'I became a personal trainer at 48. These are my tips to start exercising late in life’

No matter your age, it’s never too late to exercise or start exercising to take care of your heart health and overall wellbeing. Talk to your doctor to get started.

Meg VanderHeg is a busy mum of three adult children and recently became a grandmother. While she always enjoyed being active and going to the gym, it wasn’t until her late 40s that she decided to become a personal trainer to help women lead a healthier lifestyle.

“I understand the challenges that come with trying to juggle exercise and healthy eating in these busy times,” she explains. “And I am so passionate about helping people, particularly older women, get strong, healthy and fit.”

Three years after her third daughter was born, Meg was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“My 35^th birthday was spent in hospital having breast surgery,” she recalls. “It was not a fun few years, but I won the battle and decided joining a gym for the yoga and pilates classes would help in my recovery. That was when my love affair with the gym really started.

“And then with my husband and kids’ encouragement, I decided to change careers and have never looked back.”

As a 52-year-old personal trainer with a specialty in women's health, Meg has a lot of clients at a similar age and stage. And she’s also got a wealth of advice about fitness for older women and men.

Here are more of her personal experiences and top tips to help get people moving in mid-life, in her own words.

A lot of my clients think lifting weights will make them ‘bulky’. And they spend so much time doing high-intensity cardio workouts but never get results.

I used to be exactly the same. I spent years restricting whole food groups and doing the most ridiculous fad diets. I’d do back-to-back cardio classes, boxing and running on the treadmill. As long as I was sweating, I thought I was working out properly. Even walking was done at the fastest pace possible!

Then over the last 10 years I slowly discovered weights on the gym floor instead of pump or circuit classes with baby dumbbells. And I learnt as much as I could about the benefits of resistance training and how it could support us through peri and post menopause, joint health, mental health and heart health to name a few.

If you’re new to resistance training, start small. Just 30 minutes on two days a week is a great start, then increase to three to four days is all that’s needed.

Make sure you give yourself rest days. Our bodies need recovery even more as we age.

Resistance training is essential at any age, but strength training becomes even more necessary as we go through menopause and beyond. BUT it needs to be a progression of learning and correct technique before increasing the weights. If you can, I recommend investing in yourself and your future and joining a gym with well-educated trainers. Or hire a personal trainer (PT) that will provide a bespoke program for you and your body.

There are now one in three women suffering with incontinence, and there is no stigma or shame in talking about this openly or seeking help. Many women are worried about joining a gym because they are embarrassed about bladder leakage. There is so much support out there if this is you. A good PT will look after your pelvic floor as well as all the other muscles in your body.

They will take into consideration your external stresses and energy levels. They will focus on mobility and joint health. It should always be about YOU!