SoulSculpt Method Journal

There's a narrative spreading through the perimenopause wellness space right now. And I need to push back on it. Stop doing cardio. Stop doing HIIT. Quit running. Give up yoga. Women over 40 are being told, from a lot of directions right now, to stop. And I think it's wrong. The Problem With "Stop" There is almost no scenario where telling a woman to stop moving is good advice. Running is good for you. HIIT is good for you. Yoga is good for you. Dancing, cycling, hiking — all

For years, women have been told to strength train more. More sessions, more intensity, more effort. And while the direction is right, the "more is better" message has left a lot of women either overwhelmed or wondering if they're doing enough. Now we have an answer. A real one. From one of the largest and longest studies ever conducted on this topic. And it changes everything about how we think about strength training after 40. How Much Strength Training Do Women Over 40 Need

Most training works one type of muscle fibre. Your body needs both. Here's why — and what happens when you train them together. There's a question I get asked constantly, in different forms, by women who've found SoulSculpt Method. Why both? Why not just strength training? Why not just Pilates? And I understand it. We're all short on time. We want to know what actually works and do that — not spread ourselves across two disciplines when one might be enough. But here's the thi

Before you declare war on your belly — read this. Not all belly fat is the same. And some of it is your body being remarkably intelligent. I want to say something that almost nobody in the perimenopause fitness space is saying. If your belly feels bigger in perimenopause than it used to — you're not imagining it. And it's not just about what you're eating or how much you're moving. There are actually two completely different types of belly fat, and they behave very differentl

I went from vegan to paleo almost overnight. Here's what that taught me about protein — and why it matters more than ever after 40. I didn't discover protein because of a fitness trend. I discovered it because my gut was in crisis. For years I'd been vegetarian, then vegan. I believed in it. I felt like I was doing the right thing for my body. And then I was diagnosed with leaky gut, and a functional medicine doctor ran a full intolerance panel — and the results completely ch

Science is clear on this. And so is my body. Here's what I've learned about fuelling before training after 40. There's a deeply ingrained idea in movement culture that you should train fasted. Empty stomach, clear mind, pure practice. I understood it for years — I came from a yoga background where fasting before practice was considered a way to purify the body and arrive on the mat with clarity. And in that context, it made a kind of sense. Stillness, breath, spiritual practi

I didn't know I was losing muscle. I just knew something felt different. Here's what I wish someone had told me at thirty-five. I didn't notice it as muscle loss at first. I noticed it in the water. Surfing has been part of my life for years. And somewhere around thirty-nine, forty, I started feeling anxious out there in a way I hadn't before. When the waves got bigger, something shifted. I wasn't feeling stable. I wasn't feeling like myself. I've always had a strong body — s

Most women in their forties are doing one or the other. Here's why that's leaving something essential on the table — and what happened when I stopped choosing. This is a question I get asked a lot. And I understand why. If you've come from a yoga or Pilates background, strength training can feel like a different world. Heavy, disconnected, a bit brutal. Like something is being lost in translation. And if you've come from a strength training background, Pilates can feel slow.

Everyone is telling women to train with progressive load after 40. And they're right. But they're leaving out step one. Load the bar. Pick up the dumbbells. That's the message right now, everywhere you look in the perimenopause and women's health space. And I agree with it. Completely. Progressive, load-bearing strength work is not optional after 40 — it's essential for your muscles, your metabolism, your hormonal health. And for bone density specifically, load that increases

I want to tell you something that took me years to actually believe. It's not the hardest session that changes your body. It's the next one. And the one after that. Consistency. That's it. That's the whole thing. I know that sounds almost too simple. And I know you've probably heard it before. But there's a difference between knowing it intellectually and actually building a training practice around it — especially after 40, especially when your body is changing in ways nobod

For years, I believed in perfect movement. Alignment. Precision. Control. Every joint placed exactly where it “should” be. Every repetition clean, intentional, correct. And to be clear — that work matters. It builds awareness. It builds coordination. It builds a foundation. But at some point, I started to notice something. Life doesn’t move like that. You don’t always lift with a perfectly neutral spine. You don’t always keep your knee stacked over your ankle. You don’t alway

For a long time, women have been asked to choose. Strength or control. Weights or Pilates. Power or precision. It’s a false split. And it’s one that becomes more limiting as you get older. Because the reality is simple: Strength without control creates compensation. Control without load creates limitation. Most training sits on one side of that equation. Very little integrates both. What “Strength × Pilates” Actually Means This isn’t a trend. And it’s not a mash-up for the sa

Many women reach their 40s or move through menopause and start to notice subtle — and sometimes confusing — changes in their body. Despite eating well and staying active, things can feel different: energy fluctuates recovery slows body composition shifts At the same time, the advice they hear is often simple: 👉 “Just lift weights.” And to be clear — this is good advice. Why strength training matters (and always will) Ageing — in both men and women — is associated with a grad

This is the final phase of the 50-Day Push-Up Challenge for Women ! Over the past weeks, you’ve been building: core stability shoulder strength control through movement Now we bring everything together. If you’re new to the challenge, start here:→ Push-Up Challenge: Phase 1 You can also revisit the previous phases:→ Phase 2 (Control & Strength) → Phase 3(Strength & Stability) → Phase 4 (Strength & Control) The Full Push-Up This phase is simple. We focus on one movement: The p

This phase is part of the 50-Day Push-Up Challenge for Women , a progressive strength program designed to help you build the strength for your first push-up. You can read the full challenge overview here → 50-Day Push-Up Challenge for Women Building Strength with Precision In this phase, we slow things down. You’ve already built stability and strength through movement. Now we begin to refine that strength with more control, depth, and consistency . Continue practising once pe

Not endless HIIT. Not gentle yoga. Here's what your body actually needs after 40 — and why the combination might surprise you. If you search for the best workouts for women in perimenopause, you'll find two camps. The first tells you to go hard. HIIT, intense cardio, push through. The second tells you to slow down. Yoga, walking, gentle movement. Be kind to yourself. Both camps are missing something. I've spent over twenty-five years in movement — as an athlete, a yoga teache

This phase is part of the 50-Day Push-Up Challenge for Women , a progressive strength program designed to help you build the strength for your first push-up. You can read the full challenge overview here → 50-Day Push-Up Challenge for Women Build Strength Through Movement In this phase, we begin to challenge your strength through more dynamic movement and load control . You’ve already built: foundational stability shoulder awareness initial pushing strength Now we start to br

This phase is part of the 50-Day Push-Up Challenge for Women , a progressive strength program designed to help you build the strength for your first push-up. You can read the full overview of the challenge here → 50-Day Push-Up Challenge for Women In phase 2, we begin building more pushing strength and shoulder control . You’ve already developed the foundation in Phase 1. Now we start to load the movement more directly while maintaining stability. Continue practising once per

Welcome to the first phase of the 50-Day Push-Up Challenge for Women . Before attempting full push-ups, we need to build the strength and stability that make the movement possible. Most people struggle with push-ups not because they lack effort, but because the body has never been trained progressively for the movement. Push-ups require a combination of core stability, shoulder strength, and control through the shoulder blades . If those pieces are missing, the exercise quick

Want to start right away with the push-up challenge? You can begin with Phase 1 here → Push-Up Challenge: Days 1–10. A few days ago, in class, we started talking about push-ups. Not in a competitive way. Not as a test. Just as a simple observation. Very few women can do one. Not because women are fragile. Not because we are incapable. But because most of us were never taught how to build the strength required for it. Push-ups are often presented as a benchmark. Either you can