It’s Hannah! Proving age is no barrier to following your dreams……

WHY WE MOVE – EPISODE 12**

In her own words, Hannah started exercising regularly when she was 40 and now wants to help other people do the same. She was always last at PE and hated exercise but now loves it. She has no shame in jumping up and down squealing when people think they can’t get through their final reps or lift a heavier weight and then they do.

During lockdown she has been at the very heart of the community drive to move and support one another.  She has led her neighbours on a daily basis in a short exercise and stretching session and has lifted spirits and kept so many of her more elderly neighbours active.*

Q.1 What do you define as ‘joyful movement’?

Joyful movement is anything I want to do that day – it might be yoga, it might be getting sweaty, it might be jumping in the sea. During lockdown I’ve really felt the joy. Every morning at 11am I go out and do a gentle exercise session for my neighbours, some of whom are elderly. Even if I’m in a sad mood when I start, 20 minutes later I feel great after a stretch and a chat – we all do.

Q.2 What is your earliest memory of moving for fun and pure joy? 

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Dancing to Ian Dury’s Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick at a party when I was 5, up late past my bedtime 

 

Q.3 Do you feel you listen to your body as far as movement is concerned or do you follow a specific programme or schedule? 

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I used to follow a schedule, but now I wake up and move however I feel on the day. And if I don’t feel like moving, I don’t. More often than not I do! I alternate between yoga, pilates, sweaty HIIT, weights, whatever I fancy. 

 

Q.4 If exercise had ZERO impact on how your body looks, would your exercise choices be different? 

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No – they’d be exactly the same. I work out for how it makes me feel, not how it makes me look. If I look different because if it, that’s a bonus. 

Q.5 Why do you move?  (What motivates you and how does movement make you feel?) 

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Moving makes me feel giddy. I didn’t exercise regularly until I was 40, but now I don’t like to go a day without it and I qualified as a PT at 47 because I want to help other people love fitness. Women of my age were bombarded with messages about toning up, getting a flat stomach and losing 7lbs in 7 days. I’m ashamed to say when I worked on women’s magazines I had to perpetuate all that too. I always knew it was wrong. I do enjoy getting stronger, having more stamina and being able to do things I couldn’t, but I move for my mental wellbeing. 

 

 

*Find Hannah on Insta: @everybody2020; Facebook: facebook.com/everybodyfitnesstraining 

**This is part 12 of my ‘Why We Move’ series! This is a series of interviews with a range of female trainers who believe in a non appearance based and weight neutral approach to fitness.

                                                                ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ .