Shape It Up with Nicole Simonin

Warm Up Exercises For Women Over 40

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Being over 40, you need to warm up a little bit longer. You might need to warm up for 10-15 minutes.

Why Warm Up?

  • Take the time to acclimate your body, increasing blood flow and increasing temperature of your muscles will help you get a better workout. A good warm up will increase your heart rate, loosens up your tendons and ligaments, and help lubricate your joints in preparation of getting the most out of your workout.
  • Warm up using your choice of cardio equipment. I like to start my clients off with the treadmill. Start with walking and build to a faster walk pace or a light jog. You can also use an elliptical for non-impact warm ups. I like to use standing up cardio like the treadmill or elliptical. You will incorporate your full body as opposed to sitting on a bike. Same rules…start slow and pick up the pace as you get warmer.
  • If you are not using equipment, I like my clients to warm up with side stepping, marches in place, lite jog in place, etc. and build up to jumping jacks or other impact exercises if the client doesn’t have any joint issues. See below for some examples of warm up exercises.

Warm Up Exercises For Women Over 40

Finish your warm up with some dynamic stretches. You can read more here about dynamic stretches.

Warm Up Exercises For Women Over 40

Side Stepping

Instructions

  • Start by stepping out on the right foot to the right side of your body. Then bring in the left foot to the right. 
  • Step out on the left foot to the left side and bring the right foot to the left.
  • Continue to go back a forth.
  • For increased intensity, swing your arms front and back as you step.

Curtsy with Jack Arms

Instructions

  • Start standing with feet together.
  • Take a side step to your left while bringing your right leg behind and on the diagonal back.
  • Bend the knees (like you are curtsying).
  • As you stand back up to transition to the other side, bring your arms out and up above your head.
  • Repeat on the other side.

Nicole’s Trainer Tips: Try to keep as much weight as you can in the front heel during the curtsy.

Butt Kickers

Instructions

Similar to jogging in place but you bring feet up to tap your butt as you run. Can be done with feet flexed or pointed.

After your warm up ALWAYS get in your dynamic stretches before starting your workout. Read more here.

Passive Cool Down Stretches For Women Over 40

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Passive Cool Down Stretches For Women Over 40 Shape It Up - Nicole Simonin

It is just as important to cool down as it is to warm up properly (click to read more about how to warm up properly)

Most women over 40 completely skip the cool down!

I get it! You feel you are short on time because you have to go back to the office…but skipping the cool down is like slamming on your car brakes going 100 miles per hour.

By performing your cool down, you are helping your body recover and acclimate to normal activities.

What Is A Passive Stretch?

Passive stretches (or static stretches) are when you hold a stretch and passively increase the range of motion or elongate the muscle. As opposed to a dynamic stretch where you are gently moving through your active joint range of motion. (Read more on dynamic stretching here).

Here Are Some Passive Cool Down Stretches For Women Over 40

Hamstring Stretch Lying Single Leg 

Instructions

  • Lie on back with both knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
  • Bring left leg up, grab calf or behind thigh.
  • Gently pull leg towards your head.
  • Hold and breathe.

Nicole’s Trainer Tips:

  • Keep tailbone on the floor as you stretch.
  • Straighten knee of leg being stretched.
  • Flex foot for add intensity to stretch.
  • If you cannot grab calf, grab back of thigh. Do not grab directly behind your knee.

Cobra Stretch

Instructions

  • Lie on floor face down.
  • Bring hands up under shoulders.
  • Push into ground while lifting your torso up.

Nicole’s Trainer Tips:

  • Keep abs engaged and feel the stretch in the abs not in the back.
  • Modified- place elbows on the floor.
  • Regular- push up on hands.

Sitting Kickstand Neck Stretch

Instructions

  • Sitting clasp hands behind your back.
  • Place on floor as far back as you can.
  • Sit up straight.
  • Bend chin to chest.
  • Hold.

Nicole’s Trainer Tips:

  • Press hands into floor and use as a “kickstand” as leverage.
  • Pressing into the floor will help you press the chest forward increasing the stretch.

Dynamic Warm Up Stretches For Women Over 40

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Dynamic Warm Up Stretches For Women Over 40 Shape It Up - Nicole Simonin

It is important to warm up before you perform these dynamic stretches. To see how to warm up read more here.

Dynamic stretches are stretches which move you through the exercise as opposed to a static stretch where you are just holding the stretch. Do not bounce in your dynamic stretches. Theses stretches are meant to take you through your active joint range of motion as opposed to a static stretch where you can gently push towards the end range of your joints.

Why Use Dynamic Warm Up Stretches?

After you have completed your 5-15 minute warm up, your body is still getting prepared for your workout. You want to keep the body moving as you are loosening up your ligaments and tendons while stretching the muscles. Adding in dynamic warm up stretches may help prevent injuries.

Here are some great examples of dynamic warm up stretches for women over 40

Lunge Stretch into Pyramid Stretch

Instructions

  • Stand with feet hip width apart and turn hips towards right leg.
  • Bend front knee to lower into a lunge with back leg straight.
  • Drop into hip flexors (the front of hips) for stretch.
  • Straighten front knee and  try to keep a flat back.
  • Repeat.

Nicole’s Trainer Tips:

  • Keep the hips square to the leg you are stretching.
  • Try to straighten the knees.
  • Try to put nose on knee in pyramid pose.

Plie Stretch Pushing Knees Back

Instructions:

  • Standing with feet shoulder width apart and toes angled outward.
  • Keep back straight and lower hips so you knees are at a 90 degree angle.
  • Gently push back on knees with hands.
  • Hold at the bottom for recommended time.
  • Return to starting position.

Nicole’s Trainer Tips:

  • Keep the weight in your heels.
  • Imagine there is a tension rod between your knees and you are trying to squeeze it together.
  • Make sure knees stay in line with feet when bending.

Wide Leg Alternating Stretch

Instructions

  • Stand with feet hip width apart.
  • Bend forward at the waist and reach over to the right foot and hold.
  • Then reach over to the left foot and hold.

Read more about passive cool down stretches for women over 40 right here.

Diet Deprivation:Why Diets Make You Feel Deprived

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Why Diets Make You Feel Deprived - Shape It Up - Nicole Simonin

So, don’t yell at me but diets don’t make you feel deprived…

YOU make yourself feel deprived.

SAY WHAT NICOLE???

Please don’t get me wrong…. you do NOT need to be on a diet to be successful at weight loss.

Say you have set a goal for yourself to eat a certain way for this “diet”.

Week 1 of Your Diet Deprivation

The first week you are on fire!

You’ve nailed every meal and the scale is showing you are down a few pounds.

Yeah you!!

You’ve managed to get through the weekend and you’re are heading into week two.

Week 2 of Your Diet Deprivation 

Beginning of week two starts off good but then you have a dinner business meeting at your favorite restaurant. AHHHHH!

Now, how are you going to eat out at a restaurant when you are on this diet.

You go to the restaurant armed and ready to eat as close to the diet as you can.

But ohhh that bread looks yummy and you are starving!

You eat the bread and start to feel a little guilty. “Well, it’s one piece of bread that’s not gonna totally derail me. Plus, I’ve been doing really good on my diet’.

Dinner comes… and then dessert. “Well, everyone else is having dessert. I don’t want to have to explain why I am ‘not allowed’ to have dessert. But I already had the bread…. we’ll I‘ll have dessert and then get right back to the diet tomorrow”.

On the ride home the guilt starts to kick in.

The verbal abuse that starts in your head is vicious which makes you feel even worse. “Why did I do that?! I totally blew it!”

The Diet Deprivation Begins

Sacrifice. Deprivation. Sadness. All these emotions start surfacing.

The problem isn’t the bread or the desserts. It’s the fact you made a promise to yourself to commit to  this diet and now you are not honoring the commitment you made.

The bread doesn’t make you feel deprived. The bread is neutral. It didn’t jump into your mouth and force you to eat it. It’s the thoughts you have about the bread that make you feel like you are making a sacrifice and going through deprivation.

Only YOU can make yourself feel deprived.

Maybe you picked the wrong diet?…

Click here to read why fad diets are horrible for lifetime weight loss success!

Are you dating your fitness goals or are you married to them?

Commitment.

If your boss asked to meet you for dinner would you show up on time?

Would you make excuses as to why you can’t make it?

Would you just not show up?

This is how most people set up their fitness goals.

You make a commitment to yourself and then when things aren’t perfect you jump ship.

When you started your corporate career, you didn’t automatically become CEO. You worked your way up. I am sure you made plenty of mistakes but you kept going because becoming a female CEO was your goal.  Your mentors helped guide you and assisted you to grow in your career. You learned from those mistakes.

Weight loss is no different.

  • Mistakes will be made.
  • Workouts will get missed.
  • You are going to overeat

As long as you never give up on your weight loss goal, you WILL get there. If you would like the path to be a bit smoother, I recommend you get a mentor or a coach to help you streamline the process for your journey.

Recap to Diet Deprivation 

The bread didn’t make you do it. The thought about the bread is the problem. You made a commitment to yourself when you declared you were going to lose weight. Are you dating your goals or are you married to them?

NICOLE SIMONIN is an ACE Personal Trainer, ACE Health Coach, TEDx Speaker, host of “Shape It Up Over 40” podcast, author of “The No Fuss, No Mess Shape It Up Cookbook” founder of Shape It Up, LLC, licensed Physical Therapist Assistant and former professional ballet dancer. Nicole has been featured in Rachael Ray in Season, Bicycling Magazine, Real Simple and MSN. Since 2006, Nicole has been helping women lose weight for the last time. Learn more…

Exercising from your chair | Nicole Simonin | TEDxCapeMay

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