As a woman the advice around the different types of exercise you ‘should’ or ‘shouldn’t’ be doing can feel overwhelming.

So, what’s the right mix at your life stage?

Here’s what two expects have to say.

What are the essential types of exercise? 

Mandy Hagstrom is an exercise scientist whose work focuses on women’s health. Dr Hagstrom says it can be helpful to understand exercise as either aerobic or resistance.

There are “so many different little components” within that, but they are the “really big broad categories”.

When it comes to getting the balance between types of exercise right, she says there’s no concise answer.

“Each type has different benefits at different life stages, but they’re actually all important at each life stage.”

Gynaecologist Pav Nanayakkara from Jean Hailes for Women’s Health says exercise can be a powerful preventative tool.

She breaks exercise down further into four types.

Firstly, zone 2 training “which is low intensity cardio, like brisk walking or cycling.” 

Resistance training which includes strength exercises, such as lifting weights or using resistance bands. 

Thirdly, there’s high intensity interval training (HIIT) which is “short bursts of high effort exercise with rest in between”. 

Lastly, dynamic stability exercises which includes pilates, yoga and balance training.

Listen to your body 

Dr Hagstrom says, “our hormonal profile changes [as we age].”

“We become at an increased risk of low bone mineral density, so [conditions such as] osteopenia and osteoporosis.”

She says women also have a “greatly increased risk of cardiovascular disease as we age, particularly through that menopausal transition.”

Dr Hagstrom says different types of exercise can help reduce these risks, but “It’s not like one trumps the other.”

What exercise can a younger woman prioritise?

Dr Nanayakkara says strength and resistance focused exercise are “important in your twenties and thirties for building strong bones and muscles”.

“That’s when you develop peak bone and muscle mass.”

She says HIIT can be particularly beneficial for the fitness and metabolism of women in their twenties to forties.

“In a patient in their twenties, we would encourage training across all of those four areas, but you could focus a little bit more on resistance and high intensity interval training.”

Dr Hagstrom says the generic exercise guidelines are “pretty good” for the general population. It recommends a combination of moderate exercise (walking, golfing and swimming) and vigorous exercise (soccer, netball and jogging) throughout the week for those aged from 18 to 64. As well as muscle strengthening activities (lifting weights, push-ups and squats) twice a week.

Dr Hagstrom says strength training is the requirement people most often fail to meet.

Strength training could be callisthenic type exercise, cardio-based strength such as body pump classes, or heavy powerlifting.

She says “any strength training is better than no strength training” and to consider how you can “progress and improve — whether that’s the intensity or the reps you’re doing”.

What could exercise look like for a middle-aged woman?

Dr Nanayakkara says strength exercises “become even more important after menopause to prevent things like osteoporosis and osteopenia or muscle loss.”

She says zone 2 training is also “particularly important in women in their forties and beyond”, because of its relationship with heart health and the metabolism.

Dynamic stability exercise, such as pilates are also really beneficial for women in perimenopause and onwards to help with mobility and balance, she says.

Dr Hagstrom notes that the impacts of menopause are “really individualised” and it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to change up your exercise regime if it’s working for you.

“Some women can get a lot of joint pain … if they’ve strength trained previously they might find simple substitutions of movements [necessary].”

What can an older woman prioritise? 

Dr Nanayakkara says HIIT is something you may choose to do in moderation as you age, because it “can have a more of a strain”.

Dr Hagstrom says balance becomes even more important and some people find a “massive benefit” from incorporating activities like yoga into their week.

But with all exercise, she says “the individual benefits that people feel and receive is going to depend on where they are when they start the exercise.”

Starting sooner rather than later can help, as “maintaining anything is easier than gaining something”.

Choose what you enjoy

Dr Hagstrom says that “across all life stages, the best type of exercise is the type that you’re going to do.”

She says people don’t follow through with exercise programmes long-term, because they fall into the trap of choosing types of exercise they “think they should”, rather than exercise they’re likely to enjoy.

Dr Hagstrom recommends trying “a whole bunch of different things to figure out what types you like.”

For example, knowing whether you prefer working out in the outdoors or a fitness centre can help.

This is general information only. For detailed personal advice, you should see a qualified medical practitioner who knows your medical history.