How to Use Movement Hacking in Midlife with Endurance Sport with guest Alexandra Johnson

There's a Midlife rebellion going on that we're just not talking about enough!

More and more of us are rejecting the "slow down" stereotype that gets slapped on us when we hit our 50s, and we're choosing to take on physical challenges instead.

If you're tempted to ramp your fitness up a gear, find out MORE  by joining me and my guest founder of The Movement Hacking Project Alexandra Johnson. 

Alexandra, who was born with a rare vascular condition, shares her metamorphosis journey from being told at 13 she would never walk normally to counting running Marathon des Sables among her athletic achievements. 

We explore how we can rewrite the stories we're telling ourselves so that we can stop underestimating our Midlife bodies and become stronger, more capable and more independent.

And Alexandra explains how her own struggles have led to her creating movement hacking, with insights and practical advice for how we can use her techniques to embrace the adventures our second chapter has to offer.

Connect with Alexandra

https://www.themovementhackingproject.com/midlifeunlimited

Alexandra is offering Midlife Unlimited listeners a 35% discount on a Movement Audit via this link https://calendly.com/movementhacking/book-a-call

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-johnson-65304248/

https://www.instagram.com/alexandram.johnson/

Transcript

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SPEAKER_02 0:01

Welcome to Midlife Unlimited, the podcast for women who want more. I'm your host, Kate Porter, the Midlife Metamorphosis Coach, and I know what it's like to feel stuck navigating the midlife maze. I've looked in the mirror and thought, who is that woman? So Midlife Unlimited is here to let you know you are not alone. You don't have to put on a brave face and put up with it. You don't have to play it safe. Midlife Unlimited is all about ripping off that mask and telling it like it really is. Nothing is off limits because together there's no limit to what we can achieve. So, welcome to today's episode. Now, there's a midlife rebellion going on that we're just not talking about enough. So, of course, we're going to talk about it today on Midlife Unlimited. More and more of us are rejecting that slow down stereotype that gets slapped on us when we hit our 50s. And we're choosing to take physical challenges instead. Me included, I've already announced my six pack for 60 goal in a previous episode. I've given myself a little bit of leeway. We've got three years to go, but it's a goal and I'm going for it. So if you're tempted to take your fitness level up a gear and want to find out more, then this episode is just for you. Because I'm delighted to be joined by my guest today, Alexandra Johnson, founder of the Movement Hacking Project, to talk about how to use movement hacking in midlife with endurance sport. So welcome, Alexandra. It is fabulous to have you here.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

I am so excited to be here. So thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_02 1:53

I'm doing a little excited dance already. This is gonna be such a good one because I'm the first to put my hands up. We've had in our little pre-chat, it was like you're gonna you said, Oh, I'm gonna get I'm gonna get you doing this, Kate. And I'm like, well, we've got two things to bear in mind big boobs, didn't have them until I fed my baby for 12 months, and dodgy knees. So, but there are ways we're gonna be talking later on, you're gonna be sharing your top tips because one of an alternative title for our episode could be how to stop underestimating our midlife bodies, which is what I did just then, which is extremely just then.

SPEAKER_01 2:33

Yes, I agree. We as we get older, we totally underestimate what we're capable of doing, so yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

Because you you're a bit like me, you're a woman on a mission, you're on a whip with your teeth in. That's how it is that's how much of a mission you're in. And I love it to help women over 50 become strong, capable, and independent through movement hacking. And those are three really because as you say, it's not about looking thin or tired anymore, is it? You're taking it next level, and by next level, I don't mean the effort involved, I mean it's all about mindset, it's just a beautiful, beautiful combination that you've brought together.

SPEAKER_01 3:18

Yes, exactly. And I think the movement hacking project started initially with um with myself, and um I was we've had this conversation before, I was born with a rare vascular condition called Clippel Trinae syndrome, and it affects my left leg, and basically um my left leg grew longer than the other leg. I have an abnormal vascular system in that leg. Um, I have um nerve problems in there, um joints that don't work properly, and when I was I had a normal normal life, and I've got a big beautiful birthmark that starts on the bottom of my foot and goes right up onto my bottom. Um and when I was like a port wine, so it was that wine stage.

SPEAKER_02 4:13

Is that how they identified the vascular issue?

SPEAKER_01 4:16

Yes, so I when I was born within hours, um, this mark came up. Oh, really? Yes. Um, and then I don't my mum can't really remember, but I don't think that that there was a name for the condition for the syndrome that I had back then. My earliest recollection of understanding my, so it's we call it KTS. So understanding what my KTS is, um, was um uh so when I was 13, I had this operation to stop my leg growing, and I was told then that I wouldn't have normal function in my leg, um, I wouldn't be able to run, and that I would probably walk uh for the rest of my life with a limp. I wouldn't have normal function in that leg, and that's how I lived. That's what I believed, that's what I've been told. You know, I try to stay as healthy as I can and be as active as I can. I lived abroad and the metal work started coming out of my naturally started coming out. This was years later.

SPEAKER_00 5:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:26

So I had an operation, metalwork was taken out. Um, and then to just to cut a long story short, over time I had this sort of burning question in my head. It was just like, okay, well, if there's nothing in my leg physically stopping me from moving it, then why can't I walk properly? So then over time I realized that actually it was my belief. My belief was holding me back.

SPEAKER_02 5:55

What you've been told when you were 13?

SPEAKER_01 5:57

What I've been told, yeah. So then over time, then I sort of got so instead of saying things like, oh, well, I can't run, or I can't do this, I can't, I couldn't even ride a bike at this point. Um, I couldn't walk up the stairs properly. And then I was just like, Okay, well, instead of saying I can't do this, why don't I actually ask myself, what am I capable of doing?

SPEAKER_02 6:22

Yeah, what can I do?

SPEAKER_01 6:24

What could I do?

SPEAKER_02 6:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:26

So then I learned I taught myself how to walk again. I taught myself how to ride a bike. Um, I then started running, and then over time I did things that I honestly I genuinely didn't think was ever going to be possible in my life.

SPEAKER_02 6:42

Listeners, I think I think you're you're underplaying, you said something wonderful. I was listening to another podcast you were on recently, and you you referred to your husband refers to you as an is as an an elite or extreme sportswoman, but you wouldn't necessarily take on that title yourself. No, so when I you're being modest, aren't you?

SPEAKER_01 7:04

You're being listening, she's being modest, yeah. Um, so I remember learning to run and all of this, and then I was watching Eurosport and I saw this run in the desert as you do, and I was like, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, that looks so much fun. And I was like, I'd love to do that. Yeah, I'd love to do that. And it was, it wasn't when I look back on it now because of the works that I do, it wasn't the running aspect of it, although the running did challenge me, it was the adventure and the challenge and the discipline of doing the marathon desable.

SPEAKER_02 7:45

For listeners that don't know, what is it? I know it's in the desert, and that's about as far, and it's got a fancy French name.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

It has a very fancy French name, it's called the Marathon desables, and it is a seven-day endurance race across the Sahara Desert, and it's all self-sufficient, so you have to carry all your food, all your uh water, um, whatever you're going to sleep in for the whole seven days. Your water is, I don't, it's ration, but you have enough. You have enough. So you have a you have a uh like a little tag, and then every time you get to a water station, you get given your allocated water for that day, and then they clip so they know that you've had that water, and that water has to last you until you either get back to camp or to the next water station. Also, if you share your water or you get or somebody gives you water, you can be disqualified.

SPEAKER_02 8:47

Oh gosh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:48

Oh wow, so yeah. I don't know nowadays. I mean, I did it a long time ago, and also when I entered, when I entered it, I did it for charity, but also I didn't understand how iconic that event is. Now I look back and I'm like, oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 9:07

I'm guessing it's not the kind of thing you can go, oh right, I'm gonna do that. Yes, can I buy a ticket or can I can I get a ticket, please? I'm guessing, especially as it's grown more popular or people there's a waiting list, it's kind of like a lottery to get part of it almost.

SPEAKER_01 9:21

And also, it's so now it's so expensive to enter, and I think there's I don't know, a three-year waiting list, maybe. I saw on Eurosport one year, and the following year I was in it. You did it, I did it, and I just want to caveat this that I it probably sounds like I'm a little bit of a crazy head, but when I when I was when I was in the marathon desp, there was a French waiter who throughout the whole event carried a tray with a bottle of beer and a glass the hot the whole way through. But not only that, he ran it backwards as in he was running backwards. So I'm not the only union in this yes.

SPEAKER_02 10:15

Oh well, so obviously you you mentioned you did it for charity, which is yes, fabulous. Yeah, I love that. But the fact that you were doing it for yourself really as well, because yes, am I right and say this was one of your first main forays, yes, having decided that the the stories you'd been told which had impacted the stories you were telling yourself are stories that you could rewrite or find an alternative plot line, shall we say? Yes, so in terms of the actual effort involved there, can we actually put this in perspective? Because am I right in thinking there's a longest day which sounds that is kind hideous by design, so 55 miles in one day in the desert, in sand. I mean, your feet go, it's like every step is like two steps, surely.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

Yes, and um the longest day was uh you could either so you had the longest day, and then the following day was a rest day. So me and a girl from my tent, we decided that we were gonna run together. I mean, we're just going to do it in a in one go so that we could then have a rest day. The longest day was for me, I think every year is different. When I did it, it was 55 miles. It was fucking hard. It was really, really hard. And also, you become sleep deprived, you become really hungry, you become a little bit disorientated, and you start seeing things that actually aren't there, and you get annoyed with the person that is running with you. It's just like you want to tell them all the time to be quiet, hurry up, you know, let's have a nap, let's not have a nap. So you have these arguments, little bickering as you're going along. We did it in um, we did it in 24 hours and one second, and then yeah, so it was a winner in my eyes. Yeah, um, and then the next day I was really looking forward to having a day off the rest day, a nice rest day. Oh my god, we were hit with a sandstorm. So you get into your sleeping bag and you close the top of it. So no, yeah, yeah. So you you literally get in there, but obviously in the desert, it's really hot when you're in your sleeping bag. Because in at night it gets cold.

SPEAKER_02 12:47

I was gonna say really cold, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:49

But in them, in them in the midday sun, it's boiling. So the last thing you want to do be doing is zipping yourself in fully into your sleeping bag, but a sandstorm is like literally being blasted by tiny bits of glass, so you have to you have to protect yourself because it's brut it's brutal, it's absolutely brutal. So, yeah, that was that was my 55 mile learning arrest day.

SPEAKER_02 13:15

I love though to put this in perspective, to put this in perspective because it sounds like quite Lawrence of Arabia glamour going through the desert, but your actual training regime was pounding your way around Guildford, wasn't it? I mean, talking about contrast. Sorry, we tell it like it is here on Midline Bundy.

SPEAKER_01 13:40

Sorry. No, um, back to earth, back to reality. Um, yes, obviously, Guildford isn't known for its tropical climates, so I used to um drop my kids off at nursery or at school. I'd go home and I'd put so many layers on because it's more about core building up your core temperature. And also I ran, I ran with shoes that were two sizes too big for me. So I felt like I was the Michelin man running around Guildford with clown shoes on because in the heat your feet swell, and if you're just wearing your normal size shoes, you're going to have problems. You're going to have a lot of problems. Yeah. And also building up, and um, you know, I used to go and sit in sauna for you know hours just reading a book just to get my core temper to just to feel how hot I could get inside. But obviously, I didn't, I wasn't, I didn't have the knowledge. So when I became when I got more into racing and my triathlon um stage of my life, what I knew, I didn't know anything, I didn't really understand nutrition. I yes, I knew that I was doing you know, seven days in the Sahara Desert, I'd have to have a lot of food, a lot of water, a lot of calories, but I didn't really understand the sports nutrition side of things. So everything was new. So I didn't go to you know sports facilities where you could run in a heat chamber. I didn't do any, I didn't know those things existed.

SPEAKER_02 15:22

And I and when I did Yeah, I love that you found it for yourself though. You haven't just gone right, I'm going to do this and I'm going to employ people to help me do it. And to no, you've discovered, you've fumbled for what of a better word, your way through it. And that makes it far more oh, this word is so overused, but far more authentic. Ah used to love it, now I don't, or far more real. But how you help people now? Because it's coming from a place of you've been there, yeah, and you had no idea. Yeah, you had to figure it out, and I think that's what so much of it is about. Because yeah, listeners, it doesn't end there. Alexandra, unstoppable is a word that comes to mind. You had you had a crash, you broke your pelvis, yes, your back, your hip, and then Iron Man. I mean, why? Why would you why would you not just go down to Hastings and have a nice little convalescence time? Go to a spa.

SPEAKER_01 16:23

Yeah, yeah, I think, yeah, so over my from the uh from the marathon de sable, I transitioned and I got really into triathlon and I was sort of like an an elite triathlete. Is that does it does it get you? Yes, it does. Yeah, it it does for many reasons. I always do something because I'm I love a challenge. I love not to prove something to myself as such, but to know that actually looking at something that almost feels impossible. There is anything is possible. You just have to work out how to get there, and that's the challenge that I love. I love the discipline of training, I love the challenge of it, and I love the adventure of racing different courses, different in different countries, just different weather conditions. I just love everything about it, and I love the triathlon community as well. It's just, you know, you can rock up to a race and you your bike might not have arrived at the race event. They put out on a tanoi, we're looking for somebody who's got a spare bike, and you know, 10 people show up with a spare bike, you pick the bike that suits you. It's it's just I've never had that kind of community feeling before, and I love it, and I miss as I I don't really race that much. Well, I I haven't raced since the said accident. Um, but I miss I miss that. I miss that community, the traffic.

SPEAKER_02 18:12

I mentioned in the intro, and I know you said you know, there are lots of facts and figures floating around, but yes, female education and endurance sports is surging in 50 plus, isn't it? I don't know what it is about. I'm guessing it's as you say, the community is a huge thing, but perhaps slapping stereotypes in the face, going against the whole, oh, really, at your age, should you be doing that? Yes, I blinking should, and I'm gonna give it a go. And it doesn't mean I'm gonna be brilliant at it, but I'm gonna have I'm gonna give it a shot.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

Yeah, my my answer to when people say things like, Oh, I shouldn't be doing that at my age. There are two questions. Who told you that? And why not? Why not?

SPEAKER_02 19:00

Yeah, you know, ties in beautifully. We have I know bio see, I said I was gonna say biohacking, didn't I? No, move movement hacking, movement hacking. It's something that you've you've created this to align with your own experiences and your own journey, for want of a better word. But can we actually break down because mindset plays a huge part in it, doesn't it? And I said you were going to be sharing your insights and your lessons learned. Yes, should we should we take mindset and as we've been saying, the stories that you tell ourselves? Yes, because that ties in beautifully with what I just rudely interrupted you, but what you were about to say about why you're telling yourself this.

SPEAKER_01 19:40

Yes. So if we just go back, you mentioned by accident. So I was I was training for um, I qualify, I've been to two world championships, and I was um I was training for my second world championships, and I had a bicycle accident, and like you said, I broke most of the left side of my body. And the question was never, was never I'm not going to be able to do this. It was never that. It was like, how am I going to get to the start line? And I had six months, and okay, from a physiotherapy point of view, you know, healing takes a long time, especially when you've broken a lot of stuff. Set aside all of that, the the thing that helped me was my mindset. It was that was that was really, I think, where the movement hacking project actually kind of really started because I I I couldn't find what I was looking for. I had I was having physio, I was in a lot of pain, and my only question was how am I going to get to the start line? And as an athlete, I do lots of visualizations anyway, because that's part of my that's part of my training. Yeah. So um I kind of was researching a lot of stuff. Well, I wasn't allowed to wait there for a long time. So I was on the computer quite a lot and I was researching a lot of stuff. And um it came down to I had to believe that I could get there. I had to believe that my body was strong enough. I had to, I had to believe that actually this is what I wanted to do. It there was nobody saying you must, you know, get off, you know, once you're weight bearing, get to the gym. You have to do this. You have to nobody was telling me I had to. I wanted to do it.

SPEAKER_02 21:41

Because we've mentioned your husband before. What was with does he let you get on with it? Is he there like if you need if you need me, I'm here?

SPEAKER_01 21:50

Is it that he knows you know each other so well that he knows when he knows when to get involved and he knows. When just to let me just to let me kind of bubble and then work it out myself. He was also we never spoke about not going. We were both. How are we gonna get there? Okay, what okay? So the end goal is getting to the start line. That was the end goal. So we knew where we were going. It was like Does he compete as well? No, he doesn't. No. Um he he it was almost like, okay, right, well, I need to get here. How do I get here? And then you almost reverse engineer it back to where I was lying on the couch, not being able to wait there. So, what were the first steps I needed to do? And the first step was a lot of it was mindset. It was okay, well, like I can't physically do this at the moment, but what can I what can I think about? Okay, do I really want to go? Yes, I really want to go. Does it matter to me? Yes, it really matters to me. And you know, if I don't go, what uh there wasn't a question of not going, it was how can I get myself there? And the first bit is in my mind, because like I said, there was no never was there a point where it was I'm not going to that I wasn't going to go there. And I think when people suddenly start going, yeah, maybe I shouldn't be doing this, then they're already. That's it.

SPEAKER_02 23:36

They've all they've opened the gate too. Because we know should listeners, you know how I feel about shoulds, it's someone else's voice. So you're opening the floodgates for the self-doubt, the self-criticism, yeah, and then once it's hard to get back, it's hard to get back.

SPEAKER_01 23:52

Yeah, it really is. It really is. I'm not saying that I didn't have negative thoughts, I really did, I really did. But my my belief in that I was going to get to the start line and to race was stronger than yeah, but you know, you're in a lot of pain today, or you know, you can't you can't walk. So how do you think you're going to be able to run, you know, run in the track?

SPEAKER_02 24:20

So so what were you using specific exercises? I mean, in terms of mental exercises, did you have a favorite go-to phrase that you would use to get yourself give yourself momentum, really? Because it is about motion, isn't it? It is about, and I don't just mean physical, it's about mental motion as well. Like you said, when you come up against that brick wall of obstacles, you think yes, you think what what do I need then? As you say, you know, proactive questions, not I can't. Okay, I can't yet. I can't yet, and what do I need to be able to do it? And breaking it down. And obviously, we're talking in terms of your physical achievements and and the challenges you set yourself, but this applies throughout life listeners, you know. It doesn't mean totally, yeah. I mean, the insights that you're sharing now are things that can be applied to all areas of our life. We don't have to be running across the desert, you know, and it's about breaking it down and having that. I just love that can do, that can do mindset.

SPEAKER_01 25:19

Yes, and also I think it stems from um looking back on it, I think it comes from when I was growing up because my and um it is my it is has become my mantra, really. Um, my mum always used to say to me, to all of us, there's no such word as can't. It doesn't, it isn't. And I was talking to my husband about it, and also to you know, I use it a lot when I uh coach my clients and when I speak. If you think you can't, you won't. You won't. Can't is a you can always do something, right? You can always do something. I could I my end goal was getting to the world championships. It wasn't I can't get there, it was what do I need to do, what do I need to feel, what do I need to achieve to get to that? And so you break down the steps, even if it is as small as I'm going to see if I can walk down the stairs pain free. And if there is pain, okay, well, what do I need to do? What do I need to do to get rid of the pain? Okay, well, I'll have to take painkillers because I know that works. I know what's wrong with my body. So taking painkillers isn't masking the pain because all information is helpful, or all things that your body tells you is information. Pain is information, stiffness is information, being unwell is information. You can use that to help yourself get to where you want to be. It doesn't have to be to the world championships, but everything is helpful information. So it's always feed your body's always feeding you. You have to learn to listen to what it's telling you, and then you can work out what the next bit of the puzzle is.

SPEAKER_02 27:28

That's so true. Because also when you do, and everyone gets it, even the most enthusiastic person gets those days or moments of resistance, that kind of feeling of oh yes, not I don't want, but then if you ask yourself what it is, because it's normally as you say, it's something to do with something you're telling yourself, yes, and you're almost trying to protect yourself. Well, if I don't try it, then I won't be disappointed. If I don't try it, then I won't have this awful word failed. We don't don't do that. But another yeah, absolutely means is I've said it before, I'll say it again, that what we expected to happen didn't happen, something else happened. But another phrase that we hear again and again, and a lot of the time it's not right, and it makes me go, ah, which is age appropriate. But I think with something like physical exercise, physical exertion, whatever you want to call it, movement, moving our bodies in our 50s and beyond, A, let's take a moment, listeners, and go, hallelujah for our fabulous bodies that have got us this far, and whatever it takes to nurture and nourish and love them to get the most that we can going forward. And we're not all going to be doing as much physically demanding things as you do, but it's about finding something that works, and I do think that age appropriate, much as I bloody hate that phrase, is a phrase to bear in mind before we start hurtling down mountainsides or whatever, because we don't want to go back, we don't want to go back to being 20 and 30. We've done that, but in the same sense, if we're taking up exercise that again that we've not done for a while, things that we did in our 20s and 30s may not necessarily be the most I don't like age appropriate, age-related, it's about finding a way, isn't it? It's about finding a way to do to do things that we love that fire us up, that make us feel bloody fantastic, but that honour our bodies and honour our not limit, I don't mean limitations necessarily, no, but I mean let's be sensible. God, that's a boring word, isn't it? But Kate, shame on you.

SPEAKER_01 29:49

Shame on you for actually using that word. You know what I'm trying to say. I do, and to for me, for me, a again, I I hate I hate this little explanation. Age is just a number, it's just something that has been written down. It doesn't mean anything, it doesn't mean anything.

SPEAKER_00 30:15

No.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

Also, I as soon as you started saying that, I actually have um some statistics that I found. Um, I love a stat. Yes. So um one in five women over 50 stopped themselves doing something because they didn't think they should be doing it at their age. 19, 19, and 31, where is it here? 31% said that they stopped doing something, so they either avoided doing something or limiting their physical activity. So 31% of women over 50, because of their age, avoid doing or limiting their physical activity, and that was just um from um the center of better aging and uh sort of the state of aging in 2025, that was last year, right?

SPEAKER_02 31:17

How are we gonna shake this up then? Over to you. Where do we start? Where do we use movement hacking to shift our mindset? And as I say, Alexandra's about to start another new adventure that I'm gonna ask her to share. You won't believe this. How do we say we don't even doubt ourselves? We go, right, I'm gonna do this and we make it possible. Yes, what what a challenge were you to be talking about?

unknown 31:45

Helicopter.

SPEAKER_01 31:46

Oh, yes, my helicopter. Yes, so um I'm I'm I love I love helicopters, so I'm just I've just started learning. It's not even learning, you're trained, I'm training to be a helicopter pilot, but just from a general aviation point of view, so not commercial, just for the fun of it. I've I love I used to skydive, I love helicopters, I love aviation. I've literally just spoken at the UK's biggest uh fly-in um in Shropshire. It was amazing, it was absolutely amazing.

SPEAKER_02 32:26

So you could draw a big X in your garden, is that what it is?

SPEAKER_01 32:30

I'm gonna put an H.

SPEAKER_02 32:32

Yeah, H is Why'd I think it was an X? Of course it's an H.

SPEAKER_01 32:35

It can be an X. Oh, I have to write this in skydiving, you the drop zone is an X, but anyway, I'm digressing. I've got another stat. It's got it hasn't really got anything to do. Well, now I've got two stats. One is um since 2015, self-employed women over 50 has risen by 50 percent. So now they represent one in four self-employed women. That shows that women are stepping out of their comfort zones and they're looking for challenge and adventure. Because my gosh, when you start, yeah, when you start a business, flipping it, it is not easy, it is not easy at all. Also, um, the Guardian had a report on UK travel operators that showed in 2025 it showed that 70% of their solo bookings were women. Oh, it's a real absurd as well, isn't it? Yeah, especially older women who are looking for adventure. So again, that's sorry, go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 33:50

No, I was gonna say I had this conversation the other day, and it's no it's no offense to my other half. But if I wanted to go somewhere and I'm gonna be doing this, and there's no one else to go who really wants to do it, I would think I would happily I wouldn't have done it in my 20s or 30s. No, but I think now, yeah, bring it on.

SPEAKER_01 34:09

Yeah, I do. I I used to have a camper van um until recently, and I would, my husband calls them my film, my cup trip. So I'd get into the camper van, I'd go up to Wales or the lakes, and I'd go and run up into the mountains. I'd just wake up at super silly o'clock, go running all day, every day, come home to the camper van, get a beer, get a packet of Chris, and do you know what? I fucking love it, and I'm on my own in the middle of winter, I don't see anyone, I don't need to talk to anyone. I'm not lonely, but I do like sometimes being on my own, and it makes me feel amazing. It makes me feel like I could take on the world, and then when I come back to reality, it's just like my head's clear, I know what I need to do, I need to be watching. Yeah, 100%, 100%. Yeah, so that's the challenge, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:08

But it's about, isn't it? Mini adventures, and that's a very mini adventures, yeah. And I think we can all do that, can't we? We can all find that thing just opens the door and makes it possible to start doing whatever this physical activity is, and it's fine, it's finding the thing that works for you, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 35:27

Yes, experimenting. So it's giving, yeah. So, you know, one of one of the things that uh one of the sort of tips and insights is give yourself permission, let yourself do what you want, not what someone else thinks you should be doing, not what your husband says you can and you can't do. And I don't mean that, I didn't uh you know. If you want to do something, yeah, if you want to do something, yeah, you know, do something you want, not because somebody else wants you to do it, not because you think other people want you to do it, do it. If it means going down to Brighton seafront and going into the having an open water swim in the sea, do it. Because once you've done it, it's just it's that feeling of do you know what? I can fucking do anything. Even one little, like I'll go on a mini adventure. So sometimes when I do a long run, I haven't got a route planned, I haven't got um, you know, a specific time thing. I'll get my running backpack on, I'll say something to my husband, like, I'm just gonna go on a mini adventure. Um, I might be a couple of hours or something like that, and then I'll start running and I get to a signpost. I I normally run off-road. So I'll get to a signpost and it will be like either go this way or go that way. And as I run up to that signpost, I don't suddenly go, Oh, am I gonna go left? Am I gonna go right? Shall I go straight on? I get to the signpost and I just do, I just do, I just turn and then I run again and I get to the next bit and I do exactly the same thing because I run around this area quite a lot. I I I end up either doing a loop and I come back on myself, or I run out for a time and then I run back on myself, and it's just like I don't have to worry, I just go out running and I see a signpost. I'm like, okay, I'm gonna go this way, but I don't decide until I'm right there, and then it's just like okay, I wonder where this path is gonna take me.

SPEAKER_02 37:36

Well, and that is such a wonderful lesson again to take forward into other decision-making situations because how often do we look at a signpost? And this could be a metaphorical signpost, it doesn't have to be a big bit of wood, and we can overthink it, we can delay it, we can postpone it. We can again think, well, if I chose left, what would they say? What would so-and-so say? I really shouldn't. I'm too old, I'm not experienced enough, I can't, I can't, I can't. If I choose the easy option, maybe that's the to turn right, would I regret? Oh no, don't do that. Would I feel guilty for taking this? Well, oh, I should have done this last year. I should have no, no, let's just go back to redo it.

SPEAKER_01 38:22

Yes, and also by the by the time you've by the time I've taken that immediate decision, I then start looking around. I'm like, oh my god, I didn't even realize there was this fountain here, or oh my god, I didn't know that the sheep were gonna be in here today, or you know, you notice things, and when you notice things, you kind of go, Do you know what? I'm really glad I took this, and you have forgotten about the other path. You don't. I uh when I run and I notice things, I don't go, oh, I wonder what I would have seen if I'd gone the other way. You don't, you just get drawn in and you notice things, and then you go, oh look, there's another sign, and then you're really excited to get to the sign because you don't know which way you're gonna go.

SPEAKER_02 39:08

No, and again, this is so applicable to all sorts of decisions, isn't it? Because so often, so often we are and we've been told to do this, ladies, and we're so focused on the bloody destination, the destination, the goal, the end goal, that as you say, we forget to pause and look, or not even pause, but to slow to absorb all the things that are going on as we're as we're heading down this road. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 39:36

And I'm getting all metaphorical now, but it's so true, it's but it's true, it is hundred percent true, and also more often than not, more often you get to your goal, and then you're like, is that it? Is that it? All the stress, okay, metaphorically, all the stress that I've done, all the planning I did, all of this, all of that, and this is what I get at the end. But if you're always looking for an adventure, if you're always going on a mini adventure, if you always challenge yourself and notice things and do something, then you're on this journey of like journey, that's a word I really hate as well. But you're on it's so sad, isn't it? Yeah, but you can just have you can just do what you want. You could there is there are no there is there are no limits. And like I said earlier, anything is possible, anything, you just have to start. It doesn't matter. So if you wanted to run a marathon, if you've always wanted to run a marathon, and somebody or people or you know, newspapers are saying, oh, you shouldn't be running because it's bad for your knees, or you shouldn't be running at your age, or you shouldn't be doing, you shouldn't be running because you're a girl, or yeah, and you just think, do you know, but I've always wanted to do it, do it, start. What do you need to do to start? Okay, well, I need to I need a pair of running shoes, get a pair of running shoes. Okay, I've got my shoes now. What? Okay, well, uh do the five to uh couch to five K if you've never run. There's always something that you can do. There are little steps, whether they're teeny tiny, mini steps, or you know, you you leapfrog and you do a bigger step. But you will or if if you want to get somewhere, you you always will. If you want to do something and you've set your heart on it, and you know from a child you've always wanted to do it, then you will. You just have to start with anything, with anything in life, you just have to start.

SPEAKER_02 41:55

I love that. I love that. You just have to. Yeah. Can I say reach out, find the communities, try new things. And if it doesn't, if you don't enjoy it, try something else. I'm all about this. I'm all about this.

SPEAKER_01 42:07

Yeah, because also it's it's like it's like, how do you know? If you've never done something, how do you know you're not going to like it? It's like kids when they don't want to eat something on their plate, like green vegetables. Oh, well, I don't like that. Well, how do you know you've never eaten it before? How can you make a judgment about something that you've never tried? Of course it is. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 42:29

Oh, I won't like it. I won't, I won't be any good at it, so I won't even try.

SPEAKER_01 42:33

Well, nobody's good at anything when they first start. It's all repetition. You look at all the big, you look at Michael Jordan, you look at um Venus Williams, you look at, you know, all the all the top athletes, they had to start somewhere. They weren't very good at doing it, but they loved what they did, so they carried on. And it's about finding something that you love, that in your heart you want to do. Because if you want to do it, you will do it, and you will keep doing it. You will keep doing. I still run because I like it. I I don't like it. I love it. I love the freedom that it gives me. I love how it helps clear my head. I love the challenge of, you know, my left leg, my KTS leg isn't as strong as it used to be. I love the challenge of just trying to keep it going. I love the challenge of how far, not necessarily mileage, but how far can I go with my running? Am I going to be one of these runners that you see on Instagram who's just smashed the, you know, they're a 92-year-old runner and they've just smashed the world record in the hundred-meter sprint or something. Do you know what I mean? So it's Why not? Why not? Yeah. See how far, see what you can do. There is no end. And when my body tells me it's time to stop, then I probably will. But at the moment, you probably won't.

SPEAKER_02 44:07

You probably won't. Well, listen. Yes, no, you say the movement we're going to be sharing all your contact details in a minute, how anyone can get in contact with you. Yeah. Um, all your um links are on the show notes for our episode, and you've got your guest profile on the Midlife Unlimited podcast website. Yes. But before I invite you to talk through how you know what you've got coming up and how listeners can connect with you, you've got your three questions that you can't escape because I ask every guest, male or female, the same three questions. So the first question is drum roll, please. What is your midlife anthem?

SPEAKER_01 44:47

When I was younger, before my 13, before when I was third, before my operation when I was at 13, I used to be a gymnast and I used to do gymnastics gymnastics displays at my school's fair, Summer Fates. Oh, right. We used to have a gymnastics display team. And my gymnastics routine was always um set to the music of Van Halen's jump. So my my midlife anthem is jump by Van Halen because also metaphorically the jumping or it the the words they use can also be take that leap of faith. Yeah, just jump, just jump. But as soon as I hear I mean, I'm getting goosebump pimples already. I've got Dave Lee Roth in my head doing his jump. Yeah. And it just brings back, it takes me back to a place where I was free. I was free in my body, I was free in my head, I was doing my gymnastics, and it was, you know, movement is freedom. Movement is freedom.

SPEAKER_02 45:59

So that would be a very good midlife mantra. Is that your midlife mantra?

SPEAKER_01 46:04

What movement is freedom? Yeah. Or the jump. My my mantra is I think it, I think anything is possible. And you know, things like why not me? Why not? Yeah, like yeah, anything is possible.

SPEAKER_02 46:23

And final question before we go into your contact details, what is the title of your autobiography?

SPEAKER_01 46:32

The title of my autobiography is Watch Out, Here She Comes.

SPEAKER_02 46:39

Yes, love it, love it, love it, love it. I look forward to reading it. I look forward to reading it. But before you go off and write some of your book, share with us how listeners can get in touch with you.

SPEAKER_01 46:52

Um, so you can find me on um my website, and it's uh www.themovementhackingproject.com. If you do a forward slash midlife unlimited, you can um I have a um a movement map. It's a free download, it's a little workbook that you can uh work through. So um that's on there. Um I also work one-to-one with clients, so I coach clients through um human performance, movement, and function. So looking at what your body can do, what influences it, what we can do to change it, and also how we can keep that change long term. Um and I normally I've put it on hold for the summer, but I normally have a free webinar. I pick a theme or a topic that maybe has come up in my one of my coaching sessions, and I do a little um coaching session about that. Um, it's free. Um, and if you email me, then I can put you on, I can put them on my emailing list.

SPEAKER_02 48:06

Fantastic. And I'm guessing all your social links are on the website as well.

SPEAKER_01 48:10

Yes, they are.

SPEAKER_02 48:11

Yeah, but I can give them to you as well if you yeah, no, we'll put those in the show notes as well. Fantastic. Listeners, go and connect with Alexandra. I would love your feedback on today's episode as well. So it'd be fabulous if you could leave a review. A little thumbs up always goes um appreciated. I couldn't think what I was gonna say then. Uh, and subscribe, and you can email or text me via the link in the show notes, too. Um, and also you'll find the website link with details of my one-to-one coaching offers. Um, and there will be coming soon, watch this space, a VIP in-person event coming up this autumn. Very excited about that, and more my award-winning all-in-one coaching program that will help you add more life to your years because that's what it's all about, isn't it? So, thank you for joining me, Alexandra. It's been absolutely brilliant. I love it, I love it, I love it. Thank you for listening. I look forward to you tuning in next week because don't forget Midlife Unlimited has a new episode every Thursday available wherever you listen to your podcasts. So, here's to being fabulous and flourishing together and living Midlife Unlimited. Thanks, Alexandra. You've been brilliant.

SPEAKER_01 49:23

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_02 49:25

Bye.

unknown 49:26

Bye.