More women are stepping away from strict “eat less, move more” fitness routines as demand grows for training programmes designed around the hormonal changes linked to menopause.

Devon-founded wellbeing community Holsm has opened registrations for its latest eight-week programme, which focuses on strength training, recovery and sustainable exercise habits for women during perimenopause and beyond.

The programme was founded by coach and former care management specialist Holly Fivian, who said many women were beginning to question whether traditional fitness advice still worked for them during midlife.

With around 13 million women in the UK estimated to be peri- or post-menopausal, the programme aims to help women adapt exercise routines to changes in energy levels, recovery and overall wellbeing.

Holsm’s approach centres on strength training, alongside mobility, posture, nutrition, hydration, sleep and stress management.

Holly Fivian said: “Hormone-friendly fitness isn’t about doing less. It’s about training smarter.

“It’s about understanding when to lift, when to recover, and how to support your body through change rather than pushing against it.”

Members taking part in the Holsm programme (Image: Holsm)

The programme includes short strength workouts lasting between 12 and 15 minutes, with optional longer sessions of up to 30 minutes.

The eight-week Fundamentals First programme begins on Monday, June 22, with another intake planned for Monday, September 21. Places are priced at £259.

Holsm also runs retreats combining strength training, yoga, breathwork and coaching. Its next retreat is due to take place from Thursday, November 20 until Sunday, November 23 at Gitcombe Estate in Devon, with prices ranging from £750 to £950.

Ali, 71, who takes part in the programme, said: “I’ve developed a real belief that small, everyday exercise makes a difference over time.

“At first the changes were subtle, but after a few months I realised I felt stronger and more capable, even lifting my eight-year-old grandchildren or gardening with ease.”

More information about the programme is available at Holsm.

I have a story that a lot of people might be able to relate to,” 47-year-old David Keohan tells me. Given the Irishman’s favourite pastime is ripping 150kg-plus boulders from the ground, I’m doubtful. But he continues.

“In my twenties I was into art and music and drinking and smoking. I was obese and unhealthy, mentally and physically. Then you get to your thirties and your body says, ‘Hold on a second, we need to start doing something about this, kid’.”

At 32, hungover, he went into a sports shop and bought a pair of trainers. “I remember the young fella working there laughing and going, ‘Are you sure, man?’” says Keohan, laughing.

Within six months, he had run a marathon. In the next few years, he became a world champion in kettlebell sport. Then, when Covid lockdowns struck, he started lifting stones. Heavy, heavy stones.

“I got bitten by the bug of feeling good,” Keohan continues. “Before, I never knew what feeling good felt like. But once you start to feel good, it’s amazing, and you realise how bad you felt for the last 10 years.”

Reviving the ancient culture of Irish stone lifting

When Covid lockdowns hit in 2020 and gyms were closed, most people used burpees in their bedroom to stay in shape. But Keohan, a father-of-three, had other ideas.

“I met my wife in art college and she carved stones,” Keohan says. “The stone I started lifting in the backyard was one of hers that weighed 60kg. I use strength training to keep me on an even keel anyway, so I think this helped keep me mentally sane throughout those years.”

A friend, who was building a wall at the time, saw what Keohan was doing and duly dropped 70kg and 90kg stones at his house. He has been without a gym membership ever since, instead performing lifts such as squats, rows and presses with gigantic stones – often with kettlebells balanced precariously on top of them.

This approach isn’t for everyone, sure. But it goes to show how fitness plans are far from one-size-fits-all.

“I sometimes go to the beach, name stones and lift them,” Keohan says. “It’s a free gym, you’re there by yourself, you get to hear the seabirds – why wouldn’t you?

“Then I found out there was a whole culture attached to stone lifting – it was more than just ‘man picks up rock’, so I started researching it.”

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Scotland has strong ties to lifting stones, with the Dinnie stones in Aberdeenshire being the best-known example. Other areas in Iceland and the Basque region also have a rich history in the practice.

“They were like a job interview in some cases,” Keohan says. “You couldn’t be a stonemason or a fisherman unless you could lift a certain stone. Or they were used as a rite of passage as you progressed from child to adult to warrior.”

Ireland has a strong culture of stone lifting, too. But this was wiped away centuries ago, largely through British colonisation and the famine, leaving little trace.

Learning of the Fianna stone in Scotland – named after bands of medieval Irish warriors – gave Keohan the hint he needed that lifting stones existed in Ireland. He then made it his mission to unearth any stones that remained west of the Irish sea.

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The stone of Inishmore – the first of many

He found his first on the Atlantic island of Inishmore in 2023. The breadcrumb trail that led him there included a mention in a short story called The Stone by Irish author Liam O’Flaherty, a tip-off from a Reddit post by O’Flaherty’s ancestor, and a collection of folktales from locals.

“Me and my friends went off in a camper van, headed over on the ferry then cycled to get to the right area,” Keohan says. “But once you get to Inishmore, you realise it’s just an island made of stone, covered in stones. And the stone we were looking for was located in a field of boulders.”

Fortunately, it stood out immediately – a rounded 171.2kg rump of granite with a uniquely pinkish hue, sitting in the middle of a small clearing. This isn’t 171.2kg of weight plates loaded on a knurled, ergonomic barbell either. It’s wet, it’s unwieldy, and it won’t be picked up without a fight.

Keohan went away and dedicated his free time to becoming strong enough to lift the stone: lifting progressively heavier stones in his training, eating more and packing on 20kg of body weight.

Months later, he returned to Inishmore and prised the stone from the floor. He lifted it to his lap, then lips, before planting three kisses on its cold surface – just as the protagonist in O’Flaherty’s short story had done. And with that, the culture of Irish lifting stones was continued.

From this point on, Keohan doubled down on his goal of tracking down more stones through myths, stories and word of mouth. Continuing the hunt at weekends, around his job at a construction depot in Waterford, he has since found more than 50.

“It’s given me a whole new purpose and a lease of life in my forties,” he says. “Finding this culture and sharing it with people has been amazing. It’s bringing back strength and pride, and there’s a whole national identity attached to it, too. ”

People now travel from all over the world to lift stones that Keohan has rediscovered. His Instagram account, Indiana Stones, has a loyal five-figure following. He recently released a book about his discoveries called The Wind Beneath the Stone. Irish stone lifting is back.

Read more: Scientists followed women through midlife for 15 years – this activity was linked to longer, better lives

Keep rolling: the life of a lifting stone

Historically, lifting stones served many purposes. Some started life as jostle stones outside pubs, stopping horse-drawn carts from cutting corners and damaging the pub’s walls. Some were placed at crossroads or along mass paths as entertainment. “People have always wanted to pick stuff up,” Keohan explains.

Other stones were used as a tangible measure of strength to decide if you were well-suited to a certain job. In Iceland, a set of four called the Dritvík stones were used to determine how much of that day’s fishing haul each sailor took home, Keohan tells me. They weighed 23kg, 54kg, 100kg and 154kg – the stone you lifted onto a natural plinth dictated your role in the boat and what share of the catch you kept.

“They had the same thing in the west of Ireland, I’ve found,” he adds. “They were all in the same boat, quite literally, and whoever could lift the stone the highest on their body would get the share of the catch they wanted. It was a cut-and-dry way of thinking, which I really enjoy.”

This, he says, is “the opposite of toxic masculinity” – a buzzword describing an antiquated environment of hierarchical masculinity, often based on subjective measures.

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The stones, by contrast, are inarguably objective – you either lift them or you don’t. Whoever you are, whatever your background, you can try. Pass or fail, you’re part of something bigger.

“It’s supportive and healthy,” Keohan says. “Come along to one of these stones. If you can get the wind under it, great, but it doesn’t matter. The most important part is that you get to be a part of the continuation of its story and culture. The strength aspect is secondary to me.”

To take part, there are just two overarching rules: “Respect the stones and respect the culture.”

“These stones aren’t pieces of gym equipment; they’re historical items,” says Keohan. “If the stone is broken, the story is dead and you broke the chain.

“If you’re strong enough to pick it up, you’re strong enough to put it down again without dropping it from your chest or shoulder. If you do that, you’ll have me and every other person who loves the lifting stones chasing after you.”

And that is a brawny group you do not want to fall foul of.

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New mums have a lot on their plates. Between nappy explosions, work meetings, school runs, and trying to maintain some semblance of a social life, it’s almost guaranteed to be an overwhelming time, most of the time. Throw into the mix disrupted sleep, patchy eating times, and the emotional rollercoaster of parenting, and it’s no wonder that to most postnatal women, finding time for fitness and wellbeing seems impossible. As a mum of four, I’ve done it many times over and know the pressure all too well. And yes, time is tight, but the good news is that rebuilding your body post-pregnancy doesn’t actually require long, mean hours in the gym.

Are Kegels all they’re cracked up to be?

So, you’re postnatal and determined to carve out time for you and your body. Good news: there’s no shortage of fitness advice online. Bad news: not all of it is as credible as it might appear. Trying to figure out whose advice to trust is overwhelming, especially when two experts completely contradict each other.

Most exercise advice for postnatal women will mention Kegel exercises. Kegels are pelvic floor contractions which strengthen the deep core muscles. Don’t get me wrong – they’re a really important part of postnatal recovery. But there is much more to the story than it often appears, and a few more steps are needed before bringing Kegels into our workouts. When these steps are missed, women can be left feeling frustrated at the lack of results they’d hoped for.

Before you start squeezing your pelvic floor every time you’re at a red light or unloading the dishwasher, we need to reconnect with the entire core system. Pregnancy can have drastic effects, like shifting posture, flaring the ribcage and tilting the pelvis. These changes can all affect your pelvic floor health, and Kegels alone are not enough to fix them.

Your pelvic floor doesn’t work in isolation. It’s part of a team, along with your glutes, abdominal muscles, abductors, lower back, and your respiratory system. Together, they make up the deep core. Everything needs to work in synergy, and for that, we need three steps: respiration, engagement, and activation.

When I started the StrongLikeMum YouTube channel, I wanted to create a hub for short, effective postnatal workouts for all women, from a postnatal expert who knows that intensive courses and strict diets are completely unrealistic. Here are my three absolute non-negotiables when it comes to exercise after pregnancy – and what makes them so vital to recovery.

Step 1: 360 breathing

Okay, breathing sounds boring, but this step is not to be missed. Our breathing really affects how our core functions. The movement and position of your diaphragm and ribcage can deeply impact how the pelvic floor is loaded and positioned. During pregnancy, it’s not uncommon for the ribcage to lift, or ‘flare’, as the baby grows and takes up more space. Internal organs, including your diaphragm, are pushed upwards, and this can cause the ribcage to protrude outwards, with the lower ribs pushing upwards.

As pregnancy progresses, your pelvis is tilted forward, which means the increased weight of the baby, placenta and amniotic fluid is shifted off the supportive bony structures of the pelvis and rests much more heavily onto the pelvic floor below. If misalignment continues, no matter how many kegel exercises you do, the increased pressure on the pelvic floor could mean you struggle to engage the muscles as efficiently as you’d like to when needed.

For this reason, I start all my clients with a 360 breathing exercise. You can work on this exercise sitting in a chair, but I’d recommend lying back on a mat. While keeping your hands relaxed by your sides or resting on your lower abdomen, take a deep inhale. The goal is to encourage the diaphragm to descend. Keeping your shoulders relaxed, allow your ribcage to expand and visualise your pelvic floor relaxing and releasing. In the first stage of this exercise, allow your breath to ‘fall’ away with a soft ‘hah’ sound, without drawing up the pelvic floor on the exhale. Focus on keeping your shoulders relaxed and the pelvic floor released. You can then build on the pelvic floor kegel activation as you exhale.

Often, Kegel exercises reference the feeling of stopping the flow of urine. Instead of this, try visualising the coccyx bone at the back of your pelvis and the pubic bone at the front of your pelvis, drawing inwards towards each other and lifting up along the midline. To join me in this technique, try this StrongLikeMum workout.

Resistance bands

Resistance band exercises can be incredibly useful as we attempt to fix rib flare and support our posture, all of which allows better core engagement. Here’s a great exercise to engage the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles, including your obliques: Sit or stand holding a resistance band in one hand. Holding this arm out in front of you, in line with your shoulder, grab the other end of the resistance band in your other hand, a little lower than the first. Inhale, and as you exhale, pull the resistance band diagonally downwards, gently encouraging your ribcage across to the opposite hip. Inhale and return to the start position and repeat.

Step 2: Getting to the deep core

The ‘box row’, as featured in this workout, is one of my all-time favourite exercises for postnatal women rehabilitating their pelvic floor. This move is best when paired with other deep core engagement exercises like pelvic tilts, leg slides, the bridge and heel taps.

Firstly, by working in the box position, we slightly increase the challenge for your pelvic floor because you’re working against gravity. Pulling backwards with the resistance band strengthens your upper back muscles, which helps to support better posture.

Resistance in the upper body also triggers a response in the pelvic floor via a deep line of soft body tissue known as the Deep Front Line. This is why this box row is so fantastic for postnatal women. If, however, you are managing diastasis recti, it’s important to keep an eye on your midline when performing this exercise. The box/all fours position can place an increase of pressure onto the front abdominal wall. However, this can be a good way to strengthen the front abdominals and rehab diastasis recti, provided you can garner tension along the midline. If you notice a bulge along the midline, modify your exercises and begin with workouts like this.

Step 3: Don’t forget the glutes

Alongside pelvic floor activation and posture rehabilitation, glute exercises are a crucial (and often forgotten) part of postnatal recovery. During pregnancy, as your bump grows, your pelvis can shift forward, which puts increased pressure on the pelvic floor. By activating your glutes, we can help to restabilise the pelvis and encourage better alignment. Glute kick-backs are a fantastic body-weight exercise that activates the deep glutes, and you can progress the movement by adding a resistance band.

By looping the middle of the band around your foot and holding the ends in both hands, you can increase the resistance in the working leg, pushing backwards. Other valuable glute exercises for the postnatal period are the glute bridge, butterfly, fire hydrants, lunges and squats when you’re ready.

But before anything else, the three steps of respiration, engagement and activation are vital for an effective postnatal recovery. Connecting your breathing to your deep core, using your upper body to engage your pelvic floor and activating your glutes to realign posture all help to strengthen and heal your body, post-birth.

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