Fitness

Why exercise must be a priority for women in midlife

Published

2 months ago

February 2, 2026

Why exercise must be a priority for women in midlife

For women, particularly in midlife, keeping up regular physical activity plays a huge role in countering muscle loss related to hormonal shifts during menopause and supporting long-term well-being.

Every January, ‘exercising more’ tops lists of New Year Resolutions. Gyms fill up, fitness apps spike in downloads, and motivation feels abundant. As health professionals, we genuinely welcome this moment because everyone benefits from physical activity: any movement that uses energy such as walking, cleaning, or riding a bike.

Exercise is a form of physical activity, aimed at improving health and may include brisk walk, running or structured workouts. Exercising regularly across our lives helps us stay healthy, strong, and independent for longer. But sustaining motivation is harder than starting, and this challenge isn’t experienced equally by women.

For women, particularly in midlife (their 40s and 50s), staying physically active is vital to offset muscle decline related to hormonal changes during menopause and to sustain long-term well-being. For women with disabilities, including conditions like multiple sclerosis, which disproportionately affects women and is becoming increasingly common, exercise is a critical self-management strategy. Staying active can be a game changer.

Prioritising physical activity in midlife

Women tend to drop physical activity as they enter midlife, when staying physically active becomes particularly important for their health and well-being. On average, men already report doing more regular exercise than women. Women also tend to do less moderate or vigorous physical activity and are less likely to take part in organised sports.

Many women say that family and work responsibilities make it hard to exercise. This is notably common in midlife, when ongoing work commitments often overlap with caring for children and/or ageing parents. Time shrinks, confidence and energy levels dip and not knowing where to begin can make exercise feel out of reach.

As people age, their muscles naturally get smaller and weaker, with strength peaking around 25 years of age before slowly declining. In men, this decline tends to be gradual over time. In women, research shows a different pattern. After a steady decline, many measures of muscle health drop sharply between the ages of 40 and 50. This rapid loss is linked to menopause, which is a normal stage of life when the ovaries produce much lower levels of the female sex hormones oestrogens and progesterone.

Exercise is one of the most effective ways to slow this muscle loss. Resistance exercise—where muscles work against an external load, such as lifting weights or using resistance bands—is especially good for building and maintaining strength. Stronger muscles also help reduce the risk of many diseases, lower the chance of falls, support independence in older age, and are linked to living longer.

Because women lose muscle mass and strength faster than men, increasing physical activity during midlife rather than putting it off is crucial for their long-term health. And because the benefits can still apply later in life, it is never too late for women to start exercising.

Barriers to physical activity for women in midlife and with a disability

While circumstances vary, many women living with disabilities face similar barriers to staying active, which are further compounded by symptoms. Multiple sclerosis (MS), one such disability that affects mainly women during their most productive years in life, illustrates how health, gender and life-stage pressures can intersect to make staying active even harder.

MS is a neurological condition that affects women about three times more often than men. Symptoms vary, but many women diagnosed with MS experience fatigue, reduced balance, muscle weakness and changes in walking ability. Most are diagnosed in their 20s or 30s. While there is no cure, treatments have improved greatly in recent decades. There is now strong evidence that exercise can play a major role in improving health and daily function for people with MS.

Research shows that aerobic, strength, and balance training can improve fatigue, mobility and strength, and support better mental health outcomes. Yet, alongside MS‑specific barriers—such as tiredness, heat sensitivity, or difficulty accessing safe and suitable exercise spaces—many experience broader social barriers related to cost, limited transport, caring responsibilities and lack of support. For some, experiences of stigma or gender‑based violence can further restrict participation.

The good news is that exercise is safe for people with MS, and clear guidelines exist for getting started. Women who can still walk, even slowly or with a stick, can begin with short, manageable bouts of activity and gradually build to four or five weekly sessions that combine aerobic and resistance training. Balance and flexibility exercises are helpful for everyone. Physiotherapists and exercise physiologists can tailor programmes and teach strategies such as pacing, cooling and planning activity for times of higher energy.

Not long ago, people with MS were told to rest. Today, the evidence is clear: regular physical activity is one of the most important lifestyle steps women with MS can take to improve their symptoms and enhance quality of life.

Promoting physical activity locally

Recent studies highlight that women of all abilities are far more likely to stay active when they feel supported by family, peers or their broader community. When nearby community-based fitness programmes are safe, accessible and affordable, women are more likely to overcome barriers linked to confidence, motivation and depressive symptoms.

From our work among people with spinal cord injuries, some additional recommendations apply to people with disabilities more broadly.

First, to ensure that fitness staff receive proper training and mentoring to work with people with disabilities, which has been shown to improve participation and well-being dramatically.

Second, to co‑design programs so people can shape their own goals. Feeling in control and supported makes it easier to stay active.

Third, to expand policy and funding support to cover gym memberships and training the trainers, reducing these major barriers.

Together, these changes would make community fitness spaces more accessible and supportive, so women in midlife have better chances of exercising regularly.

Beatriz IR de Oliveira is a senior researcher and educator within Swinburne University of Technology, School of Health Sciences, Department of Allied Health, Discipline of Physiotherapy. She is an adjunct academic within the Curtin School of Allied Health, Curtin University. She currently receives funding from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).

Séverine Lamon is a Professor within Deakin University’s School and Exercise and Nutrition Sciences and Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, and the Deputy Associate Dean (Research) for the Faculty of Health. She currently receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Yvonne C Learmonth is a research physiotherapist and Associate Professor within the University of New South Wales’ School of Health Science, Discipline of Physiotherapy. She is an adjunct researcher in the School of Allied Health at Murdoch University and the Perron Institute. She currently receives funding from MS Australia.

Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™

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Fitness

Exercise First Thing in the Morning for Better Heart Health, Study Suggests

Published

11 hours ago

March 24, 2026

Press Room

Exercise First Thing in the Morning for Better Heart Health, Study Suggests

If you typically work out in the morning, a new study suggests you may have a lower risk for high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and other contributors to heart disease compared with people who exercise later in the day.

“This study suggests that when you exercise may matter, not just how much you exercise,” says senior study author Prashant Rao, MBBS, a sports cardiologist and physician-scientist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, both in Boston.

The research, which will be presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session later this month, relied on minute-level heart rate data from nearly 15,000 adults. Dr. Rao says this allowed his team to capture long-term, real-world exercise data with much more detail and accuracy.

Early Morning Workouts Are Linked to Better Cardiometabolic Health

The study analyzed health records and Fitbit heart rate data collected over a year. Researchers identified periods when participants had an elevated heart rate for 15 minutes or more to track physical activity. Then they grouped participants into categories based on the time of day exercise occurred.

Researchers compared these timing groups with health data including rates of high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, atrial fibrillation, coronary artery disease, and other cardiovascular health problems. They adjusted the findings to account for differences in age, sex, income level, total activity level, sleep, alcohol use, and smoking status.

The results showed that compared with adults who exercised later in the day, those who worked out in the morning were:

These risk reductions were independent of how much exercise people actually got. Adults who exercised between 7 and 8 a.m. had the lowest odds of coronary artery disease.

Aubrey Grant, MD, a sports cardiologist at MedStar Health in Washington, D.C., who wasn’t involved with the research, says the results suggest that “timing may be a previously underappreciated lever in cardiometabolic risk reduction.”

He adds that wearable technology is giving scientists more granular exercise data, which “opens a more nuanced conversation about how physical activity interacts with the body’s daily rhythms.”

Exercise Timing Is a ‘New Frontier’

A main limitation of the research is that it’s an observational study, “so we can’t establish causality,” Rao says. Because participants weren’t randomized to exercise at different times, the results only show a link, not that earlier exercise directly leads to the observed health benefits.

“While we did our best to adjust for confounders [factors that could muddy the results], timing may still reflect differences in work schedules, socioeconomic factors, or lifestyle patterns that aren’t potentially fully captured in our analyses,” he says.

The link between exercise timing and health is a “new frontier in exercise science,” says Dr. Grant. For decades, research has focused on “how much and how hard” people worked out — variables that still matter, he says.

But more data on timing is starting to appear. Just this January, for instance, another published study found that older adults who identified as “night people” had worse cardiovascular health compared with adults who said they were “morning people.”

Why Exercise Timing May Lower Cardiometabolic Risk

“The honest answer is that we do not fully know yet” why this link is appearing, Grant says.

“Morning exercise may align better with circadian physiology,” or how bodily functions naturally correspond to the time of day, he says. “Cortisol peaks early in the day and can prime the body for physical exertion, potentially enhancing metabolic efficiency,” Grant adds.

Exercise is also a natural stimulant. When you work out early, it revs up your bodily systems and energizes you for the day, says Andrew Freeman, MD, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver. Dr. Freeman was not involved with the new study.

People who work out earlier may also have healthier lifestyle habits, overall, says Alex Rothstein, EdD, an assistant professor of exercise science at the New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury.

“If you work out earlier in the day, you tend to have fewer excuses to not work out,” and you may exercise more consistently, says Dr. Rothstein, who was not involved with the new research.

Should You Start Exercising in the Morning?

Freeman recommends getting 30 minutes a day of “breathless physical activity,” including a combination of cardio and strength training. But if you prefer to work out in the afternoons or have responsibilities preventing you from exercising in the morning, don’t worry.

“It does not mean people should feel guilty about evening workouts,” Grant says. “It means that when we counsel patients on optimizing their health, exercise timing is now a legitimate part of that conversation, alongside sleep, nutrition, and stress management.”

If you have flexibility, though, Rothstein suggests exercising in the morning, as it’s less likely that something will interfere with your workout later on, and it may offer extra heart health benefits.

“The most important message is still: Exercise consistently, regardless of timing,” Rao says. However, “Timing may represent a simple, low-cost way to potentially optimize health.”

Fitness

The HFA Show 2026 Demonstrates the Power of Community With Strong Turnout and Programming – Health & Fitness Association

Published

23 hours ago

March 24, 2026

Press Room

The HFA Show 2026 Demonstrates the Power of Community With Strong Turnout and Programming – Health & Fitness Association

From the HFA Hall of Fame to Innovation Alley to the launch of new products from more than 60 companies, The HFA Show 2026 delivers a standout week.

The 2026 HFA Hall of Fame inductees pose together (left to right): Cirulli, Eschbach, Landers, Mills, Runyon, and Elaine LaLanne. Missing are Dave Mortensen, who could not attend, and Jack LaLanne, who received the award posthumously. In the second photo, Keith Morrison, a correspondent for Dateline NBC, presents Elaine LaLanne as an inductee.

The HFA Show 2026 recorded 10,300 registrants, 380 exhibitors, 52 sponsors, and 150 speakers for the March 16-18 event in San Diego, according to the Health & Fitness Association (HFA). It was also the launching pad for new products and services from more than 60 companies.

“What an incredible week full of high energy, dynamic networking, insightful learning, and new product discoveries,” said HFA President and CEO Liz Clark. “It was gratifying to support such an extraordinary group of industry leaders and innovators from around the world with this year’s show. Our team has poured more than a year of work into this event, and we’re already energized to make next year’s gathering in Las Vegas on March 10–12, 2027, even more spectacular.”

Clark went on to thank additional groups beyond HFA team members.

“We’d like to thank all our sponsors, exhibitors, speakers, and board members for making this year’s event such a strong and inspiring showcase for the industry,” Clark said. “Your commitment and partnership helped create a world-class experience that truly moved our industry forward.”

The unofficial launch of the event occurred on the evening of March 15, with 240 people gathering for the HFA Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, sponsored by The Bay Club Company, to honor the organization’s second class of inductees: Gainesville Health & Fitness CEO Joe Cirulli, Exhale and ResetOne Founder Annbeth Eschbach, Fitness Formula Founder Gale Landers, Les Mills Founder and Managing Director Phillip Mills, Purpose Brands Co-founders Dave Mortensen and Chuck Runyon, and fitness icons Jack and Elaine LaLanne. Ticket sales and sponsorships for the HFA Hall of Fame ceremony raised more than $200,000 for the HFA Foundation, a 501(c)3 public charity that works to support health through exercise.

The evening also included a celebration recognizing Elaine LaLanne’s 100th birthday, which was March 19. Keith Morrison, a Dateline NBC correspondent and friend of Elaine, presented Elaine and her husband Jack, who passed away in 2011, for induction. Celebrities such as Billy Crystal, Mark Wahlberg, and Tony Danza sent videos congratulating her on her 100th birthday.

HFA handed out three other awards at the event. The Jim Worthington Advocate of the Year Award went to Chris Craytor, CEO of ACAC Fitness & Wellness Centers, for his service to the fitness industry and HFA. The John Holsinger Global Leader Award was given to LifeFit Group CEO Martin Seibold. Bodytech Colombia Co-founder and Executive Vice President Gigliola Aycardi received the Woman Leader Award in Honor of Julie Main.

This year’s keynoters (left to right): Dhawan, Itzler, and Ohno.

The HFA Show included annual President’s Address by Clark as well as three keynote addresses:

March 16 – Clark recapped the highlights of the past year for HFA and urged even further engagement by industry leaders as global influence and expectations grow for the industry.
March 16 – Author and teamwork expert Erica Dhawan shared strategies for building trust, fostering agility, and strengthening collaboration in the age of AI. Her keynote was sponsored by Zenoti.
March 17 – Author and entrepreneur Jesse Itzler shared lessons about creating opportunity, cultivating resilience, and building a life that achieves big goals without sacrificing what matters most. His keynote was sponsored by Matrix.
March 18 – Olympic speed-skating champion Apolo Ohno shared lessons on reinvention, adaptability, and performance in a rapidly changing environment in his keynote, sponsored by ROR.

Other highlights of the conference program were:

The 29th Annual Financial Panel, which was renamed the Rick Caro Financial Panel in honor of Rick Caro, president of Management Vision, who created the panel 28 years ago and had moderated it each year until his death in August 2025. This year’s panel was sponsored by AltaDX.
The Women’s Leadership Summit and Reception, sponsored by Daxko.
The Brazilian Forum and the Latin American Forum, both sponsored by ABC Fitness.
The Canadian Forum, EMEA Forum, and APAC Forum

Highlights of the trade show floor were:

Innovation Alley (sponsored by Sweatworks) featurinh the following companies: Alchemy Innovations LLC, AI Advertising by Mixo Ads, BELLIX, Bolt Recovery, Buzz Bomb Caffeine Company, DetecFit, Fit – M.O., Fit-X, HipDoc, InSquare, MatFresher, Milton AI, Nervō Labs, ObliQ Fitness, OmniFit, OnSight, Silient, Superset App, and xplate.
Innovation Alley Pitchfest, which featured many of the Innovation Alley companies offering a three-minute pitch of their product. The winners of the Pitchfest will be announced soon. They will receive a complimentary booth at The HFA Show 2027 and will be recognized in a future issue of Health & Fitness Business.
The New Product Zone featuring nine companies: Body Energy Technology, Buzz Bomb Caffeine, Core Champion, Echelon Fit, Escape Fitness, Linear Bar, Martoni Bikes, The Abs Company, and WeGym
The Pickleball Experience
The Demonstration Stage
The Recovery Lounge (outside the trade show floor) with products from Am-Finn Sauna Company, CryoBuilt, Silent, WellFit, and WellnessSpace Brands.

“What stood out this year wasn’t just the scale of the event, but the strength of the conversations happening across every part of the show,” Clark said. “From the keynote stage and education sessions to the trade show floor, industry leaders came together to share ideas, explore innovation, and build the relationships that will help shape the future of health and fitness.”

HFA would like to acknowledge Alloy Personal Training Solutions, LLC for authorizing the use of its registered trademark “Stronger Together” as the theme for The HFA Show 2026. The HFA Show 2027 will take place March 10-12, 2027, at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Fitness

I Tried Jennifer Aniston’s 10-Minute Arm Workout. These Exercises Had My Upper Body on Fire

Published

1 day ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

I Tried Jennifer Aniston’s 10-Minute Arm Workout. These Exercises Had My Upper Body on Fire

I like a challenge when I work out and over the years I’ve enjoyed trying different types of exercise. It doesn’t matter how long the routine is (ideally under an hour), as long as someone tells me what to do and I feel the burn.

So when I got the opportunity to work out with Jennifer Aniston’s trainer, Pvolve VP of Training Dani Coleman, and do the actor’s 10-minute arm workout, I jumped on it. I’m fairly active and do about 3-4 workout classes a week, including HIIT, circuit training and Pilates. However, I do feel like I have room for improvement when it comes to my upper-body strength.

“The Morning Show” star uses just one simple fitness tool to get her enviably toned arms. What I didn’t expect was how mine would feel like noodles instantly — and for days after!

The Basics: Cost and Equipment

Pvolve can be practiced at home through a membership that starts at $24.99 a month or $224.91 a year.

For this specific routine, we used the P.band, a resistance banded glove that helps strengthen the arms, back and shoulders. It costs $44 and comes with a 14-day free membership.

“This is one of (Aniston’s) favorite pieces to take with her when she’s on set or on the go. It’s a fun travel piece,” Coleman tells TODAY.com.

While I tried a specific 10-minute workout, members can get access to Jen’s Express Series: Arms & Abs — a collection of the actor’s six new on-demand workouts led by Coleman that are all under 15 minutes.

Additionally, Jen’s Arms & Abs Bundle (priced at $204) includes the P.band, P.ball, P.3 Trainer, plus one month of streaming with access to over 1,700 workouts.

Jennifer Aniston’s 10-Minute Arm Workout

For those who don’t have the P.band, Coleman suggests substituting any type of resistance band. The workout consists of performing 10-12 reps for most movements, with 5-8 reps for combo sets.

Movement 1: Band Pull-Apart at Hip Level

Keeping your elbows glued to your sides, bend the elbow at a 90-degree angle so that your forearms are reaching straight out in front of you. Making sure there is resistance on the band. Keeping your elbows tight to your sides, open both arms out to the side, hold and come in nice and slow. Repeat.
End with arms wide with 1-inch pulses reaching back.

Movement 2: Band Pull-Apart at Chest Level

Start with both arms straight out in front of your chest, making sure there is resistance on the band. Open both arms wide to the sides, hold and bring it in nice and slow. Repeat.

Movement 3: Up and Down Flutters

Start with both arms out straight in front of your chest, making sure there is resistance on the band. Begin pulling the band in pulses as you move your arms up four counts to the hairline, and bring it back down for four counts. Repeat about 5-6 times.

Movement 4: Right-Left, Combo

Hold both arms straight above your head. Pull the right arm down toward your hip, keeping your left hand still. Lift back up.
Pull the left arm down toward your hip, keeping the right hand still. Lift back up.
Pull both arms down toward your hips. Lift back up.

Movement 5: Tricep Kickbacks With Pulses

Stand with feet hip-width apart and hinge at the hips until your torso is at a 45-degree angle with the floor. Bend your left arm up toward your chest and hold here, with your elbow glued to your side. Start with the right elbow bent and your bicep glued to your side. Straighten the arm straight back moving only at the elbow. Hold for a beat and return to start.
End with a round of pulses with right arm back, bending just an inch or two.

Movement 6: Punch Up

Hold both arms at shoulder height, with some slack in the band. Your right arm should be bent at a 90-degree angle and your left arm will stay straight.Keeping the bend in your right arm, punch up toward the ceiling. At the same time, move the left arm down toward the floor. Bring both arms back to center and repeat.

Repeat Movement 5 and 6 for Left Arm

Movement 7: Plank Finisher

Start in a plank position with your feet wide. Open up to the right side, pulling the right elbow toward the sky. Lower back down. Open up to the left side back down, pulling the left elbow toward the sky. Lower back down. Continue alternating. To modify, come down onto the knees.
Finish with at least a 1-minute plank hold to get to the 10-minute mark for the workout.

My Experience Trying Jennifer Aniston’s Arm Workout

I’m not going to lie, I underestimated the workout. I would consider my arms to be a weak point, but I was not expecting to feel the burn right away. I would say the P.band is a medium resistance and it’s important to keep tension in it throughout the workout.

As I was completing the pulse portion in the first movement, I could already see myself using my breath to make it through the hard parts.

Coleman was great at reminding me to keep my shoulders down and stand up straight. As someone who sits for a lot of their work day, pulling my arms apart at chest level and the flutters were where I started to fatigue — and I was only 2:30 minutes in.

I could already feel it in my shoulders and back, noticing how my arms would struggle to pull apart the band. My breath really kept me steady when I needed an extra push.

I noticed my arms getting weaker when we did the right-left, combo movement. At this point, Coleman mentioned how this exercise helps target the back muscles that “typically, most of us are a little weaker in” because we’re on our phone, computer or driving.

Giving them “extra love,” I persisted through the fire that was now consistently burning — even though we were only 4 minutes in.

When it came to the tricep kickbacks, Coleman gave me a modification of gripping the arm in front toward me instead of having it straight out with knuckles facing away.

“Nice and relaxed,” she reminded me, though I was anything but that.

I continued to power through, there were no big rests in between movements — and this, in my opinion, helped to keep things moving forward.

During the plank portion, Coleman said to perform the move in 1-minute increments, or as long as you can hold each one, to complete reach the 10-minute workout total. The fatigue was really setting in. I had to put a knee down to hold myself up. Determined to complete the workout, I quickly pushed myself back up and completed them as best as I could — but I was wiped out!

Overall, the movements were simple enough (despite me feeling weak) and her guidance helped me keep my form in check.

My arms instantly felt sore, and that same feeling continued throughout the day and into the next. I could tell that I had worked different muscles that I did not regularly use when using weights.