Unshrinkable midlife moves - Movement, meaning + midlife magic

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For Emma Beck, running has always been about more than exercise. It’s headspace, freedom, time to herself and something that has found a place alongside work, motherhood and family life.

Emma is also someone who tends to say yes. To trying things. To experiences. To finding out what she can do rather than deciding beforehand that she can’t.

But a few years ago, something changed.

It started with things that were easy to explain away. A headache that wouldn’t quite disappear. Small changes Emma noticed while running. Nothing that suggested just how quickly life was about to shift.

What happened next challenged some of the assumptions Emma had made about herself, her health and the things we expect our bodies to keep doing.

And at the centre of it was a surprisingly simple question:

When can I run again?

In this episode of Unshrinkable Midlife Moves, we talk about what happened to Emma and what came next, a story that raises some interesting questions about how we move through life. 

About the choices we make and the ones we postpone. The difficulty of holding back when you want to push forward. What counts when you're starting again. And why sometimes you only discover what you're capable of by giving something a go.

There are also a few unexpected turns along the way, including a return to something Emma hadn’t done since her younger years and some past choices she’s now particularly glad she made.

Because perhaps “later” isn't something any of us should take for granted.

What have you been assuming you’ll get around to one day?

Follow us on Instagram: @unshrinkablemidlifemoves 

Find out more about Onika on Instagram: @lifeopenedup

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 At 69, Anne is stronger and fitter than she has ever been. But how does someone who hated PE at school end up discovering CrossFit later in life — and still be doing it 11 years later?

The answer isn’t quite what you might expect.

In this episode of Unshrinkable Midlife Moves, Anne shares the unlikely beginning of her CrossFit journey and what happened when she stopped letting “I can’t do that” have the final say.

We talk intimidating barbells, going upside down, stepping beyond the comfortable option in competition, and an unexpected moment that completely changed what Anne thought she was capable of.

Along the way, we explore:

• When “I can’t” becomes a decision, not a fact
• How you get from “absolutely not” to “I just did that”
• What changes when you stop choosing what you already know you can do
• Whether age limits us, or our expectations of it do
• Why being seen doing the unexpected can change what others believe is normal
• How staying capable keeps more of life open to us

You don’t need to be interested in CrossFit to take something from this conversation.

If you’ve ever thought I’m too old for that, I couldn’t do that or that’s not for someone like me, Anne’s story might leave you wondering what you’ve ruled out before giving yourself the chance to find out.

What could become possible if “I can’t” wasn’t the end of the conversation? 

Connect with Anne: @crossfitover60

Follow us on Instagram: @unshrinkablemidlifemoves 

Find out more about Onika on Instagram: @lifeopenedup

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In this season finale, I'm pulling together the highlights and hard-won lessons from twelve conversations with women who broke records, ran ultras, completed an Ironman at 51, took up roller skating, learned to skateboard at 40, and rebuilt confidence after illness, all while navigating the very real demands of midlife.

What I found wasn't about peak performance or turning back the clock. It was about seven things midlife women stop waiting for. And what becomes possible the moment they do.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why confidence is a result, not a requirement 
• The power of visualisation and chunking down to tackle anything that feels too big
• Why the community you're looking for is hiding in plain sight 
• How to stop measuring yourself against who you were at 25 and start building forward
• Why being a beginner is not a phase to get through

Featuring twelve women in midlife who stopped waiting and found out what they were capable of.

If you keep telling yourself you'll start when things calm down, when you feel more ready, when you've got someone to go with, this episode is for you.

Follow on Instagram @unshrinkablemidlifemoves 

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 Donna McConnell came to cycling late. To triathlon late. To the version of herself that would complete an Ironman, late. And she'll be the first to tell you that none of that was a disadvantage. 

She found her tribe in her 50s. Completed an Ironman. Ran the London Marathon. And came back from all of it not just fitter,but fundamentally different. Bolder. Clearer. Less willing to accept the ceiling she'd quietly been living under.

At 57 she's still racing, still building, and completely uninterested in the idea that this is the age you start winding down.

In this conversation Donna talks about the mental game behind endurance sport, what 500 miles through the Scottish Highlands does to your relationship with fear, and why perimenopause and peak performance aren't the opposites the fitness world would have you believe.

In this episode you'll discover:

• Why visualising enjoying a race, not just finishing it changes everything about how you show up
• What 500 miles through the Scottish Highlands taught her about fear that years of training couldn't
• How completing an Ironman changed what she thought she deserved in sport and in life
• Why perimenopause and peak athletic performance aren't opposites and why the timing of her Ironman mattered more than she expected
• What women over 40 are doing in elite endurance sport that nobody's talking about enough

This is a conversation for anyone who has ever wondered whether they've left it too late, set the ceiling too low, or talked themselves out of something before they even started.

Connect with Donna: @the_ironempress

Follow us on Instagram: @unshrinkablemidlifemoves 

Find out more about Onika on Instagram: @lifeopenedup

The Grit and Grace Games — 12th September 2026, Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London. www.gritandgracegames.com

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She Thought She'd Peaked at 16. Then She Broke a National Record at 48.

Most of us quietly accept that our best athletic years are behind us. Emily accepted it too for about thirty years. Then she didn't.

Emily came to triple jump the way nobody comes to triple jump as a 46-year-old with zero experience, a decades-old gymnastics background, and a competitive streak she'd been accidentally unleashing on the wrong areas of her life. Within two years she'd broken the Scottish national record and competed at European Championships.

But this conversation goes deeper than athletics.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why masters athletics might be the best kept secret in midlife fitness
• Why sprinting, not marathons could be the most powerful thing women over 40 can do for their bodies
• How to find a coach who knows the difference between pushing an older athlete and breaking one
• What really happens when you stop being the supporter of everyone else's ambitions and start pursuing your own
• Why the guilt of going after something for yourself is worth pushing through

We also get into what it does to a teenage boy when his mum walks out onto a world class stage and competes. And the question that sits underneath all of it, what are we actually capable of, and have we ever really tested it?

If you've ever suspected there's a version of yourself you haven't met yet, this episode is for you.

Connect with Emily: @pinkhouseliving 

Follow us on Instagram: @unshrinkablemidlifemoves 

Find out more about Onika on Instagram: @lifeopenedup

The Grit and Grace Games — 12th September 2026, Crystal Palace, London. www.gritandgracegames.com

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What happens when a 52 year old woman with a hidden disability rediscovers roller skating after more than 35 years away from it?

In this powerful and intriguing conversation, Fiona shares how roller skating became far more than a hobby. After years of chronic foot issues, surgery and limited movement, skating helped her reconnect with freedom, confidence, community and herself.

From skating through South London parks to learning alongside younger skaters, Fiona opens up about navigating movement with an invisible disability, the realities of menopause, fear, identity, ageing and what it means to find the thng that makes you come alive..

This episode explores:

• Returning to roller skating again in your 50s
• Living and moving with a hidden disability
• Menopause, confidence and identity shifts
• Finding spaces where you can fully be yourself
• How skating became both escape and empowerment

 Honest, funny, raw and uplifting, Fiona shares a side of midlife movement that rarely gets talked about, one built around resilience, adaptation, joy, music, community and finding new ways to feel alive again. 

Follow us on Instagram: @unshrinkablemidlifemoves 

Find out more about Onika on Instagram: @lifeopenedup

The Grit and Grace Games — 12th September 2026, Crystal Palace National SPorts Centre, London. www.gritandgracegames.com

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In this episode of Unshrinkable Midlife Moves, I’m joined by therapeutic ski coach  and instructor, Sarah Gilbertson to explore what it really means to start or return to skiing in midlife.

From skiing after 40 and rebuilding confidence on the slopes, to navigating fear, fitness, injury and menopause, Sarah shares how you can become confident and why midlife women deserve to take up space on the slopes.

In this episode you'll learn:

•  why skiing can feel different in midlife 
•  about the role of the nervous system when skiing
•  the stereotypes women face in skiing after 40 and how to tackle it
•  how fitness, balance and strength can transform your skiing experience 
•  the importance finding the right people to ski with 

Whether you ski, dream of learning, or simply want inspiration to reconnect with movement and challenge yourself again, this episode is filled with insight, and encouragement. This conversation is for you.

Find out more about Sarah at www.flourishwell.coach

Follow the podcast on Instagram:  @unshrinkablemidlfemoves

Find out more about Onika on Instagram: @lifeopenedup

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What happens when the woman who once completed Ironmans suddenly no longer recognises herself? 

In this open, honest and inspiring episode, physiotherapist Charlotte Barton shares her journey of menopause, injury, weight gain and rebuilding her confidence through movement, strength training and Hyrox.

From Ironman racing to pelvic health, muscle, longevity and the realities of starting again in your 50s, Charlotte combines expert insight with lived experience in a conversation that will challenge the way you think about ageing.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The truth about muscle, menopause and longevity
• Simple ways to reduce injury risk as we move and age
• Why recovery, mobility and pelvic floor health matter more in midlife
• Charlotte’s  experience using Mounjaro as part of her lifestyle change

Whether you’re starting again, rebuilding after a setback, or simply looking for inspiration to move your body differently, this conversation will leave you feeling empowered to rethink what’s possible in midlife. 

Visit Charlotte's Website www.thelionclinic.com

Follow Charlotte on Instagram at  menopausephysio.triroxmum

Follow the podcast on Instagram:  @unshrinkablemidlfemoves

Find out more about Onika on Instagram: @lifeopenedup

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"Sometimes I can't even run to the start line, now 50 miles is normal."

What happens when a woman who once preferred sitting indoors in the dark becomes someone who runs through storms, mud, and 15-hour races—sometimes barely able to see?

In this raw and unexpectedly funny episode, Lornette Valentine shares how a post lockdown moment, a treadmill fall, and a quiet decision to try something new sparked a complete identity shift in midlife.

Fast forward just a few years and she’s calling herself an ultra runner after completing 50Ks, 30-milers, and a brutal 50-mile coastal race in the middle of a storm where she went partially blind, was knee deep in mud, nearly slipped off a cliff and still finished.

This isn’t about being fearless. It’s about just getting to the next aid station.

Inside this episode, we talk about:

•  The real mindset of endurance,the power of the next aid station
•  Why even ultra runners start races thinking, “how am I going to do this?”
•  The power of music, community, and messing around in the woods with your mates
•  How Lornette went from I don’t even like running to not being able to imagine life without it 
•  Training lessons, doing less, trusting the process, and getting stronger in midlife 
•  The identity shift that impacts everything from family life to confidence to what feels possible 

Lornette’s story is proof that you don’t need to feel ready, confident, or even capable to begin, because five years ago, this wasn’t her life.

And now?  She’s the woman who signs up for races without even knowing the route.

If you’ve ever thought, I could never run 50 miles, this episode might just change your mind.

Find out more about Lornette at @lornette_valentine

Find out more about Lornette's restuarant, Maison @maisonfarnham

Follow the podcast on Instagram:  @unshrinkablemidlfemoves

Find out more about Onika on Instagram: @lifeopenedup

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What if the thing that scares you most is the very thing that brings you back to life?

In this episode, Milly Manley shares how, at 40, she stepped into something she never thought was for her, skateboarding and found far more than just a new hobby.

From panic and self-doubt, to freedom, joy, and unexpected sisterhood, this is a story about stepping out of your old identity and creating a new one.

You’ll hear how an everyday item led to a powerful practice of being present, letting go of expectations, and reconnecting with fun.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

•  Why you don’t have to be good at something to truly enjoy it 
•  How to experience joy alongside fear, not after it disappears 
•  The unexpected power of beginner spaces and female community 
•  Why midlife might be the perfect time to try something ridiculous 
•  How movement can become less about fitness and more about freedom 

If you’ve ever told yourself that’s not for me, This conversation might just change your mind.

Because sometimes, the most powerful thing you can do is get on the board while you’re still scared.

Find out more about Milly at @MillyManley

Follow the podcast on Instagram:  @unshrinkablemidlfemoves

Find out more about Onika on Instagram: @lifeopenedup