When
Thursday 6pm–7pm
An after-work one-hour small-group Exercise Physiology session.
Menopause Strength & Health · Chirnside Park
You do not have to change your body before you belong here.
A supportive after-work Exercise Physiology group for women who want to feel stronger, steadier and more confident through midlife and menopause.
Maybe your body feels different. Maybe your energy has changed. Maybe you know strength training would be useful but the thought of walking into a big gym full of mirrors and people who seem to know exactly what they are doing feels overwhelming.
You can start here exactly as you are.
Menopause Strength & Health
Thursday 6pm–7pm.
Cost
$22 casual
No gym membership required.
Environment
No mirrors
No pressure to keep up with anybody else.
When your body starts feeling unfamiliar
Knowing that strength is important does not always make it easy to start.
Midlife can bring changes in energy, strength, confidence and how comfortable you feel in your body.
You may know you should be doing resistance training but feel unsure what exercises are appropriate, how heavy to lift or where to begin.
You may also feel uncomfortable in traditional gym environments, especially if they feel focused on appearance, performance or people already knowing what they are doing.
This group is designed to give you somewhere smaller and more welcoming to start.
What might we work on?
Strength, balance, mobility and confidence.
Build strength gradually
Use resistance, weights and functional movement to build strength at a level that suits where your body is now.
Improve balance
Work on steadiness and confidence with balance activities that can be adapted to your ability.
Move more comfortably
Explore mobility and movement that supports everyday life rather than chasing a particular look or number.
Learn how to use weights
If you have avoided strength training because you were unsure what to do, this is a place to learn without feeling watched.
Feel more confident
Build confidence with movement slowly, without pressure to match the person beside you.
Connect with other women
Exercise can include conversation, laughter and getting to know women who may be navigating similar changes.
No mirrors. No pressure to keep up.
You are allowed to learn as you go.
You do not need to know how to use weights before you arrive.
You do not need to be the fittest person in the room.
You do not need to change your body before you deserve to move, build strength or feel good being there.
We can adjust the activity, slow it down, reduce the load or give you a different version.
Strength without intimidation
We can use weights without turning the room into a traditional gym.
Strength training can include dumbbells, resistance bands, bodyweight activities and movements that connect back to everyday life.
We can work on pushing, pulling, lifting, carrying, standing, balance and control.
The goal is not to make every woman follow the same program at the same intensity.
The goal is to help you become stronger and more confident from your own starting point.
It does not all have to feel serious
Strength matters, but so does enjoying your hour.
There may be weights and resistance work, but there can also be balance challenges, balls, coordination activities, reaction games and movement that makes you laugh.
I want the session to have a purpose without making that purpose the only thing you notice.
If you finish the hour feeling like you moved well, learnt something, had a conversation and enjoyed yourself, that does not mean we did less.
Connection matters too
Sometimes women are looking for more than an exercise class.
You may want to get stronger, but you may also be looking for people you feel comfortable around.
It can be surprisingly hard to make new friends in midlife, especially when work, family and caring responsibilities have taken up so much space.
This is a place where conversation is welcome.
We can exercise, laugh, talk and still get meaningful physical work done.
Who might feel comfortable here?
Especially women who do not feel at home in a traditional gym.
You are unsure where to start
You know strength would be useful but do not know which exercises, weights or movements are right for you.
Gyms feel intimidating
Mirrors, equipment and people who seem more experienced make you feel self-conscious rather than motivated.
Your body feels different
You want to work with the body you have now rather than feeling like you need to get back to an earlier version of yourself.
You want connection too
You would like movement to be something that gets you out of the house and around other women, not another task to complete alone.
Exercise Physiology support
You are not just being handed a workout.
I'm Robyn Papworth, an Accredited Exercise Physiologist.
Exercise Physiology allows us to consider your health, movement, confidence and current capacity when deciding how to approach exercise.
If you have health concerns, injuries or conditions that affect how you move, mention them when you enquire so we can decide whether the group is appropriate for you.
You are always welcome to ask questions rather than guessing what you should be doing.
Menopause Exercise Physiology in Chirnside Park
A small studio in Melbourne's outer east.
Never Too Old to Play is located at:
7 Meadowgate Drive
Chirnside Park VIC 3116
Women are welcome from Lilydale, Mooroolbark, Croydon, Kilsyth, Mount Evelyn, Montrose and surrounding Yarra Ranges and Maroondah areas.
Not sure where to start?
Not sure whether Menopause Strength & Health would suit you? Ask me.
Ask about Menopause Strength & Health
You are welcome to ask a question before deciding whether the group feels like the right place for you.
You do not have to change your body before you belong here.
Start exactly where you are. We can build from there.