Movement that fits real life
Movement doesn’t have to be another standard women feel they need to live up to.
We’re often sold a very narrow version of fitness: intense, structured, sweaty, expensive and time-consuming. We’re led to believe that unless we can find an uninterrupted hour, join a gym or complete a punishing workout, it doesn’t actually count.
But movement is much bigger than exercise.
It could be walking to the station, taking the stairs, gardening, carrying the shopping, stretching between meetings, dancing while cooking, playing with your children, wheeling yourself outdoors or standing during a phone call.
A gym session is wonderful if that’s something you enjoy. But it’s not necessarily the entry ticket to an active life.
Your body benefits from movement throughout the day
Australia’s updated 24-hour movement guidelines encourage adults to be active on most days, aiming for 30 minutes or more of moderate- to vigorous-intensity movement each day.
They recommend:
- Muscle-strengthening activity on at least two days each week.
- Activities that support mobility, balance and coordination on at least three days each week.
- Several hours of light movement across the day.
- Breaking up prolonged periods of sitting as often as possible.
Although this might initially sound like another overwhelming checklist, it serves as a reminder that health is built through many different kinds of movement.
Why moving regularly matters
Physical activity supports your heart, circulation, blood pressure, blood sugar, muscles, bones, balance, energy, mood and overall quality of life. Its value isn’t limited to the number on the scales.
Sitting less also deserves attention in its own right. A morning workout is valuable, but it is still worth interrupting the long periods of sitting that can fill the rest of the day.
Stand up while you’re on the phone. Walk to speak to a colleague rather than sending a message. Stretch while the kettle boils. Take a short walk after lunch. Do a few sit-to-stands from your chair between tasks.
These small moments are part of an active day.
You don’t have to start with 30 minutes. Any amount of movement is better than none, and more brings greater health benefits.
Consider ten minutes to be ten minutes of movement rather than a failed 30 minute workout.
Think in four layers
1. Move often
Light movement is the foundation of an active day.
Walk around the house, do household tasks, garden, change positions, stretch, stand, take the stairs or add a few minutes of movement when you notice you’ve been sitting for a while.
Try attaching movement to something that already happens: after each meeting, before your next coffee, while waiting for a child at sport or every time you finish an episode of television.
2. Raise your heart rate
Moderate-intensity activity means you are breathing faster but can still speak. It might be a brisk walk, swimming, dancing, cycling, hiking, active gardening or an energetic game with the children.
It doesn’t need to happen in one uninterrupted block. A walk before work, another one at lunchtime and a few brisk minutes in the evening may well fit your life far better than waiting for the perfect empty hour.
3. Build strength
Strength training is increasingly important as women get older.
Squats to a chair, wall push-ups, resistance bands, Pilates, weights, carrying shopping, climbing stairs and lifting safely around the home can all contribute.
Strength supports your muscles, bones, joints, metabolism and ability to keep doing the everyday things that matter to you.
4. Practise balance and mobility
Balance and mobility help us stay steady, confident and independent.
Yoga, tai chi, Pilates, stair climbing, heel-to-toe walking or standing briefly on one leg beside a stable bench can all help. Your balance exercises should feel appropriately challenging while remaining safe.
Not every activity needs to achieve everything. Walking supports your heart and mood. Weights may build strength. Yoga improves mobility and balance. The best week contains a mixture.
Movement through different stages of a woman’s life
The right movement will look different at 25, during pregnancy, after childbirth, through perimenopause or at 75.
During a healthy pregnancy, women are generally encouraged to remain active on most days, with suitable modifications as the pregnancy progresses. Strength work and pelvic floor exercises are also recommended, although individual advice is important when there is pain, bleeding, pregnancy complications or pelvic floor dysfunction.
Around perimenopause and menopause, resistance and weight-bearing movement become particularly valuable. Changing hormone levels can affect bone density and strength, so activities like appropriately supervised weights, stair climbing, dancing and other weight-bearing exercise can help support long-term bone and muscle health.
As we get older, strength, balance and coordination become central to maintaining mobility and independence. It is never too late to begin, but the activity should be matched to your current health, strength and balance.
What about pain, disability, chronic illness or fatigue?
Movement is for every body, but that does not mean every body should move in the same way.
Activity can be seated, supported, adapted, paced or water-based. On some days, it may be a walk. On another, it may be gentle mobility work from a chair or changing position more frequently.
The answer is not to push through significant pain or ignore what your body is telling you. Start slowly, build gradually where possible and seek professional guidance when you need it. Australia’s guidelines specifically recognise that people living with disability or chronic health conditions may need an individual approach and professional support.
If movement causes urinary leakage, vaginal heaviness, pelvic pain or pressure, do not assume you simply need to stop exercising. A GP or pelvic floor physiotherapist can help assess what is happening and modify your activity safely.
Make movement possible, not perfect
The best movement plan is not the most impressive one. It is the one you can repeat.
Choose something you enjoy—or at least do not dread. Make it convenient. Put your walking shoes by the door. Keep a resistance band near your desk. Walk with a friend. Dance to one song. Take the stairs for one floor. Create a full plan for energetic days and a smaller version for difficult ones.
Five minutes around the block in the morning, stairs at work, two walking phone calls, ten chair squats while dinner cooks and a gentle stretch before bed can add up to a genuinely active day.
Movement is not punishment for what you ate. It is not something you must earn, and it does not only count when it changes your appearance.
It is a way of supporting your heart, your bones, your muscles, your mind and your future independence.
Start where you are
You do not need a new body, expensive equipment or perfect motivation.
Start with what is possible today. Move a little more. Sit for a little less time. Add strength when you can. Choose movement that works for your body, your health and the season of life you are in.
And then do it again tomorrow.
At Walker Street Doctors, we can help if pain, fatigue, breathlessness, injury, pregnancy, menopause symptoms, pelvic floor concerns or a chronic health condition are making movement difficult. Together, we can identify the barriers and help you build a plan that is safe, realistic and worth repeating.
