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MPower, Fleet (2026)

03/06/2026

Lovely focus on core stability, lifting heavier stuff and slowing it down today; great work HW ladies. And possibly my favourite ever testimonial today ‘I helped my sister burgle her house at the weekend and I wouldn’t have been strong enough to climb through that window before your classes’!!

01/06/2026

We’ve had some discussions in class recently about grip strength. We know that when exercising with a heavier kettlebell or bigger dumbbells, it might be that your grip strength feels like the limiting factor in your ability to complete multiple sets. But the good news is, grip strength is absolutely trainable and is actually an often-overlooked measure of healthy ageing. Research increasingly shows that grip strength is closely linked to overall health, mobility, and independence in later life. Not only is it crucial in everyday tasks (carrying shopping, opening jars etc), strong grip strength is also associated with better bone health, improved balance, and a lower risk of falls and fractures.

Grip strength training may also help protect the brain in several important ways, particularly for women during and after menopause. When you perform strength exercises — including grip training — your muscles release chemicals called myokines. These substances travel through the bloodstream and help reduce inflammation, improve blood flow to the brain, and support the growth of new brain cells.

Grip strength itself is also considered a marker of neurological health. Studies have found that people with stronger grip strength often have better brain function, faster reaction times, and healthier nervous systems. In contrast, declining grip strength has been associated with a greater risk of dementia, frailty, and loss of independence later in life. One large study of more than 40,000 people in the United Kingdom revealed widespread associations between stronger grip strength and increased grey matter volume. That uptick in grey matter was in regions of the brain associated with better mental health. The researchers also found those with a stronger handgrip showed improvements in their brain’s ability to process things quickly.

If you want to spend a few minutes every other day or so to improve your grip strength, hand grippers are a really easy training tool to help with this, and can easily be done whilst relaxing in front of the TV of an evening! Other than that, we’ll see you in class to 'get to grips' with all the kit!

26/05/2026

☀️Wow it’s hot out there!☀️

💧We all know that hydration is important to everyone, but did you know it’s especially important when you’re navigating the menopause.

🥵During menopause, declining oestrogen and progesterone levels can affect the body’s ability to regulate fluids and temperature. Hot flushes and night sweats mean that you lose more water through sweating, and you may decide you need to drink less because you have an increased urge to go to the loo. This means many women become more prone to dehydration and potential UTI’s.

✨Common signs of dehydration during menopause include:
• Fatigue and low energy
• Brain fog or poor concentration
• Increased hot flushes/night sweats
• Dry skin, eyes, or mouth
• Joint aches
• Dizziness or headaches
• Sugar cravings

🤔And here’s the tricky part: thirst signals can become less reliable as we age, so you may already be dehydrated before you actually feel thirsty.

💡 Simple ways to stay hydrated:
✔ Keep a water bottle nearby throughout the day
✔ Add electrolytes if you sweat heavily or experience frequent hot flushes
✔ Eat water-rich foods like cucumber, watermelon, berries, and soups
✔ Reduce excess caffeine and alcohol, which can worsen dehydration
✔ Sip consistently rather than trying to “catch up” later

🫗A good goal for many women is around 2 litres of fluids daily, though your needs may vary depending on activity level, medications, and climate.

💧Hydration isn’t just about drinking water. It’s about supporting your hormones, energy, mood, skin, digestion, and overall wellbeing.

💜So go grab a drink before you scroll any further and if you have any tips for staying hydrated, let us know...

26/05/2026

What if .. you found a fitness class that you really enjoyed?
What if ... you learnt you could make gains in your strength despite your age?
What if ... you could benefit from experienced and knowledgeable instructors in a relaxed and friendly environment?

Well we've got just the thing for you. Come and be part of our MPower fitness community and join our classes run by Sarah and Hannah - two local mums and PTs qualified in peri to post menopause exercise. We're here to help you learn how to exercise for your changing hormones and to empower you to understand what kind of exercise is most helpful to mitigate the effects of menopause.

Classes are 45 mins long and suitable for any level of fitness.

We start back the week of 1 June:

Monday 9.30am, Holy Trinity Hall, Church Crookham
Monday 6.30pm, Fleet Infants School, Fleet
Monday 7.30pm, Fleet Infants School, Fleet
Wednesday 11.15am, Victoria Hall, Hartley Wintney
Wednesday 7pm, Fleet Infants School, Fleet
Friday 9.30am, Ancells Farm Community Centre, Fleet
Saturdays 9am, Fleet Infants School, Fleet

Come and join us!
Please comment below or send us a message at
[email protected] to express your interest or if you have any questions.
https://www.mpowermenopausefitness.co.uk

20/05/2026

This is a corner of my lounge! Bear with me, let me explain….

We’ve been chatting in class today about how to maintain fitness over the holidays and how to fit in extra training outside of our classes when we all have busy lives. As a single mum and owner of two businesses, I’m a big fan of making it as easy as possible for myself, so here are my top tips:

- keep stuff handy and easy to access; mine’s in my lounge so that if I have a few spare minutes, I can get something done without leaving the house. Also, the visual reminder guilt trips me into action if the sofa is beckoning! (I will enjoy the sofa after I’m done though!)

- use an app for a workout timer, so you don’t have to count reps or think about anything. I use the one in the picture; look under ‘workout timer’ on the App Store. Set up a session for yourself - my favourite is 50 secs on, 15 secs rest x 3, 45 secs on, 15 secs rest x 3, 40 secs on, 15 secs rest x 3. That totals 8 mins 45 secs - and it’s easy to find 9 minutes in your day to do something! Even when I’m really tired, I just think, 9 minutes - I can manage that! Pick three exercises and cycle through them for the 3 rounds - so each exercise for 50 secs, then 45 secs, then 40 secs. I like the diminishing period of time, as mentally that makes it easier as you get fatigued.

- if you don’t have any kit, do bodyweight exercises. You know from class that these can be super challenging all by themselves. Think tricep dips, dead bugs, glute bridges, press ups (we know you love those!) etc….

- don’t forget to warm up as necessary. Or tag it on to the end of a brisk walk or other exercise when you’re already warm.

Start with a realistic goal - can you find 9 minutes twice a week? Who is up for the challenge? We’d love to hear how you get on! Right, I’ve got 9 minutes before school pick up, so I know what I’m going to do…. 😉

12/05/2026

We are pleased to share that on the 21st May, MPower will be taking part in 'Menopause - What you need to know' in conjunction with Hartwood Health.

The evening brings together experienced professionals with practical guidance.

⭐ Dr Kirstie Bridges - GP with a specialist interest in women's health and menopause, sharing expert advice on hormones, HRT and symptom management.
⭐ Paula Wood - Registered dietician, sharing strategies to support your body through menopause.
⭐ Sarah Ayers - Personal Trainer and qualified peri to post menopause instructor, sharing why exercise is important at this stage of life and what you should be doing.

Whether you're peri, post or preparing for the future, this evening will help inform you, leaving you more confident to manage your menopause journey. 💜

Book your place using the link:
https://tickets.comus.io/hartwood-health/menopause-what-you-need-to-know/1

📍 The Lismoyne Hotel, Fleet
📅 Thursday 21st May
🕜 Doors open at 7pm, start 7.30pm
🎟️ £20 per person

Hope to see you there.

04/05/2026

Let’s talk plyometrics!

Everyone’s favourite bit of our classes, right?! 😉

So why do we do them?

💪🏾 Cardiovascular fitness - plyo moves get your heart rate up quickly. Strengthening your heart and lungs is a great way to reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure.

💪🏾 Plyometrics burn calories - most plyo exercises are total body moves recruiting lots of different muscle groups which means you burn through lots of calories. You’ll also continue to burn calories once you’re done (called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption), enjoying the benefits of a revved metabolism. Great news during menopause when our metabolic rates are declining.

💪🏾 Plyometrics strengthen bones and joints. The high-impact nature of plyo helps to increase bone density and strengthen connective tissues like tendons and ligaments. Your musculoskeletal structures have to absorb the impact of landing, and this stimulates the body to develop more structural support. This is so important in menopause, when you’re losing bone density and muscle mass due to hormonal changes. So as we like to say, the more stamping the better, as you’re producing more force which will stimulate more repair in your body, making you stronger.

💪🏾 Plyometrics are efficient! As you know from our classes, you don’t have to do much to feel the benefits!

💪🏾 Plyometrics improve coordination. We know they feel tricky sometimes, but these movements train the neuromuscular system to integrate movement patterns, which improves coordination and balance. Lighting up all those neural pathways also makes them neuro-protective which is crucial during menopause.

💪🏾 Plyometrics are fun! Well, we’ll let you decide on that one…. 😉 😊

28/04/2026

We cover lots of exercises in our MPower classes, but what’s the difference between them? Generally, they are either Compound or Isolation exercises, but what does that mean?

Compound exercises use more than one muscle group or joint at the same time. Think squats, rows, deadlifts or presses. They tend to mimic real life movements, for example, squats are like sitting down and getting up, a shoulder press is lifting something overhead etc, so are training you for everyday life now and in the future. As you’re using multiple muscle groups, you’re also improving your coordination and balance, building your strength quicker and training efficiently. Compound exercises also build your cardiovascular fitness and metabolic health because using multiple joint and muscle groups together means using more energy.

Isolation exercises are great for finetuning as they only work one muscle group or joint at a time. Think bicep curls, calf raises, lateral and front raises or leg extensions. They focus more on hypertrophy (growing the muscle), so are great if you’re looking for more muscle definition in a specific area or are looking to work a specific muscle without tiring out others. Isolation exercises are also often used for the rehabilitation of injury where the control of movement is important.

Both types of exercise have a place in an effective and balanced training program and are included in our classes to maximise the benefits for you.

21/04/2026

This week we’re going to talk about core!

Your core isn’t just your stomach muscles; it’s your abdominals, lower back, hips and pelvis. When your core is strong, it will safeguard your spine against injury, improve your balance and stability, improve posture and make you functionally fit for daily life. And for menopausal ladies, at a time where the fall in oestrogen during perimenopause causes fat accumulation to shift toward the visceral region, working your core is even more important.

Many of the exercises that you do during an MPower session are specifically designed to challenge your core in a variety of ways. And remember, menopause doesn’t have to be a slow decline, you can rebuild strength and support your body in this time of life - you just need to train the right way.

14/04/2026

We thought it might be helpful to define some of the terms we use during our classes, so you have a clearer understanding of what we’re talking about. We’re going to delve deeper into each one soon and why they are things we should be looking at as we move into perimenopause and beyond.

Strength Training (or Resistance Training) is designed to improve muscle strength, power and endurance by making the muscles work against an external resistance. This resistance can be in the form of body weight (like a press up), free weights (like dumbbells or kettlebells), resistance bands or gym machines.

Plyometrics (or Jump Training) are explosive exercises, producing powerful movements that lengthen the muscles, then quickly shorten them and are designed to increase muscle power and strength. They help to improve the engagement of our fast twitch muscle fibres.

If you're interested in finding out more, please get in touch.

MPower

03/06/2026

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