How to rest like an absolute queen (& why it matters in midlife)

Today we're talking about REST and why you should be doing more of it.

As we ride through perimenopause and menopause, our hormones might be doing an absolute number on us midlife slags, but it’s the lack of rest that really finishes us off.

As oestrogen and progesterone decline in perimenopause, our ability to repair and recover drops. Oestrogen helps us build muscle and manage inflammation. Progesterone keeps us calm and supports sleep. When both start tanking, our nervous system becomes as jumpy as Vic after one too many coffees, our sleep goes to shit, and recovery from any over-exertion just takes longer. Rest stops being a luxury and becomes non-negotiable.

Around sixty per cent of women experience sleep interruptions during peri- and post-menopause. Hot flushes, night sweats, anxiety, all the embarrassing things you've ever done in your life flashing through your brain, you name it. Being exhausted makes things like forming a new exercise routine in your busy life pretty fking tricky.

And if you're already a dedicated FitBtch (or gym-loving MFer) and you’re constantly tired but still pushing yourself to hammer every session, the sorry truth is that isn’t discipline, it’s running on fumes.

Planned rest is SO powerful. It gives you your oomph back. And recovery isn’t falling off the exercise wagon at all, it’s actually part of the plan.

At FitBtch, we work out to save our sanity, calm our overworked brains and look buff AF, so we're more inclined to do it every day. And if you're like us, just know that you can train back-to-back, every day of the week if you need to, just don’t smash the same muscle groups each time. Mix it up with upper and lower body, or rotate strength and conditioning.

And if you're a newbie to exercise and it doesn't come naturally or it's more of a 'want' than a 'need' for you, we give you permission to rest as long as you need to between sessions, to give your muscles time to repair (and thus build) as well as feeling rested enough to tackle another session. When you're working effectively with our exercises, you don't need to do hours in the gym, simple as.

But all rest isn't created equal. There are two types - active and passive.

Active rest means walking, mobility, yoga, or anything that moves you gently and calms your nervous system. Passive rest means luxuriating in baths, a massage, or simply lying down and doing sweeeeeet FA. Yes, that counts.

The most passive rest of all is of course your biggest recovery tool. Sleep. Miss it or have a diabolically shit one and your mood, hunger, recovery and performance all take a hit.

Some simple tips from us then: keep your sleep hygiene basic. Make your room cool and dark because melatonin (the sleep hormone) needs darkness to kick in. Have a wind-down routine that feels even a little like self-care and doesn’t involve doomscrolling your phone. Read, stretch, breathe, reflect on your day and aim for an earlier bedtime. The hours before midnight count most.

As we all navigate through our late 30s, early 40s and beyond, we don’t necessarily need to train harder to stave off old age decrepitude. But you do need to recover smarter like the wise old(er) slag that you now are. Muscles grow when you rest, not when you’re wrecked.

So if you’re constantly exhausted and not seeing any results in your fitness or strength, no matter what level you are, the problem won't be your willpower. It’s your recovery. Start treating rest as a key part of your overall midlife wellness and fitness plan, not a reward.