Tej’s 2025 Exercise and Skincare Routine
Are you ready for 2025? If you feel physically and mentally bloated after the festive season, let’s get back on track. Last year, Tej shared the latest post-40 fitness research (resistance training rejuvenates ageing skin even more than cardio). This year, she shares inspirational muscle-building tips for a stronger, healthier second half.
Why building muscle is vital for peri/post-menopausal women.
Building muscle gets harder as you go through the menopausal journey, so start early – you’ll need it to get out of a chair when you’re eighty! When hormones are low, you lose bone and muscle mass, affecting your core (back, pelvic floor – think bladder control!); even if you do the same amount of exercise, your muscles will be less toned.
It’s not about getting the perfect honed body anymore. Strong muscles keep blood sugar and belly fat low, help regulate hot flushes, and improve bone strength (osteoporosis is not inevitable). It’s about creating muscle to hold you up for the rest of your life.
Exercise can be challenging when hormones change.
Don’t blame yourself if you lack motivation – blame hormones. Exercise is no fun when you feel low, tired, overweight, self-conscious in lycra and achy (muscle aches and joint pains are common in perimenopause exercisers low in anti-inflammatory hormones). No wonder the post-exercise dopamine hit proves elusive – we even need hormones to help our brain function.
Tej’s 2025 Exercise Routine
Hopefully, my exercise routine will get you building!
PT Training
“My routine consists of strength and conditioning exercises with PT trainer Tom Rogers. Building muscle is very important for postmenopausal women – it’s not just a man thing.
Aged 56, I don’t have any joint aches and pains, even with the heavy lifting I do. I’ve been training with Tom once a week for almost two years, a mixture of weights with cardio exercise. Even though I may be exhausted afterwards, I feel stronger and fitter—my rep best is 60kg back squat, 40kg bench press and 85kg deadlift. My current goal is to be able to do a pull-up (lifting my body weight with my chin up above the bar) before my next birthday”.
Pilates
“I also do pilates at Stourbridge Pilates Rooms twice weekly to strengthen my core. Having had all of my three children with C-sections and then a hysterectomy in 2013 left me with weak stomach muscles. In my early 50s, I developed a tight piriformis issue, a dull ache in the right buttock, which went down the back of my thigh and leg. I could feel it when going up and down stairs, too. A physio told me that my weak core was putting my back out of line, so my right side was getting tight. Pilates has helped strengthen my core and balance my body so my back does not go out of line, combined with building stronger muscles through weight training. These two exercises work really well together, and I highly recommend it. I have not had any joint or aches since in my glutes.”
Mental health
“I also keep fit for mental health reasons. I switch off my mind from all the thoughts in my head and focus on what I must do during my PT or pilates session. I enjoy the company of the people around me and always leave physically and mentally energised. too.”
Consistency is key
“I didn’t do any exercise before I was 40. I went to gyms and boot camps and played sports; then, I got into weight training. Over time, I’ve built my strength and become fitter and stronger. Consistency is key
People say, ‘I want to lose a bit of weight before I go to the gym.’ Your size or shape doesn’t matter; you just have to start. Over time, you’ll improve.
And it’s the same for skincare. It’s not about a miracle product but a consistent routine: cleansing, moisturising, using serum, and enzyming. That is how, over the years, I get compliments that I look good. It’s lovely, but it’s down to consistency.”
Post Exercise Skincare Routine
Skin during perimenopause
“About 40% of women will get peri and postmenopausal skin symptoms – mainly dry, itchy skin – due to oestrogen deficiency. Oestrogen stimulates the body’s moisturising factors (a built-in moisturiser) to keep skin supple and healthy, including chemicals and fats such as ceramides, sebum, and Hyaluronic acid. When oestrogen levels drop, our natural moisturising factors drop: water evaporates, and skin starts feeling drier and itchy.”
So, if you are a runner, I recommend OM ointment, nicknamed the Overcoat, for extra skin barrier protection from the cold. Your skin needs a coat, too!”
Post-exercise skincare
“My training session is normally in the mornings, so I freshen my face with water and apply my moisturiser. After my workout, I do my full cleanse, serum and moisturising routine with Dermaviduals. I always do a double cleanse with the DMS cleansing milk – first, to remove the sweat (sweat sitting on the skin can make it even drier) and second, to cleanse my skin, which increases circulation and delivers nutrients to the cells.
If you would like to talk to us about your skin concern, email us we’d be happy to help.
