I've had new followers this week. Thank you @damekellyholmes & @midlife.reallife for supporting. You are wonderful human beings. So Hi! 👋🏽 I'm Jane & I'm a Sports science/Management trained fitness/pilates & all round Womens health specialist. I've spent my life - that's 57years, studying & researching how those of us born with a womb benefit from moving. I've discovered that our movement is very much tied to our evolution & history as well as modern science & medicine thats literally changing every day - I'm getting good at letting go of old values & discovering new ones - it's a great place to be. Why is it constantly changing? Up until very recently most research was done on men. So I do know a lot about you too! What's fascinating is discovering differences & being able to genuinely help people with it. It's important to know how much women have been under sold & misinterpreted. This helps us understand & overcome - it's a super power!
I'm here to help you look through a life lens & whilst it's good to be really present in the here & now, we need to stop focusing on short term goals & looking far more forward to how we want to be in the future. Whatever life stage you are at, what you did 2,5,10, 20,30+ years ago matters & understanding your health fitness from that perspective enables you to look forward to a future that's open & empowering.
This reel tells you a little more about me. I'm a single mum of two beautiful humans aged 16 & 21, I buy myself flowers every week! 🙋🏻♀️💐. I love the sea, sand & dancing, I talk a lot 😁 & through that try to explain stuff that's hard to understand. That's as far as I got with matching pics to Miley's words! I lost my mum in 2025 💔😢, have 2 big sisters, 3 nieces & I'm surrounded by many amazing women & men, too numerous to get in this vid. I attempt to paddle & surf, I lift metal, run, love food & cooking. I teach movement in London, W Sussex, 2 stunning retreats in Spain & online which works well for me as I've had a big career in TV as well as sport & fitness. I love, trees flowers, sun, snow, candles, cats & I'm particularly in love with understanding your feet & pelvis! Please come in & say hi 👋🏽
In case you are new here...
Hi! I'm Jane!
And I call myself the Mother of All Fitness. I have specialised in female health and fitness since doing my Masters degree over 30 years ago where I researched into the provision (or lack) of exercise for women. I have a hosts of qualifications and have worked on numerous campaigns to make exercise more accessible to women. There are a few key things I've learnt along the way...
1. Women suffer with incontinence, even more than the statistic show (1 in 3) and it greatly affects us being able to move, which is why I've developed my unique Pelvic Floor Power Programme so you can exercise however you like and not have to worry about your pelvic floor.
2. Strength training is VITAL for all women but many of us fear it or don't know how to get started, which is why I developed My women's Strength Training programme.
3. Women who exercise during pregnancy and post the very early post natal period do better - but most of us have concerns as to what's best for us - which is why I have developed my Powerful Pregnancy and beyond programmes
4. When we are peri to post menopausal - we experience things very differently which is why I don't do menopause programmes but I do offer individual programming & mentoring so that you can tap into my services and we can together find the best individual programme for you.
5. Many of us really struggle to find the motivation and time to exercise which is why I provide a wide range of different types of training so that there is always something to suit you.
- On Demand Express - short workouts 10-20 minutes, including Wall Pilates (As seen on Lorraine ITV). Do any time
- On demand Ultimate - longer workouts . Do any time
- The Sunrise sessions - live online workouts curated for each person who attends so if you have specific issues - I can help you.
- My You tube channel where all my workouts are completely free because some of us need that right now.
Want to know more? I offer free 1 to 1 chats where you get 10 mins to talk and we work out your movement strategy! Comment CHAT below and let's get you set up. The chat is free & unconditional. I love helping women thrive ❤️
I’ve been moving for a very long time & in multiple different ways. I’ve moved through trends, fads, guidelines , campaigns, research pointing in different directions, 5K’s 10k’s half & full marathons. I’ve climbed, scrambled & walked up mountains, dabbled in yoga, martial arts Tai Chi - even moving with Tai Chi Masters in Ritan Park in Beijing. I have lived, worked and breathed in so many gyms that I have had periods where I literally have been allergic to them! Always favouring the outdoors and finally now living near a beach where I’d rather do press ups in the sand than pick up sand bags off the gym floor. But, of all the movement I have ever done - it’s the movement of body and mind I experience on my retreats that matters to me more than anything. As much as I know what moves me most, I also know what moves a community and it’s got nothing to do with anything I’ve listed above. That’s because what drives us, is not the exercise itself, it’s the connection, belief, trust, support and feeling at one with everything around you that counts the most. That’s why I created my retreats . If you’d like to come and join me, I have 2 rooms left on my Retreat this July 4-7th in Andalusia, Spain. I’m joined by the wonderful @rosiejnixon and a group of beautiful women who I can’t wait to meet. If this resonates, if you think you should be here, then I do believe there’s a spot with your name on it. Comment retreat and let’s chat.
Explaining this to a client today, hence reposting this. This is also at our beautiful retreat venue Finca El Cerrillo in Southern Spain, 4-7th July and we have just 2 rooms left! Comment RETREAT if you fancy joining me!
By using a quad stretch in this way you are getting so much more for all your time and effort. Rather than straining to ram your leg into a quad stretch (use a towel/band/yoga strap if you find it difficult to reach), use some gentle movements and focus on the back of the hip (the pelvic wall) as well as the front thigh. What’s even more brilliant about this is that it’s ordinarily really hard to stretch this area with out assistance. This helps you to target deep hip rotators that are often over tight due to stress or weakness elsewhere as they cling on to try & stabilise things - this can cause pain. So this is a great way to seek release from this. This stretch also makes you completely self sufficient and this is important as it means you can a) do this any time, any where - multiple opportunities mean greater consistency - this is what wins. B) get to understand how your body works - use the following guide ...
1. Focus on the ball and socket joint of your hip. Move your foot in and out, visualising & feeling the rotation in your hip - imagine you’re rolling your thigh like a rolling pin, pressing the thigh into the ground.
2. After rolling, hold your foot out to the side, press the opposite hip into the floor to take your tailbone away from your sit bone/thigh bone.
3. Focus on a feeling of openness and space between the tail bone and hip - breathe into the space - this is also great for the pelvic floor. Try to feel it open more on your inhale and relax & release on your exhale.
4. Hold foot centrally to stretch front thigh - push same side hip into the floor, gently pushing your knee cap to the wall behind you - visualise your thigh sliding down your mat
5. Feel your glute shorten and contract as your front thigh lengthens.
6. Continue with both stretches until you feel deep release.
7. Check out other post for how to strengthen/stabilise hips to help prevent excessive, deep hip tightness.
Let’s talk about VARIATION. One of the key findings from the recent ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) review was that appropriate load, frequency & consistency of resistance training mattered more for strength gains then the number of reps or different types/protocols, fancy training hacks or Guru led plans. Well the last two are more my observation! 🙋🏻♀️ but, if you follow the latest science my observation is correct 😁. Another clear message is that the old idea of 3-5 sets of an exercise to gain more muscle hypertrophy & strength is not always necessary. Your first set is where you gain most & with any subsequent sets there are diminishing returns. This doesn’t make them useless, just means that doing shorter workouts of 1-2 sets or longer ones where you add variety pays off. I have had huge success with this approach with clients who struggle to do 1 hr sessions - they simply didn’t have the time. Doing 3 x 25-45 minute sessions per week however has got them back on track & more quickly than 1-2 x longer sessions. By switching the exercises up, you vary the muscle fibre recruited. This means a greater volume of muscle fibre is recruited over all, leading to greater gains. So rather than doing 3-4 sets of same exercise, think of doing 1-2 sets varying the exercise e.g set 1 narrow squat,
set 2 goblet squat,
Set 1 deadlift
Set 2 glute bridge.
Here I’m utilising an assisted chin up/dip machine & yes folks, it’s ok to use one of these! You do not have to chin up over a bar to see gains. We’re all a work in progress.
Here I alternated through 4 different exercises doing each one twice…
1. Wide grip dip (more chest, less tricep)
2. Wide grip pull up (more lats, less rhomboids, bicep)
3. Narrow grip dips (more tricep, less chest)
4. Narrow grip pull ups (more bicep)
No machine/gym? Do the same using wide/narrow press ups & wide lat-pull down (use a band) & single arm row.
This is not new, body builders have done it for decades. I learnt a lot from watching them in ma youth!
Want more help with your training? Join one of my strength programmes where you get individual help from me . Comment STRONG for info.
Blimey - went big on this one ! Sorry it’s a bit late - please go to JANEWAKE.SUBSTACK.COM to read. You’ll need a coffee or something strong to hand. I analyse the research on Body composition but also look at the effect it’s having more globally on issues around body image - I’m not too happy with the health and diet industries so far but there is a wonderful beacon of hope. Comment GLP-1 if you’d like the link sent to your inbox.
Many moons ago I was a coach for the London Marathon and it was my job to help get quite a few celebs, including a few sporting heroes, across the line. Some I’d trained for months, others I’d met on the day - some of whom had done little or no training! The message - you’ve showed up, you’re here, you’ve raised so much money for charity and you are doing it. You’ve already won. It doesn’t matter if you walk the entire way - the crowd will lift you. This will be one of the best experiences of your life. Honestly there is nothing that compares to the London Marathon, Good luck everyone and enjoy!
And don’t go off too fast!
And don’t skip the water stations!
You are my hero ! ❤️💪🏼👊🏼🔥
Are you taking them? Are you thinking about taking them? Are you a trainer/health professional/medical practitioner prescribing them ? You’ll need to read this. Out on my substack tomorrow. You can subscribe now by going to /@janewake and get it as it drops or comment GLP below and I’ll get a link to you via your DM’s
Of you’d like more help from me. I have a number of programmes designed to work with individual nuances so that the programme fits you and not the other way around. Head to links on my insta page for more or go check out janewake.com
The research does not say that grip strength alone specifically lowers risk of disease. It very importantly states the importance of strength as a marker for reduced risk. So please don’t go thinking you’ve gotta dead hang for 2 mins to reduce risk and nothing else will work! What’s brilliant is that this research is able to analyse a huge number of studies and it also looks at a 5 repetition chair stand test which is important as this is comparing lower body strength and shows this as a good indicator as well. Important to note that there is not so much research on this, probably because many older adults will simply fail this test as it’s too hard for them to do 🙁. However both are valid and if you are a doctor or a personal trainer/health professional , they can be used as a way to analyse current ability and then work on improving outcomes over a period of time , ie after training. The study recommends re testing at a minimum 3 month interval. These are easy to use and useful measures.
What were the improved markers?
Grip strength ⬆️ lowered risk of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus, musculoskeletal impairment, disability, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, dementia and Parkinson’s disease
5 Rep Chair stand ⬆️lower risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus, musculoskeletal impairment, disability, depression and dementia.
Note much lower levels of data on Chair stand test and authors state more research needed on the relationship of strength to health outcomes . For example no correlation found between strength and cancer - we need more data.
Ref: /content/60/6/465
I’ve written a new article on substack. Bringing you the truth of what’s happening in the real world and what we can do about it. Do go look. Link in my bio or simply head to JANEWAKE.SUBSTACK.COM
I'm so excited for our retreat this July. From 4-7th I will be welcoming some gorgeous women to Finca el Cerrillo in the Andalusian mountain ranges of Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama, Southern Spain. The Finca is a small boutique hotel, surrounded by beautiful gardens, each room is designed in a traditional spanish feel, there's lots of quiet spaces to sit in the shade & read a book or you can gather and chat with others in the sun around the pool. 3 years ago the then owners surprised me when I arrived, announcing "We've built you a yoga deck!" So now we can do classes looking out over palms and over hills, the sun dappling through the shades with a beautiful mountain breeze to cool you down.
Early mornings are spent exploring the mountains, walking ancient paths that are full of history and that speak of a culture and lifestyle, very much like the coveted blue zones where people move and eat and live and thrive into their 100's. Whilst your heart rate increases as you climb a mountain, your body relaxes into an energy that is simply willing you to slow down! Late afternoons, when the heat is dissipating it's time to release tired muscles from your early morning walks. There are classes to suit all levels including relaxation and meditation as well as my dynamic Pilates Flow. The rest of the time is yours. This is what makes our retreats work so well. You'll find there's plenty of time in the day to get that space we so often crave.
Apart from when we are gathering to eat sumptuous, local foods and, if you fancy it, locally produced wine. As this is our slightly larger venue, I also like to invite a guest and this year I'm so excited to announce that @rosiejnixon will be joining me. Rosie is a retreat aficionado, having successfully run her Rosie's Reinvention Retreats and as a celebrated author, editor, journalist and life coach, will be running a journaling workshop during our trip. We have just 4 rooms left and if this appeals to you, I'd urge you to bagsy your spot now! Comment RETREAT below and I'll forward the details onto you. This is a unique experience, one you don't want to miss!
