Kate Cadbury on Pilates and why it's so important to the 40+ woman

In this episode of The 40+ Life Podcast, Katy is joined by chartered physiotherapist, APPI-certified Pilates instructor, and Team GB duathlete Kate Cadbury to uncover why Pilates is one of the best investments you can make in your health after 40.

Together, they explore why core strength, mobility and balance become increasingly important during midlife, particularly as hormonal changes affect our muscles, joints and bone density. Kate explains why common issues such as back pain, pelvic floor weakness and stiffness aren't simply something women have to accept—and how Pilates can play a key role in preventing and improving them.

They also discuss the growing trend of heavy weightlifting for women, how to build strength safely, why consistency matters more than intensity, and why it's never too late to start exercising, whether you're 40, 60 or even 80.

Plus, Kate shares practical ways to weave movement into everyday life, her favourite supplements for active women, how she went from hating sport as a child to representing Great Britain as a duathlete, and why feeling strong and confident is the real definition of ageing with style.

Whether you're curious about Pilates, looking to future-proof your body, or simply searching for motivation to move more, this episode is packed with expert advice and realistic, encouraging tips to help you feel your best at every stage of midlife.

Find out more about Kate Cadbury

https://www.cadburypilates.com/

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Find out more about TV Presenter Katy Pullinger https://www.instagram.com/katypullinger/

https://www.katypullinger.com/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Welcome back to the 40 Plus Life podcast. Today we're diving into a topic that's become increasingly important as we age. How to stay active, mobile, strong, and injury free. And who better to guide us than today's guest, Kate Cadbury? Kate's a chartered physiotherapist, an APPI certified Pilates instructor, and the founder of Cadbury Pilates and Physio. With over two decades of experience in physiotherapy and nearly 20 years teaching Pilates, she's helped people of all ages improve their movement, build strength, and gain confidence in their bodies. But Kate doesn't just teach movement, she lives it. As a team great Britain Doo athlete and world championship medalist, Pilates plays a crucial role in her own training and performance. She's also a busy mum too. Kate, welcome to the 40 Plus Life podcast. Thanks, Katie. Thanks for having me. It's great to be on here. So good to have you. And to get to talk about something that I think a lot of women maybe know they should be doing, they've heard about it, but maybe haven't actually tried it and maybe don't really realize how important it is. And of course, I'm talking about Pilates. Yeah, exactly that.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

And I think it is one of those things that you hear the buzzword and you think, oh gosh, I should be doing that. But actually trying to find the time to fit it all in is the biggest challenge in our age group, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 1:29

It's so hard just to get it all done. Totally. I mean, I'll be really honest. I mean, the number of times I've been to say a health check or a physio session, even, you know, just doctors in general, and they say, What are you doing? Are you doing Pilates? Pilates seems to come up with every single one of those appointments. And I'm not going to say I would eye roll, but it's just like, oh gosh, another person telling me to go to Pilates. And you maybe don't realize what it is, why it's so important. So let's start with what exactly it is, Kate.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

Yeah, so Pilates, well, everybody has their different take on Pilates, to be honest. So there are different types of Pilates instructors. I'm being a physiotherapist, mine is sort of more physio-Pilates based. So I help people with aches and pains, incontinence type problems, post-surgical, post-babies. Um, but as a result, it is suitable for all levels, all abilities, all backgrounds. And um, yeah, I really see it as sort of the basis of any form of activity, really. And that's probably why everybody sort of recommends it. But yeah, it works. Um, so it works on mobility, but also works on our strength. And so in that aspect, it's a really great form of exercise for busy people because it sort of kills two birds with one stone because you might be told that you've got to stretch more and you've got to strengthen, and you've got to do this, that, and the other. And actually, trying to fit all those forms forms of exercise into your week can be really challenging. Um, so actually, Pilates is a great form of exercise to work on your mobility, your flexibility, but also on your strength. And on the strength side, so the sort of basis behind Pilates is really about working your posture and your control and your stability. So it's up straight as you say that. Um so you're working on your sort of stability around your core, so round your spine, round your hips and your pelvis, um, your upper body, and really trying to get that nice control so that it allows you to then, if you want to, do other forms of exercise as well in that good stable position, in that good posture and that good form. Um, so yeah, we focus on the tummy muscles, particularly because we know that they work to help support the spine and help the pelvic floor as well, and then also work quite a lot through the glutes and the sort of pelvic muscles, because again, that helps with your pelvic control, helping with your any sort of aches and pains that you can get around your hips, around your back, uh sort of lower down into your legs as well.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

It sounds like it's an exercise that is really good for future-proofing your body. Because if you are, if you've got that weakened pelvic floor, whether that's from you know, post-pregnancy or for other reasons, when you're in your 60s, 70s and beyond, that is going to be a future problem, isn't it? Yeah, yeah, exactly that.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

And I think, you know, often women, uh, if you've had children or or not, that you sort of develop pelvic floor problems. And often if you have had children, you just think, oh, well, I'm wetting myself because I've had children and that's normal. But actually, you know, from from our side, it's it's not normal, but it is really common. But the great thing is that there is so much that you can do to help you. And um, you know, Pilates is one of those things. And actually, we know that those kind of problems and often aches and pains, unless you address them, they're gonna get worse as we get older. So we sort of see it as an approach to exactly that, like protect yourself from these uh sort of symptoms that probably gonna get worse.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

I think there's there's such a joke between mums, isn't there? It's the oh, you'll never jump on a trampoline again, you will never sneeze without wetting yourself. And we make such a joke about it, we have normalized it. So it's interesting to be reminded that actually it isn't normal or typical for for your body. We should have more strength there. So it is something that and it is something that you can fix in a lot of cases, yeah, exactly that.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

And I think you know, it is a great thing that you there is so much you can do. I mean, there's great pelvic floor and pelvic health physios that can really help. And I would say to anyone that you know, um, that is going to start any sort of Pilates type exercises, if you have got any incontinence problems, it is worth seeing a women's health physio initially because interestingly, you often think then it's a weakness in the pelvic floor, but sometimes it can be an overactivity of the pelvic floor, and that can cause as many problems as a weakness uh issue. So actually just addressing that, and then if you want to go and do Pilates, it's sort of liaising with the instructor of okay, this is my problem, so this is what I need to be working on a bit more.

SPEAKER_00 6:12

So we'll talk about core strength as well, because again, our physicality as we get older, I think if you if you look to your parents, maybe look how they move, or look anyone that that's that's that bit older that maybe you know hasn't done these sorts of exercises, you can tell, I think. You can tell in the way they move, you can tell in the way they can um, I guess, just look after themselves. Can they do their own shoelaces up? And I'm talking about people who are typically able-bodied. Obviously, there's lots of variations across, you know, all different people. And for me, it is a really big reminder that I need to do the work now. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

And and that's so true. And I think there is so much evidence out there now of the importance in our age groups at 40 plus of do the work now for your longevity. And that's so important for muscle strengths, obviously, bone density and osteoporosis. And yeah, you can definitely tell, you know, as people are aging, if they're not doing those forms of exercise, you know, they tend to slow down, they tend to lose their confidence to move, they can get aches and pains. And you know, what I love about Pilates is you can get 20-year-olds or younger kids doing it through to. I've got 80, 85-year-olds in my classes, and they're doing a plank for a minute and they're getting up and down off that mat, and you know, all the classes are sort of mixed age groups, so they might have younger people in with them, but they're they're keeping up with them at single, and that's so amazing to see that. And they're able to stand on one leg to work their balance, and you know, but actually, if you can if you can start that a younger age, then you know you're really going to be smashing it and doing those planks when you're 80, 85 as well, which is what you want to be doing.

SPEAKER_00 7:58

Just to touch on standing on one leg, this is actually a big indicator, isn't it, for uh future falls in your life, which there's a there's a direct correlation, isn't there, between your balance now and and what could potentially happen in the future.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

Yeah, there is. And I think you know that I know they often put articles, don't they, in the Times and Tanegraph about that, you know, how to whether you can do these squats, whether you can get up, you know, um, from a chair without touching the the uh sides. And yeah, one of them is standing on one leg. So if you can stand on one leg, then that is going to reduce your risks of falls. And you know, I sort of tell people that I teach that with Pilates, you know, you don't necessarily have to be just going to the class and doing that on the mat, but actually bring those things into your everyday life as well. Because when you are busy, it's hard to do it all the time. But actually brushing your teeth, standing on one leg for your two minutes a day, you know, can make a huge difference. Um waiting for the kettle to boil. Yeah, exactly that. And just little snippets, and that's what you can pick up from doing Pilates, like actually, yes, right, I need to be standing on one leg, or I need to be thinking about switching on my core, I need to be thinking about breathing and relaxing my pelvic floor. So, you know, that's what I sort of try and encourage people to sort of bring into their everyday life as well to help them.

SPEAKER_00 9:18

How important is it for that sort of 40-50 plus age category for that muscle work? Uh, because it is all connected to you mentioned bone uh density and osteoporosis, all of these things are things that I guess we're getting more educated on now that maybe not all of our parents, but maybe not all of our mothers knew about back then. I I remember there being, I think was it calinetics? I remember that being a big thing in the 80s. Is that similar? I'm trying to think of the things that they were doing in the 80s and 90s.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

Yeah. It was made. Mainly Jane Fonda Ravis. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, yeah, there was uh calmetics and yeah, different things, but Pilates has really, really taken off in the last sort of 10 to 15 years, I'd say. Um, but yeah, so important for the 40 plus age group, and that is for a number of different reasons. But obviously, we know in that time that you know your hormones are changing, and one of the big things is oestrogen and the reduction of our estrogen will so estrogen is a natural anti-inflammatory in our body. So if we've got any sort of underlying aches and pains, often the estrogen will keep it at bay because it's a natural anti-inflammatory for us. But as we get older, obviously the estrogen reduces, so we have less of that anti-inflammatory effect in our body. So that means that aches and pains can develop a bit more. So that's one side that you know, actually for the Pilate side, actually, if you can keep your muscles strong and your joints mobile, then even though the oestrogen is reducing, you can hopefully reduce the effect of that and reduce the effect of the aches and pains. Um, and then also with the oestrogen, you know, we know that it affects our bone density, and that's a huge one now for women actually trying to protect their bones. And obviously there's different ways of doing that, but one way is weight-bearing exercise, which might be walking, um, it might be resistance training or body weight training. But actually, Pilates predominantly works in body weight. We don't lift heavy weights, which we can come to a bit later. Um, but actually, one of the things we're talking about sort of falls is that we know that the when we fall, one of the most commonly fractured area is our wrists. And so you fall straight down onto your wrist. And that's often because the the bones in the wrist aren't as strong as they would be around our legs, for example, because we walk on our legs and weight there. So in Pilates, we do quite a lot of sort of weight bearing through the wrists, which stimulates the bone and that helps build up the bone density to reduce your risk of developing osteoporosis. But if you have got osteoporosis, I mean I've had women where they've had their DEXA scan, which is a scan of the bone density, and their numbers, they've just come to Pilates sort of twice, three times a week, walked, and their numbers have got better from doing that. So it's so positive to help protect your bones as well. So that is reversible. You can actually do something about that. You can, yeah, you can. I mean, there's obviously other supplements and allodronic acid and sort of different infusions that you can have to help with it. There is obviously evidence for HRT helping with it, but actually, if you can do as much as you can naturally as well, then that's that's a great way to manage, you know, osteoporosis or the development of it.

SPEAKER_00 12:37

And can can you still pick it up at any age if there's someone that's in their 60s listening that that thinks, oh, I've I've missed the boat. Is it too late?

SPEAKER_01 12:46

No, absolutely not. No, definitely not too late. It's never too late to start Pilates. It's never too late. And actually, I've had a chap 79 come along and he's just starting at 79, and you know, it is never too late. And I think that's yeah, I think that is quite an important message to get across because people feel, oh, I've gone through the menopause, or you know, I've now got osteoporosis. But actually, the more you can do now, yeah, the better. So yeah, it's never too late to start any form of exercise.

SPEAKER_00 13:14

And it might be gradual, but you do what I loved about, I know obviously yoga is a different type of exercise, but I remember when I was into that, you know, I went in not being able to touch my toes. And you get that little bit further along, and and then you get to move to the and it's the same with Pilates, you can start with the most easy of that first move, and then there will be progressions, and you get to see that and feel it. Yeah. And you know, the moment you can touch your toes again, it's it's euphoric. You feel incredible that you you've made, it's a small tweak. Maybe it was only that you were your hands were five inches off the ground, but every inch you get closer, it's really exciting.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

It is, and that's what I love about it that you see the results, you realize how you are improving. And actually, I had a lady who sensitely came to my class and she said to me, If I can touch my toes by the time it's Christmas, I'll buy you a glass of wine. Yes. And she did, she touched her toes. And you got a glass of wine.

SPEAKER_00 14:17

No, I last year did have a neck injury, and I said, I say injury, I don't actually know what I did to it. It was, you know, classic, woke up, looked the wrong way, and I put my neck out. So I was going to physio and they had an in-house um reformer Pilates studio there. So I got into it, into it that way. And again, I've seen those changes and results from those classes, but I do find the reformer classes are really expensive. Um, I know there's you know, payment programs and things like that. And I think sometimes maybe people think about it as an expensive exercise to do. Yes, reformer is more expensive than non-reformer. So there are cheaper ways to do it, aren't there? And you can do this with a, I'm pretty sure you can do it with an elastic band at home, can't you?

SPEAKER_01 15:04

Yeah, you can do it at home, and all you need is a mat and your body, to be honest. And that's the great thing that it's so accessible for everybody. Obviously, there are the reformer studios, which are beautiful, and you know, the reformers a great piece of kit, but actually you don't need to be spending all that money to get the benefit. So um, and actually, you know, I teach a lot of online classes, and that, you know, that makes it really affordable, but also really uh easy and accessible for busy people that you can just jump online. You know, there's express classes for sort of 10, 15-minute classes, three to full classes. So yeah, I think don't feel that, yeah, overthink it and think that you've got to be doing reformer Pilates and you've got to be going to a studio three times a week to get the benefit. So, and like I said earlier, actually, once you've picked up on those principles in Pilates, bring them into your everyday. So, thinking about your posture, thinking about you know, your breathing, and um, thinking about your balance. So, and that can really sort of help with you, with your strength and sort of getting those principles of Pilates into your everyday.

SPEAKER_00 16:08

And like you say, that I mean, there's a million videos on YouTube, and you know, there's teachers like you who obviously have your own setup on Cabri Pilates, and people can do this online with you if they wanted to get in touch. Um, but how how much time? You mentioned two to three times a week, how long does that session have to be?

SPEAKER_01 16:28

Yeah, I think 20 minutes to half an hour is enough. I think um, yeah, if you can devote that time as well as bring the principals into every day and then do other forms of exercise that you might want to do, whether that's walking, obviously, um cardio type exercises or other types of strength training. Obviously, lots of women are sort of getting into the, you know, more strength training. Um, but yeah, even if you were just choosing, you know, Pilates three times a week, 20 minutes to half an hour is gonna be so beneficial. And I know, you know, with the people that I teach that they feel the benefit, even after one class, to be honest, they always walk out feeling better and they notice it if they've missed a week. They say, Oh gosh, you know, I feel so stiff, or I feel like my muscles are switched off. So, you know, even just one class a week is is gonna be good, but um, yeah, you don't need to be spending hours and hours on it in your week.

SPEAKER_00 17:23

What do you team your Pilates with? Do you do you mix it up with other things?

SPEAKER_01 17:29

So I do, I run and cycle.

SPEAKER_00 17:33

Um, but I do athlete training.

SPEAKER_01 17:35

Part of my do athlete training, keep that going. Um, I teach a Cardier Pilates online as well, which is a mix of sort of hit type exercises, so sort of those quick intensity movements combined with Pilates. So I teach that just for half an hour once a week. But other than that, I just do Pilates, so I don't do any other type of strength training, but um I do do a lot of hours of Pilates in my week.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

Yes, I'm sure you I'm sure you do.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

So you so you don't you you don't lift weights yourself? No, I don't lift weights, and yeah, that is probably a bit controversial because I know there's so much out there of women's in their 40s must be lifting heavy. Women who lift, yeah. I know. I feel um, yeah, there's two schools of thought on that. I think firstly don't feel that you have to lift heavy just because you're in your 40s. There are other ways of helping with your strengths. And I think the key thing, if you do want to lift heavy, obviously there's lots of evidence for it to be beneficial, particularly for our age group. But one of the things is making sure that you've got that posture, that control, and that stability. And that's where Pilates comes in initially to really establish that before you start lifting heavy. And as a physio, we are seeing so many women getting injured because they're thinking they need to be lifting heavy, they go to the gym, start off lifting heavy, and in time they get injured because they haven't got the control, they haven't got the stability, and haven't got sort of necessarily the right sort of posture when they're doing it. So I think if you if you want to lift heavy, you know, you want to start off gently, body weight exercise initially. And the reason for the lifting heavy is basically to put your muscles under tension. And so you want to choose the form of exercise that you feel like your muscles are being put under tension, and that might be body weight squats initially, it might be body weight press-ups, and then you can progress from that if you want to. So, yeah, just jumping into lifting heavy, in my belief, is asking for trouble in terms of getting injured.

SPEAKER_00 19:40

I guess it's like anything. If you if you go in to the deep end in in training, you you're gonna come a cropper, aren't you? You need you need to build up, even with Pilates as well, I guess. You've got to you've got to start at the entry level and and move your way up.

SPEAKER_01 19:54

Yeah, yeah, exactly that. And I think, yeah, it's really important to bear that in mind because I think there is so much out there that everyone should be lifting heavy, and actually it's not suitable for everyone, and that's okay. You know, and you've got to do what you enjoy. What makes you feel good? What do you enjoy? What you're gonna be, the the biggest way of getting fit and strong is consistency. Yeah, and if you don't enjoy the lifting heavy, you're not gonna be consistent with it, and as a result, you're not gonna end up feeling strong and and fit.

SPEAKER_00 20:20

Talking of different levels for different people, do you do online classes for less able-bodied people? Do you do seated Pilates? Can you do just top half or bottom half Pilates? Is there ways around it if you're not as physically able as others?

SPEAKER_01 20:35

Yeah, so I always try to touch space with people online. So on the classes, I can see if they're joining the live sessions, I can see what they're doing. And if I know they've got a problem, I would always say, do this instead of this exercise. So I sort of tailor it to each individual person. Um people always sort of get in touch, saying, My shoulder, I can't do this. Can I do something different? Um, and then yeah, we sort of have mixed ability, so I always give different levels. And like this morning, we just had a class and we started off with the real, real beginner levels, and some people would stick with that, and that's fine. They just started, and then other people, then we built up through the other up the levels, and then some people sort of go up to the real high levels. So it's about educating people to try and get in tune with their body and what's right for them, and that's what I tried to teach people is what you know, what what position and what level would be right for you, um, keeping that really good form and technique, and then they gradually build up from there. Uh, we do do chair Pilates as well, we do sort of upper body, we hip mobility. I mean, it's so varied all the time. We've been online for five years now, actually, since COVID, and I don't think I've done one class the same.

SPEAKER_00 21:45

So everything the online world, particularly from COVID, really did change everything for PTs in so many different ways. Because I mean, it started because of lockdown, but now everyone's just gone, do you know what? This is great. I don't have to go to a gym, I don't have to go. Anywhere I can do this in my living room and you you can come to them in their home.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

Yeah, exactly. I know, and I thought I thought it would just be a COVID thing. We we were teaching 16 classes a week in a studio, and then all of a sudden, obviously, we had to stop. So just quickly set it up online and then ended up sort of developing more of a subscription type service for it, and thought it would just be once COVID is over, everyone go back. But actually, yeah, you know, actually that's only grown more and more over the years because I think people are realizing, yeah, the benefit of it. You can do it more than once a week. You can be we've got people all over the world doing it.

SPEAKER_00 22:32

We need to talk about your achievements because my goodness, you're you're a GB do athlete, so that's running and cycling, am I right?

SPEAKER_01 22:41

Yeah, so it's run, bike, run. So you do a run, get the bike, jump back on the in the trainers and run again. So I've done yeah, a few of those competitions for age group, and yeah, it was kind of a bit of a challenge after children actually. So I felt that I needed something. I'd always been a runner. My husband bought me a bike when I had the kids, saying this might be a good thing to have in the shed, uh, so that you can still turn your legs over. And um, so I got into it from then, and then I think one of my patients said, Oh, you should try try a uh qualifier for the um GB team. And so I thought, well, okay, we'll give it a go. And so what age were you then?

SPEAKER_00 23:19

Uh 30, I think, yeah, about 32, 33, something like that. Yeah, so you weren't like this, it wasn't like a lifetime in sport. You'd been, oh, you must have been, it sounds like you were fit, you kept yourself fit when you were younger.

SPEAKER_01 23:32

Uh well, actually, no, I hated sport when I was younger. Really? Oh, I love this.

SPEAKER_00 23:36

This is even better to hear.

SPEAKER_01 23:37

My dad tried to get me into every sport possible at school, and I absolutely hated any sort of activity. I hated walking the dog. I used to always moan about having to do any exercise at all. And then I went to uni, obviously, to do physio, and everyone was really sporty. So I was thinking, right, okay, I probably need to get myself sport a bit more active here. I then met my husband at um physio who was really sporty, and um he then obviously encouraged me to do a bit more exercise. When I was a junior physio, a lot of the juniors were doing a run along Bournemouth um front along the promenade, and they said, Oh, Kate, would you want to do this? I think it was a 5k run or something with us. So I trained and I literally just did a walk-run, walk, run for my training, gradually build it up. And this was at the age of 22, 23, the first time I'd sort of really got into it. Yeah. And I ended up doing the race and ended up doing okay for not doing much training. So I was thinking, well, this is okay. And then I gradually got into it from there. So yeah, it's very much been a sort of part of my life since my twenties, really.

SPEAKER_00 24:39

It's really good to hear that because I think we we always assume that it's it's the kids that were pushed from a really young age and their parents got up with them at five o'clock in the morning and took them training, and they were they were district champions and they were this, that, and the other before they were even leaving school. And actually, you can pick these things up later on in life. And sometimes it's about finding the love of it, just finding the right love of sport when you're older. It can, you know, we all know that how important your teacher is as well. If if you had a, I mean, I think we all had maybe a bit of a I say we all had, I'm thinking about our own, you know, a bit of a battle axe of a PE teacher. That that can really make or break your love of sport. Yeah. I mean, they can ruin it for you.

SPEAKER_01 25:23

Yeah, they can ruin it for a lot of people. I think I definitely had it for UFM. Yeah, yeah, I know, yeah, I know, and and that's you know, really important message that actually there is no, you know, late time to start these things. And so I would sort of say to my, you know, sometimes see mums for physio after they've kind of baby, and it's a really tough time, they're not having any sleep, and they want to get back into their exercise or start exercise. And you know, sort of try to sort of say you can be stronger than ever after having children, and the same after an injury, you can be stronger than ever. It's just about trying to find your love of what you enjoy doing and use it to then have this whole new world of exercise.

SPEAKER_00 26:03

Yeah, I think another thing that I found for me is that I'd got to that point where, and I and I was a very sporty kid. I was, you know, I did was in all the teams, did all the things. Um, and I I lost my love after school, funnily enough. I kind of fell out of it. And after having kids, I'd realised how we'd got to that point where training in sport was something that daddy did. Yeah. And for for my kids. And I've got two daughters, and that can't be the example I set for them. Daddy goes running, mummy's, I don't know, doing whatever else I was doing. I mean, I wasn't sitting on my on my bum, but you know, I I what I did the thought of going running, just I hate, I do hate it. I do not like running. I love to walk. I can long distance walk, but running hate it. Yeah. Um, I've talked talked about it before, and here, you know, I've discovered paddle, which I I really love. Um, I'm sure the physios also love it as well because I know it's causing you a injury. Um, but you know, for them to see that I'm getting my trainers on and I'm going and doing stuff is also really important. But the difference it is making for me, you know, I've just done this charity walk. I thought my back and my hip would be the big problem for me, but actually they were fine. And I put that down to the fact that I was doing not loads, but enough reforma Pilates and the walking, and and I did a you know, decent amount of training for it, and it paid off. And the fact that I can go, gosh, that just strengthening my core has actually made that difference for my back, for my hip. Yeah. And you know, the proofs in the pudding is there, and it it feels really good. It does feel really good.

SPEAKER_01 27:44

Yeah, yeah, it does. And I think that's you know why I love what I do because you see results like that and you hear things like that. Had a lady really similar, she had this terrible hip pain, just signed up to like a I think it was a 60k walk or something, and she just did Pilates. I just said, look, just do Pilates, let's just work on this, and she did it. She it was a huge achievement for her, and I think that's so rewarding to hear that. And so you do get the results, you know, and that's yeah, that's what's so motivating then, because you think actually I can do it if I know that I can keep my core strong and keep my hips strong, you know, I'm gonna be able to do these things. And I sort of see it's about you know building your powerhouse really to be able to do anything else that you want to be able to do.

SPEAKER_00 28:26

I think listening to your body as well, because I I think part of the reason why my hip was okay as well was the because this the trek I did was a hundred kilometers over five days, and the pace was actually really quite slow. Yeah. And when when we did the first day, I thought, oh, bloomin' egg, this is, you know, I feel like I'm walking my nana to the to the to the supermarket. But actually, it was the slow and steady wins the race, yeah, that I think is why I was okay. And it's been a real lesson to me that I don't need to go and pound it hard on the, you know, on the promenade down the beach. And, you know, just just even though I was doing a great amount of distance in that short amount of time, it probably wasn't the best thing for my body. So listen to your body, listen when it's telling you something.

SPEAKER_01 29:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:13

And then find the way to help it.

SPEAKER_01 29:16

Yeah, definitely. And I think, yeah, that's so key. And that's another benefit of the Pilates side is that actually allows you to slow things down, to tune into your body. So we sort of every um eight weeks or so, we sort of have a real, we call it a reset session where we basically scan through the body and we compare one side to the other, think about like mobility and strength and can you feel the muscles activating? Because actually, when you're so busy and you're kind of rushing around doing all these things, and you, you know, you're you're picking the sports that are a bit more active and mobile, like paddle or running or whatever, you don't actually really take notice of these sort of small imbalances that can be different. So, actually, with Pilates, it gives you that time out to think, right, okay, is this equal on both sides? Can I feel any sort of differences that I need to be working on? Um, and it's interesting with the pace, like say, because I think actually that's really common that actually if you are walking faster or running faster, you're more prone to injury then. And that's basically because you're taking bigger stride lengths, so your legs further away from your centre, so everything has to work quite a bit harder. So, my tip is always if you're injured or you're struggling, you know, or you want to prevent injury is actually bring your feet underneath you and take smaller steps, and that's with running, walking, so that everything's more central to your core. Good tip. There you go.

SPEAKER_00 30:36

Keep that at the back of my mind. Um, Kate, the 40 Plus Life is about taking on midlife with style. So, what does taking on midlife with style mean to you? Whether it's your your own personal style and how you want the world to see you, or any other way you're styling it out. Yeah, so you'll always see me in lycra and active lycra and trainers.

SPEAKER_01 31:00

If anyone ever sees me in anything different, they're like, oh my god, you've got other clothes. So definitely I'm a lover of lycra, but it is so comfortable. And the great thing is I get to work in it every day. Um, but I think style for me in the 40 class is really about feeling strong and confident in your body and trying to find that what you know in a way that works for you and your body, and sort of seeing this next stage in your life as actually an opportunity for protecting for the later years, thinking about your longevity and use this as another window to try and address all those areas. And I sort of say to patients and Pilates clients, you know, that actually, you know, you think about when you're a young girl and you go into the teenage years, you change shape and the hormones change, your your um sort of mindset changes and your attitude can change, and and then you might then have children and your body changes and your life changes then. And this next stage of 40 plus is the next stage in your life, and actually an honour to be living it and be healthy, and if you can use it as an opportunity to tune into your body, discover what it needs, and address it now, so that then you'll have a much more positive uh and strong life later in in years. And I'd say that's my my thoughts on style, really, is feel strong and feel confident in your body.

SPEAKER_00 32:25

Sounds good to me. Do you do you supplement a lot in your life or are you really good with your nutrition?

SPEAKER_01 32:31

Um, I'm all about balance to be honest. So I like a few glasses of wine and I like crisps on a Friday night. So I definitely am not totally pure in my diet. I tried to eat healthily in the week, if I'm honest. So definitely try to sort of keep a balanced, healthy diet in the week and then relax a little bit more at the weekends. Um, in terms of supplements, so I do take a few, I take vitamin D definitely in the winter, and everybody should be taking vitamin D in the winter. There is so much evidence for that for helping with bone um bone health. And we'll we know that even if you work outside in the winter in England, you're gonna be lower in vitamin D. So I definitely take that. I take magnesium, which helps with recovery and sort of muscle recovery. I take creatine actually, that's more of a newer thing that's out there. But there is some lots of evidence for women taking that in our age group. If I've got an event, because I'm still doing a few races, if I'm sort of really upping my training a bit more, I do take collagen then, but I don't take it religiously. But I do take it if I am sort of loading my body a little bit more, and there is good evidence for collagen for obviously helping with skin, but also for helping uh with sort of tendon type problems. So if people have got, you know, tendon problems, it can be worth taking that. And that's about it. Vitamin C in the winter to warn off any coughs and colds from the kids.

SPEAKER_00 33:52

Absolutely. Oh god, and that's the hardest thing.

SPEAKER_01 33:55

One of the one of the big things that I don't supplement it, but is protein. And I know you had amazing nutrition, Francesca. And I did, yeah. And actually, protein is key in our age group, and we see, you know, obviously injuries in physio world, and one of the main things it's not just thinking about what you've done in terms of activity or an injury, is is thinking about the whole picture, and that's how we like to treat our patients of you know, are you getting enough sleep? What's going on with your hormones? What's your nutrition like? Are you getting enough protein? And there's good evidence for all of those things impacting your injury, and you could treat the injury from a physiose with hands-on side and give them some exercises, but actually, if you don't address the the cause, if they haven't got enough protein, for example, then it will come back again. So protein is king and needs to be in everyone's diet.

SPEAKER_00 34:45

Yeah, when we're listening when we're looking after the muscles, uh, particularly with with Pilates, we need to help support it. You're right. I I hear Fran in my head all the time now for so many meals. When I'm when I've fallen off the wagon, I'm just having a piece of toast. I can hear her in my head going, There should be three eggs on that and a handful of rocket. I know.

SPEAKER_01 35:05

She's so true, she was so sometimes you uh you can fall off the wagon, can't you?

SPEAKER_00 35:09

You can, exactly, exactly. Because I was like, Oh, just sometimes it's just not enough time. And she's like, Well, it takes the same amount of time for you to make that toast as it would have been to scramble some eggs. I'm like, Oh yeah, I had no more excuses for her.

SPEAKER_01 35:22

No, no, I know. But it's good we've got her to keep keep us going. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 35:26

Do go back and listen to to the episode with nutritionist Fran because it was a is a really good one. Um, right, we're gonna do some this or that, Kate. It's just a little bit of fun to round things off with. So early morning workout or evening workout.

SPEAKER_01 35:40

I'm an early morning gal.

unknown 35:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:42

Pilates mat or Pilates Reformer class. Pilates mat all the way. Strength training or cardio.

SPEAKER_01 35:48

Oh gosh. Uh well, strength as in Pilates, I would choose. Um but yeah, combination of both.

SPEAKER_00 35:55

Well, you've said you do kind of a Pilates cardio class, don't you? Okay, so we'll combine those two. Uh this is gonna be a tough one. Running or cycling, if you had to choose.

SPEAKER_01 36:04

Do you know what? That is a tough one because years I would have always said running, but actually I've really got into my cycling now. I did a big challenge in France last year, and I've got another one coming up in Italy. So I'm gonna go cycling this year. Okay, smoothie or protein shake? Smoothie. What's your go-to? Miko smoothies. Having worked at Miko, which is a lovely, if you're not from Paul, it's a lovely health cafe. Um, but yeah, I love the focus one from there. But uh yeah. What's it? Uh it is orange, turmeric, ginger, and carrot.

SPEAKER_00 36:39

Nice.

SPEAKER_01 36:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:41

Beach walk or countryside? Beachwalk. Mobility work or strength work? Oh god, I'm gonna have to go half and half on that. Do you Pilates?

SPEAKER_01 36:48

Yeah, it ticks both boxes. Teaching in person or online classes, yeah, that's a tricky one as well. Or I'd say teaching in person, because you get to probably have a bit more banter and yeah, get to know everyone a little bit better. The great thing is that a lot of my online uh clients I used to teach, so I know them quite well, which is nice. So I get to see them online as well.

SPEAKER_00 37:11

So if you get to do one of these things every day, would it be Pilates or running? Pilates. Yeah, there we go. Just as well, seeing as that's the topic of the day, Kate. So before we finish up, I always like my guest to leave a recommendation for our listener. Is there something that you're doing in your life or loving? Uh it could be anything that just really springs to mind. Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_01 37:38

Uh so I'm actually watching a series, My Life with the Water Boys. I don't know if you've seen it. I do.

SPEAKER_00 37:46

I haven't watched it, but my teen daughter, Kate, has loved it.

SPEAKER_01 37:50

So I've been watching it with my daughter, and and my son, actually, he's been joining as well. And actually, it's just been really precious moments of a series, an episode together. And it's all about the love, the teenage years, the family dynamics, and actually, it just feels obviously. I've been you've been through all that as a child, and now they're going on to that stage in their life, and actually, really lovely to sort of have those conversations with them about it after, and um sort of you know, give them a little bit of an insight as how life can be in the teen years.

SPEAKER_00 38:22

I love how many of these teen shows at the moment have really become shows that mums and daughters, and just it doesn't even have to be about being a parent. No, there's a big thing in that 40 plus age category. We're watching The Summer I Turn Pretty, we're watching, oh, there's one at the moment um off campus. Although I watched the first episode and there are sex scenes. So if you have a teen watching it, just either skip through it or don't let her watch it on her own. But yeah, it's it is really lovely watching these shows and discussing it with them.

SPEAKER_01 38:58

Yeah, really, yeah, I've loved it. But yeah, you do have to obviously make sure there's not anything inappropriate that they shouldn't be seeing at their age. But yeah, it's just yeah, great because it's just realizing that they are going into that stage of their life, so they're going to be exposed to all these things. Um, so yeah, and there's series three coming out soon of My Life with the Water Boys. So I'm looking forward to that.

SPEAKER_00 39:17

There we go, add it to your watch list. Well, Kate, we're both absolutely sweltering right now because we've got all our windows closed. I have to turn my fan off because of the sound for recording. So let's go and open the windows, get the fans on, and uh try and cool down in this heat wave. But Kate, thank you so much for joining me today. Just tell us again where can people find you if they want to maybe do an online class with you? So, yeah, Cabri Pilates, so cabriplates.com.

SPEAKER_01 39:43

So we've got our website on there, also on Instagram and Facebook and uh Cabri Pilates too.

SPEAKER_00 39:49

I shall add the links into the show notes on here. Kate, thank you so much. Have a fantastic day. Oh, thanks, Henry, Katie. Great to catch up. Well, if you would like to obviously find out more about Kate, then go online. But do make sure that you're liking and subscribing to the 40 Plus Live so you can be the first to hear the next episodes and make sure you're leaving me a review because it really helps the podcast to get found. So I shall see you on the next episode of the 40 Plus Live. Thank you.