Strength Training & Fitness
What are weight bearing exercise and strength training?
As women age, we naturally lose muscle mass. Oestrogen helps to keep our bones healthy, so declining levels can make us prone to losing bone density, and developing osteoporosis. Weight-bearing exercise and strength training help to counteract both of these effects.
Weight-bearing exercise is any form of exercise in which your legs are supporting your weight, and working against gravity. So that can be running, climbing stairs, playing tennis, Pilates, or even going for a brisk walk - it can be low or high intensity. Strength training, using resistance equipment such as resistance bands, or weights, helps to build muscle, which in turn supports our bones, helping to maintain bone density and reducing the risk of injury. Increased muscle mass also increases our resting metabolic rate, which can help counteract the hormone related weight gain that many women experience in midlife.
At Black Barn we run in-person Introduction to Weights & Resistance Training courses from time to time throughout the year, to help provide a sound foundation to those women who are new this form of exercise, or who have had a long break from exercise. You can find more information & booking here.
We also work with and recommend Carly Corrigall of CLC Fitness, who offers specialist Strength Training & HIIT classes online, geared to the particular needs of midlife women. Carly offers Clinic51 patients a free trial of her classes, plus 10% off 3 months membership - find more details here.
Carolyn Sadler: Personal Trainer
Carolyn is an experienced, qualified Personal Trainer with Level 3 Diploma in Fitness Instruction and Personal Training from Premier Global / NASM. She is also a Member of the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA).
She is passionate about exercise and helping her clients discover the countless benefits that regular exercise can bring to their physical and mental health and general wellbeing.
‘Exercising regularly during menopause really helps to alleviate some of the more challenging aspects that this hormonal event throws at us. Weight-bearing exercise, in particular, is vital for our bone health, especially post-menopause, helping reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis. I am looking forward to helping women at Clinic 51 get started with exercising and discover the huge benefits it will bring as they navigate their way through menopause and beyond.’
Carolyn offers small-group exercise courses at the Barn, especially for women who are looking to start, or get back into, weight-bearing exercise safely.
Carolyn lives near Pulborough with her husband and three teenage children. She is a passionate runner and runs regularly on the lanes and trails near her home. She has trained for and competed in numerous 10K and Half Marathon events and has also completed the London, Paris & Edinburgh Marathons and achieved an age-group qualification entry to the Boston Marathon in the US, which she ran in April 2023.
Courses & Classes
Carolyn Sadler runs regular 4-week Introduction to Weights & Resistance Training courses throughout the year.
This four-week introductory course is aimed at women who are new to exercise and want to start exercising regularly, or those who have had a long break from exercise. The classes will teach you how to perform a selection of exercises safely using the correct form and technique, all while having some fun! At the end of 4 weeks, you will be equipped with the knowledge and confidence you will need to continue exercising safely at home.
When courses are available, booking will be shown below. If you’d like to add your name to a waitlist, please email events@clinic51.co.uk. Please note the Terms & Conditions that relate to class bookings, here
Carly Corrigall of CLC Fitness
Carly offers PAYG and monthly memberships to her weekly online classes in both Strength training and HIIT, both geared to the needs of midlife women (classes are live but access to the recording is available for 7 days).
Exclusively for Clinic51 patients, Carly is offering a free trial online HIIT or Strength Training class - to use this offer, click the link below to go through to the CLC Fitness booking page, and use the code CLINIC51HIIT or CLINIC51STRENGTH at checkout (you are welcome to trial both classes). She is also offering 10% discount when you sign up for a 3 month membership, using code CLINIC51.
About Carly:
Carly is a personal trainer and expert in the health and fitness of women over the age of 40.
Fitness and body confidence as we head through the perimenopause, menopause and beyond can definitely be a challenge. Often, the things which have worked for us our entire lives seemingly stop working overnight and you might feel like you don’t know or understand your body anymore! This, coupled with the huge influx of information available online about perimenopause and menopause means this can be a really confusing and daunting time.
Her specialism is helping women manage their symptoms and long term health during the menopause transition. This can be a tricky and bewildering time for many of us but there is much we can do which will help. She firmly believes that we can be fitter, healthier and feel fabulous as we get older and that our perimenopause and menopausal years can be a time of positive change.
We love that Carly’s approach is accessible, no-nonsense, and that she has such a wonderful understanding of the changing physical needs of women in midlife. She is a huge advocate of the mood-boosting benefits of movement!