how to have a better body over 50

While she may be somewhat baffled at what she describes as the “phenomenal pace” of her ascent, part of Idiens’s appeal clearly lies in the fact that she looks incredible and yet still feels relatable to her followers — 97 per cent of whom are women aged 40-60 with lives that, like her own, require juggling kids, work and family life to squeeze in time to exercise.

On the kitchen island of her sprawling west Berkshire home there is a set of L-plates belonging to her daughter who starts driving lessons next week, and Idiens checks her phone regularly for updates from her son who is travelling in Asia on his gap year. Her dogs, a cocker spaniel and a labrador, can often be heard barking in the background as she streams her workouts on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It’s like working out with a friend, and Idiens says she has no intention of changing her no-frills approach.

Anyone who has tried her circuit sessions will appreciate that she uses no fancy equipment — her weights and resistance bands are stuffed haphazardly beneath a side table — and with family photographs, sofas and table lamps clearly visible, she makes no attempt to recreate a swanky, gym-style environment. This, she says, is because she doesn’t want anyone starting out to feel intimidated.

“For a lot of people, starting any fitness programme is overwhelming,” Idiens says. “I wanted my classes to be relevant to their lifestyles and not about comparisons and who iswearing the nicest gym gear.” She had a high-flying career in marketing on accounts for companies including HSBC and Tesco before qualifying as a personal trainer in 2001 and coaching clients in and around Battersea Park in London. “I had lots of male clients who worked in the City and women who wanted to do running and strength training,” she says. “Some of those clients from the early days have since become godparents to my children.”

It was having children that brought Idiens and her husband to live in this rural, affluent enclave — a short drive from Bucklebury Manor, home of the Princess of Wales’s parents, and with public schools such as Marlborough College nearby. She continued with her personal training business and set up weekly circuit classes in “a beautiful barn” for a group of local mums after the school run. When the pandemic hit in 2020, a friend created a “Caroline’s Circuits” WhatsApp group and she began hosting the classes for 40 regulars on Zoom from the first week of lockdown. “It seemed an odd thing to do as nobody had worked out to a screen before then, but some friends and clients from London joined in and it began to grow,” she says. “I set up an Instagram account and can clearly remember my daughter calling me as I drove to Suffolk one weekend to tell me we had reached 1,000 followers.”

By the following year her platform had grown to 15,000 followers, but that sky-rocketed when a home fitness account in the US linked to her classes. Idiens was on a retreat in Tuscany with no wi-fi at the time but received frantic updates from her brother that her Instagram following was going into overdrive. “Now around 35 per cent of my followers are from America and they do the classes on demand,” Idiens says, “but we also have members in Australia and around the rest of the world.”

Her clients range from complete beginners to those who are in training for marathons and triathlons and use the sessions to hone their strength. Zoe Ball and the former Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman are subscribers, and about 1,500 tune in live to each of the classes during the week. No workout is ever repeated twice. “I have a family of grandmother, daughter and granddaughter who have joined my live classes together since lockdown and who say it helps them to connect,” Idiens says. “But there are also those who get in touch to say that the circuits have improved their running form and reduced their injuries.”

Idiens’s impressive physique is testament that her approach works. “I take the dogs on hour-long walks and do occasional runs to get my cardio activity in, but other than that my only exercise is the circuits,” she says. “I do every workout with my clients so I know it works.” She engages constantly with her followers and for five years answered every query raised online herself, rising at 5am to reply to up to 200 daily Instagram messages. “I now have a team of five, myself included, to help with the logistics, but I am still heavily involved in responding to my members.”

Knowing her audience helps her to meet their needs. “From your fifties onwards, a good warm-up and cool-down are so important to help with recovery,” Idiens says. “I know that if I didn’t do it myself with everyone as part of the workouts I’d probably try and skip the cool-down as we are all so busy, so I stress the importance of it.” She conducts regular polls — when she asked if background music should be played during the circuits, her regulars responded with a resounding no. “So it’s just me talking and the dogs barking occasionally,” she says.

As her fitness empire expands — she is hosting health retreats at Six Senses in Ibiza this year, the first of which sold out in 36 hours despite the £2,690 starting price, and there are plans to launch a range of workout equipment — Idiens remains refreshingly grounded in her approach. Her motto is that working out doesn’t have to be complicated. “There are some fitness non-negotiables from 50, including weights, balance and compound functional movements that help to keep you lean but also maintain joint health and mobility,” she says. “If workouts balance each other and address these factors, you are doing things right.”

Caroline Idiens: “It’s better to keep sessions brief and regular than do an hour, once or twice a week”

ANDREW BURTON/DORLING KINDERSLEY

Caroline’s top tips for fitness after 50

Short workouts work — aim for four strength sessions a week

Consistency is your best friend. It’s more important to keep exercise sessions brief and regular than to do an hour or more just once or twice a week. My circuit classes are 10-30 minutes and I tell clients to ultimately aim for four weekly 30-minute classes that cover the whole body, arms, lower body and a HIIT class for a bit of added cardio. But if all you can manage is 10-15 minutes to start with, that’s fine. Just do them regularly and put effort in to make sure you are raising your heart rate and working hard enough to make a difference.

Strength training is essential to burn fat in midlife

There are lots of changes to our bodies in midlife that are the combined result of ageing and hormonal fluctuations. Many women in the fifties onwards find they gain weight around their middles which can be linked to reduced oestrogen leading to changes in the way fat is stored. Where strength training helps is in boosting muscle mass which, in turn, raises our metabolism so that we burn more calories, even at rest. It is important to include compound movements that involve different large muscle groups and joints for maximum effect. Remember that strength training also has many other benefits, including future-proofing your bones and joints.

Beginners, don’t worry about weights for at least two weeks

I always advise newcomers to put the weights to one side and to build a good foundation with bodyweight exercises. This means you can focus on correct form and make sure you know your own limits before adding resistance. Do bodyweight circuits for at least two weeks before adding any resistance in the form of exercise bands, a good starting point, or dumbbells. Making sure you can do the exercises well without weights will greatly reduce your risk of injury in the long run.

How heavy should my weights be?

This is the most common question I am asked and my answer is that it depends on many factors — your fitness, the workout, the exercise and how you are feeling that day. For complete beginners who haven’t used weights before I always recommend starting low with 2kg dumbbells, although for some even 1kg is enough. Once that feels too easy for the set number of repetitions, go a little heavier. As you progress you’ll need to use a variety of weights. Some people find they need lighter weights for shoulder presses, for example, and heavier for lunges and squats. If you notice a plateau in your progression, you probably need to increase the weights you are using.

You don’t need to lift heavy weights to get results

Progression is certainly important so you should aim to add 0.5-1kg every few weeks to keep challenging your body, but there is a lot of unnecessary pressure to lift very heavy weights. How heavy you lift depends on your fitness goals. While low repetitions with heavy weights will help to build strength and muscle size, you also need to do higher reps with a lower weight to improve muscle endurance and general fitness. Ideally, you will use a variety of heavier and lighter weights over the course of a week.

Work on your balance — it’s key to building strength

Balance deteriorates as we get older and it is really important to maintain it with focused exercises as it helps to prevent falls and resulting injuries while training. Simple exercises such as one-legged squats are great, but also try standing on one leg with eyes closed for as long as you can.

You can build better muscles in as little as a month

When you start strength training regularly, you will notice some improvements to mood and your energy levels even within 14 days. After 4-6 weeks you will start to feel stronger, have better posture and you will see better muscle definition. Even better results come if you stick with it for six weeks or longer, when your body fat percentage will almost certainly be lower than when you started and your balance, co-ordination and functional movement in everyday life will improve.

Pay attention to your diet — protein is key

Exercise alone won’t produce the best results in terms of changing your body shape, you really need to eat a good quality diet too. This doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. Protein intake is very important, partly because it fills you up, meaning you are less likely to snack on unhealthy foods, but also because it complements strength training by enabling muscles and bones to recover and adapt.

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We need 1-2g of protein per kg of body weight as we get older. I suggest a workable range of about 70-95g a day but I don’t bother working it out exactly because if you aim to consume a good source of protein at every meal you will get enough.

I am a big fan of eggs and full fat Greek yoghurt in particular, but poultry and fish, pulses, nuts and seeds are all good sources. It’s important to note eating too much protein is unnecessary and may make it harder to take on board enough fibre. Include wholegrain carbs and leafy greens to ensure you get a balance of nutrients that gives us the biggest benefits for health and fitness in midlife.

Are there any supplements worth taking?

You can get everything you need to stay healthy from a balanced diet, but I find that sometimes a supplement can help to counter some of the side-effects of ageing. Magnesium is a game changer for my sleep and while it doesn’t work for everyone, I wouldn’t be without it. I also take collagen for my joints, creatine for muscle recovery and two turmeric shots daily for their anti-inflammatory effects.

If you can’t fit in a workout, make sure you do squats

If you can set aside 10-15 minutes to work on strength 4-5 times a week that will produce results. But on days when you are too time-crunched even for that, make sure you do some squats. I fit in ten while I make a coffee, ten while I brush my hair and so on. It all adds up. Squats are a fantastic compound move that engage the large muscles of the lower body, ramping up our metabolism, but they are also an important functional movement that we need to work at maintaining as we get older. Walking as much as you can is also a very underrated form of activity. It is a superb way to maintain overall health and if you can do nothing else, work at adding steps to busy days.

Always have two rest days a week

I am a firm believer that the days you spend not training are just as important as the days you do! Personally, I always have two rest days per week, typically at the weekend when family life is busy. Rest days are critical to your fitness progression, especially when strength training — the days you are giving your body adequate recovery are the days you make gains in performance.

carolinescircuits.com

Caroline Idiens’ 20-minute strength routine

Ensure you warm up first, rest for 20 seconds between exercises, and work up to three rounds in total

Body-weight squats

Stand with your feet just wider than hip-width apart with your toes turned slightly out. Bending from the waist, send your hips back with all the weight through your heels. Keep your back straight, chest lifted and shoulders back and squat as if sitting back into a chair. Bend as low as feels comfortable for you and then push your body back up to standing, engaging the glutes as you do so. Repeat for 10-12 reps and add dumbbells for more resistance as you progress.

Low plank knee taps

Start in a low plank position with your forearms on the floor, your shoulders stacked over your elbows and your back straight and bottom down, engaging the core and glutes. Keep your body in a straight line from head to toe and slowly lower your right knee to the ground and back up again while holding the plank position, alternating with the left knee. Repeat for 12 reps.

Press-ups

Start on either your knees or with toes on the mat, and with your hands wide. Lower your body slowly to the mat, coming forward over the hands while bending your elbows back (without dipping the head), keeping your back straight. Try to keep the core engaged and push your body back up in one movement. Start against the wall or a bench, then progress to knees, and then on to toes. Repeat for 10 reps.

Bent over rows

Stand with your feet just wider than hip-width apart, hinging at the hips and bending your knees. Extend your arms out in front of you, holding the dumbbells, for a full range of movement. Keep your back straight and your head in line with the spine, as you slowly bend your elbows to 90 degrees and bring the weights back towards your hips. Keep your core tight. Extend the arms back out again, do not round the spine. Repeat for 10 reps.

Static lunge

With your shoulders back and core engaged, step your right leg back and bend your knee at 90 degrees or as low as feels comfortable. Ensure you are balanced with the feet hip-width apart. With your left knee tracking in line with your toes, bend at the knees and straighten each time without moving your feet and perform 10 reps on each side. Push through your left heel to return to standing. Then switch sides and repeat for 10 reps on the other side.

Deadlifts

Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a soft bend to the knee. Holding the dumbbells close to your thighs, hinge from the hips, sending your bottom back, and keeping the back straight as you lower the weights. As soon as the chest is parallel with the floor, drive your body up to stand. Try not to round through the spine or dip the head. Repeat for 12 reps.

Deadbugs

Lie on your back with your knees bent at 90 degrees above your hips and your arms above your chest. Slowly extend one arm and the opposite leg at the same time, before bringing them back to the centre in turn. Alternate sides and repeat for 12 reps. Keep the back on the floor and core engaged throughout. You can also do this with light weights.

Fit at 50: Your Guide to a Stronger, Fitter and Happier (Mid) Life in just 6 Weeks by Caroline Idiens (£22, DK RED) is published on 6 March. To order a copy go to timesbookshop.co.uk. Free UK standard P&P on orders over £25. Special discount available for Times+ members

Exercise image credits: David Cummings/Dorling Kindersley