! Feel like a different person after a weekend in the sunshine. Can we have plenty more of that please? 🤞

Managed to finish with a smile on my face 😃 And my post-race jump which I couldn’t manage after my last singles race.

The foot behaved! The burpees did not 😂 Honestly, I don’t know what it is about those burpee broad jumps. At one point I couldn’t work out if I was going to throw up or die 😂

That will be my last Hyrox for a while and what a great race to finish on. As always, a big thank you to all the judges who do an amazing job of encouraging you to keep going.

Now it’s time for a much needed glass of wine!

Understanding your menstrual cycle and learning to train around it can have a huge impact on exercise performance.

Broadly speaking, our cycle is broken down into two phases:

Follicular phase (roughly the first two weeks of your cycle)
Luteal phase (roughly the last two weeks of your cycle)

During the follicular phase, oestrogen levels gradually increase and it’s a time many women feel their best. Energy levels are high, we feel strong and we even recover from exercise better during this phase.

The first half of your cycle is the time to push yourself. This is when high-intensity and heavy strength training sessions are going to feel good.

As we head towards the end of this phase, ovulation occurs. We experience a sharp increase in hormones, including testosterone, which means that strength peaks. This is the time to really push yourself and go for those PBs!

The luteal phase is normally where things start to feel a bit rubbish, especially by week four. Mood and motivation dip, PMS symptoms start to show up and weights that normally feel fine, suddenly feel like elephants.

We’re even more prone to injury around this time so longer warm-ups, lighter weights and steady state cardio with more recovery time may be more appropriate. If you feel you could do with a break from training or are planning a deload week, this is the time to do it.

Every woman's experience with her cycle is different. I always encourage clients to track their cycle and symptoms so they can learn to adapt their training accordingly. We can’t do anything about our physiology, but we can align our training with our cycle to improve performance and get better results.

It can be incredibly frustrating when you feel you’re doing all the right things, but still aren’t seeing progress when it comes to fitness or weight loss.

This is very common and we’ve all been there! Here I share five explanations for why you may not be getting the results you want from exercise.

5 reasons you're not seeing results from working out It can be incredibly frustrating when you feel you’re doing all the right things but still aren’t seeing progress when it comes to fitness or weight loss. This is very common and we’ve all been there! Below are five explanations for why you may have hit a plateau and what you can do about it. ...

People often run to get fit, but we should be getting fit to run.

It's so important to physically prepare ourselves and build a strong foundation for running in order to prevent injury and improve overall performance.

In my latest blog I talk about how strength training can help make you a better runner.

How strength training can make you a better runner When we want to improve running performance, the natural assumption is to simply run more. While increasing your distance is of course essential for building endurance and cardiovascular fitness, simply just running more could lead to problems. People often run to get fit, but they should be getting...

Nothing makes me happier than helping people to feel more confident in the gym and with exercise.

A lovely way to start the week with a review from a client I have absolutely loved training over the last two years :-)

It's January, it's cold outside and many of us are still struggling to get back on track after Christmas.

If you've lost your exercise mojo, never fear! Here are some tips to help get back on track.

What to do when you've lost your exercise mojo It’s cold and many of us are struggling to get back into good habits after the festive season. It’s perfectly understandable if you’re struggling to motivate yourself to exercise at the moment. If you’ve swapped workouts for wine, cardio for cookies and squats for the sofa, don’t worry, yo...

An unusual post for this time of year, especially for a PT. I actually think January is a terrible time for motivation and setting goals.

Christmas gets us totally out of sync with our eating, sleeping and workout routines. It’s cold and dark outside and everyone’s busy at work after having some time off in December.

Yet for some reason everyone’s expected to feel great, take on new challenges and change habits of a lifetime come January 1st.

No wonder so many resolutions are broken so soon into the New Year!

I think January is better spent trying to find your feet again. Get back into your routine and try introducing new habits slowly.

If you haven’t been feeling it so far this year, don’t worry, you’re not the only one (despite what social media may make you think.)

I always struggle with motivation at this time of year but I just remind myself how great I feel at the end of a workout. One thing that helps to get me started is rather than worrying about hitting goals and following set routines, I just turn up at the gym and do whatever feels enjoyable that day!

25% of non-gym goers say they would rather be in a room with a spider than brave going to the gym on their own!

Gymtimidation is completely normal and if you're feeling a bit nervous about braving the gym, you're certainly not the only one.

Here are some top tips for building confidence in the gym.

Top tips for building confidence in the gym Gyms can be intimidating. Everyone looks super confident and like they know exactly what they’re doing. Plus, it feels like all eyes are on you, ready to notice if you make a mistake. If this sounds familiar, don’t worry – you’re not alone. A survey carried out by PureGym found that 50% of n...

I’m super excited to announce that I’m now officially a menopause coaching specialist!

I absolutely loved studying towards this qualification. It has made me more determined than ever to prove that women are strong and capable, whatever their age.

It’s time to challenge stereotypes and redefine the narrative around women’s fitness, and that’s what I’m here to do 💪

I was going for a cool celebratory photo, instead I just look like a weirdo with my arm in the air 🤣

The new website is now live :-)

I'd love to hear your feedback and if there's anything else you would like to see on the site. A blog page and testimonials section is coming soon.

Happy Friday, hope you all have a great weekend!

Home | My Site “Fitness isn't just my profession, it’s my passion and I’m committed to guiding you on your journey to becoming a healthier, stronger and more confident version of yourself.” 

New year, new website!

This is a (very slow) work in progress because technology and I don’t get on very well!

New website launch hopefully to come soon 🤞

If anyone's feeling nervous about venturing into the gym this week, please don't be 😊 Instead of my usual how to combat first-time gym nerves post, I've written a little poem!

In the kingdom of treadmills and weights galore,
I ventured to the gym, feeling unsure.

A sea of fitness buffs, all in their zone,
I step inside, feeling quite alone.

In the place of fitness where health and strength thrive, I'm just hoping to get through this alive.

But courage whispers, urging me on,
To face the fear and prove it wrong.

Through shadows of doubt, I march with might,
facing the unknown, embracing the fright.

I look in the mirror and flex with pride, taking a selfie because there's no need to hide.

With everyone here right by my side, if there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that I'm here for the ride.

The misconception that lifting weights will make women bulky is completely untrue and can have serious implications on our long-term health.

As women get older, our risk of many age-related conditions accelerates. These issues become increasingly prevalent as we begin and navigate our way through menopause.

Around menopause, we start to experience a sharper rate of decline of bone mass and density. This makes us more susceptible to osteoporosis, with around 40% of women experiencing an osteoporotic fracture at some point post-menopause.

Sarcopenia is an age-related progressive loss of muscle mass and strength. Although it affects both men and women, after the age of 30, women who are sedentary start to lose about 3-8% of their muscle mass every decade. This affects simple functions like walking, getting up off a chair, carrying the shopping and getting up after a fall.

For women, the risk of a fall that requires treatment in the emergency room starts increasing at around age 45. This risk continues to increase with age, accelerating dramatically around age 65. This is down to a number of reasons including decreased strength, postural stability and balance, as well as sarcopenia, loss of mobility and common menopause symptoms such as joint pain and vertigo.

Research continues to show that strength training is the absolute best way for women to maintain and gain strength, muscle mass and bone mass.

A smart, progressive strength training programme not only slows age-related muscle loss, it can even reverse it in some cases.

If you’re a woman, you will not get bulky from lifting weights (we don’t have anywhere near as much testosterone as men). You will however see a huge improvement in strength, fitness, confidence, mental and physical health.

One of the hardest but most rewarding things I’ve ever done.

Struggled from as early as the sled push, and burpee broad jumps were obviously hell on earth.

I’m so proud for doing something that pushed me so far out my comfort zone and I’m very happy with my time too.

Bring on mixed doubles in Glasgow in March. But first, I’m going to need a very large glass of wine!

I’m on a mission to help support women as they navigate the trials and tribulations of menopause.

Today I start studying towards becoming a menopause coaching specialist - something I’m very passionate about because I’ve seen too many clients struggle with this.

Symptoms of the menopause can last 10+ years and I don’t think it’s good enough that we’re told to just accept it.

I want to do everything I can to change the narrative around menopause. With the right knowledge and coaching, women can feel stronger, healthier and more confident during this time.

Rather than going into it full of fear or dread, we should see it as a new chapter of our lives in which we can thrive with the right help and support!

Habits are hard to break, right? So make exercise a habit and it will become a routine part of your life.

Of course this is easier said than done, but you can actually use your current habits to help build new ones.

One of the best ways to form new rituals is to stack a new behaviour on top of something you already do every day (habit stacking.)

For example, you could say:

· Before my morning coffee, I’ll do 10 minutes of yoga

· As soon as I change out of my work clothes, I’ll get straight into my workout gear

· After my workout, I’ll do five minutes of mobility work

· While the kettle is boiling/bath is running/food is cooking, I’ll do some squats

· When brushing my teeth, I’ll walk around the house (this is something I do so mindlessly I didn’t even realise I do it until I wrote this.) If you brush your teeth for the recommended two minutes a day, twice a day, that’s an extra 28 minutes of walking every week and 24 hours of walking a year without really doing anything (see how small habits can lead to big changes?)

One of the best books I’ve ever read is Atomic Habits by James Clear. He really simplifies how to form new, healthy habits in a way that really motivates you to actually want to do it. You could always read a couple pages while waiting for your morning coffee to brew 😉

Girls’ weekend away 🍹 💃

I won’t be exercising or worrying about what I’m eating this weekend. Life is about balance 🥰

Nuclear Fit done 🏅

Really enjoyed that and it has made me so excited for Hyrox!

Not sure our official time yet but think we just missed out on sub-60 which means I’m just going to have to do it again 🤣

Your mindset about exercise is so important.

If you’re only doing it to look a certain way, you’re going to get frustrated because results take time.

It also makes things like birthdays, holidays and Christmas easy to derail you. You put on a couple pounds, convince yourself you’ve failed and give up.

Exercise can make you FEEL amazing. You’re doing something positive for your health, you’re one workout closer to achieving your goal, you’re getting stronger and fitter and all those endorphins are flowing.

Focusing on how good you feel after a workout will keep you consistent with exercise and that’s when you’ll start to see changes to your body (providing you’re eating well of course 😊)