My Coaching Philosophy

The 40+ Female Coaching Collective

My coaching philosophy is built around one fundamental belief: women over 40 are not supposed to slow down and fade into the background. We are supposed to be fit, fierce & fantastic.

I am passionate about helping women in their 40s, 50s and beyond become stronger, fitter, more capable and more confident than they have ever been. My own experience with HYROX has had a huge influence on this philosophy. HYROX-style training has helped shape me into one of the fittest and strongest versions of myself. It has challenged me physically, mentally and emotionally, but it has also given me something equally important: community. HYROX is not just a sport. It is an environment where people train together, suffer together, encourage each other and celebrate what their bodies can do. It creates accountability, connection and a reason to keep showing up. That is exactly what I want to create for the women I coach.

This is a big shift for me, coming from a hugely endurance based background having done Ironman and marathons. But the endurance, long hours grinding the fitness and fat off just doesn’t’ work when a woman’s body moves into her 40’s; no matter how fit you think you are! The insides of us are changing. So I feel blessed that HYROX and fitness racing has blossomed right at the time when I needed to change from my beloved long ride on Saturday ad long run Sunday to more weight based, higher intensity workouts. My body shapeed us faster than I have even seen, meanwhile my running at distance actually got faster too. I knew I was on to something and had to share the secret with other women.

The 40+ Female Coaching Collective is not about helping women become smaller, quieter or more accepting of decline. It is about helping women become fit fierce & fantastic. My role as a coach is to help women understand that getting older does not mean becoming less capable. It means understanding your body, adapting your approach and deliberately building the strongest version of yourself for the stage of life you are in. And using that new found rage to good use!

Core Beliefs and Values

One of the most important beliefs behind my coaching is that women are not broken. I see many women over 40 arrive at coaching believing that something is wrong with them. Their weight has changed, their energy has changed, their recovery has changed, their sleep has changed and their hormones have changed, so they assume their bodies have somehow failed them. I don't believe that. Their body hasn't failed them. Simply their strategy needs to change.

Perimenopause and menopause are real, and I believe it is important to acknowledge the physiological and psychological changes that can occur during this stage of life. However, I don't want peri-menopause to become an identity, and I certainly don't want it to become an excuse for a woman to stop being the best version of herself. There is a huge difference between acknowledging that something is harder and deciding that therefore you cannot do it. My coaching sits firmly in that space. I want women to understand what is happening in their bodies, make intelligent adjustments and continue to pursue ambitious goals.

I also believe that the reasons women give for putting themselves last are often completely valid. Careers are demanding. Children need us. Businesses need us. Relationships need attention. Ageing parents may require more support. Life can be incredibly busy. I don't dismiss any of that. What I challenge is the idea that these responsibilities mean a woman has to put herself last; abandon herself.

You are allowed to put yourself on the list.

In fact, I believe you need to. Looking after yourself isn't selfish. Building your physical and mental capacity gives you more energy, resilience and confidence to show up for the people and things that matter to you. My goal is not to create a life where there are no obstacles. My goal is to help women become the kind of women who can navigate those obstacles without continually abandoning themselves.

I also don't believe we should be chasing youth, despite it’s desperate lure. I don't want a 50-year-old woman trying desperately to become the 30-year-old version of herself again. I want her to become the strongest, fittest and most capable 50-year-old woman she can be. I want her to run, lift, carry, jump, race, travel, hike, play and compete. I want her to feel capable in her body and excited about what it can still do. And let’s put this in writing too - I fully support anti-aging products and doing whatever you like to your skin to help you feel how you want. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of tox and a good peptide.

My Coaching Approach

HYROX-style training is a major part of my coaching approach because I believe it is one of the most effective ways to develop all-round fitness, especially for women 40+. The combination of running, strength, functional movements, conditioning and intervals creates a body that is not simply aesthetically fit, but genuinely capable. You don't have to be preparing for a HYROX competition to benefit from HYROX-style training. It provides a fantastic framework for developing cardiovascular fitness, strength, muscular endurance, power and resilience.

This approach is particularly relevant for women over 40 because I want them to train for what they want their bodies to be able to do, rather than simply training to burn calories. I want them to build muscle, maintain strength, improve cardiovascular health and develop the confidence that comes from doing physically challenging things. Training should have purpose. It should make women feel capable rather than punished.

HYROX has also shaped my belief that community is part of the programme. One of the things I love most about the sport is the way people train together, encourage each other and celebrate each other's achievements. You can be working incredibly hard while still feeling supported. You see people at different levels pushing themselves and realise that everyone is struggling with something, yet everyone keeps moving. That environment is incredibly powerful.

I want the 40+ Female Coaching Collective to create that same sense of belonging. My athletes have a coach in their corner, a plan to follow, accountability and a community of women who understand the particular challenges of this stage of life. They don't have to do it alone. They do, however, have to make the decision that they are worth showing up for.

My coaching also extends beyond the physical training. Mindset is a huge part of my approach because I believe the stories we tell ourselves can become some of the biggest limitations we face. Women arrive saying things like, "I'm too old to start this", "I'm not fit enough", "I hate running", "I don't have the time because (insert child/work/husband/friends name) has to be (insert important thing)", "I’m too tired" or "I’m too fat". I don't simply accept those statements as facts. I challenge them.

That doesn't mean ignoring reality. It means separating a genuine limitation from a belief that has never been properly tested. I use questioning, reflection, accountability and goal setting to help clients develop greater self-awareness and ownership. I don't want clients to become dependent on me for every decision. I want them to learn how to make good decisions for themselves.

Goals and Objectives

My primary goal is to create fit, strong, confident women who take ownership of their health and performance. For some clients that will mean completing their first HYROX or hybrid fitness event at a gym. For others it might mean improving their race time, moving from Open to Pro, becoming stronger, losing body fat, building muscle or simply discovering what their mind and body is capable of.

Success is not measured by a number on the scales or a finishing time alone. I look at improvements in strength, cardiovascular fitness, consistency, nutrition, recovery, sleep, confidence and resilience. I also look at how a woman responds when things don't go according to plan. Can she adapt instead of quitting? Can she have a bad training session without deciding she is a failure? Can she recover without feeling guilty? Can she make herself a priority when life becomes chaotic?

One of the biggest indicators of successful coaching is when a client stops asking me, "What should I do?" and starts saying, "This is what I think I need to do." That shows me she is developing ownership and confidence. Ultimately, I don't want to create women who need a coach forever. I want to give them the knowledge, tools and belief to coach themselves.

Ethical Considerations

My coaching is based on respect, honesty, autonomy, confidentiality and professional boundaries. I don't make promises about guaranteed weight loss, race times or physical transformations, and I don't use fear, shame or unrealistic expectations to motivate women. I don't believe a woman needs to hate her body before she is allowed to change it.

I also recognise the limits of my professional expertise. Women over 40 can experience complex physiological, hormonal and psychological changes, and there will be circumstances where medical, nutritional, psychological or allied-health support is required. My responsibility is to recognise when an issue sits outside my scope and refer the client to an appropriately qualified professional rather than attempting to diagnose or treat something myself. I have a wide range of referral partners who specialise in all areas.

Ethical coaching also means recognising that every woman is different. A 42-year-old mother with a demanding career and young children may need a completely different strategy from a 55-year-old woman whose children have left home. The Penergy Programme needs to fit the woman. The woman does not need to fit the programme.

Real-Life Application

Imagine a 47-year-old woman who comes to me feeling exhausted and frustrated. She has gained weight, her sleep isn't great, her work is demanding, her parents are ageing and increasingly need her support, and she feels like everyone in her life needs something from her. She tells me, "I just don't have the time anymore. I'm in peri-menopause. Maybe this is just what happens when you get older."

I listen to her. I acknowledge that everything she is dealing with is real and that her circumstances are genuinely challenging. But I also challenge her to consider whether those things need to mean that she disappears from her own priority list.

We look at her training, nutrition, sleep, recovery, stress and schedule. We build a realistic Penergy Plan around her actual life rather than giving her an unrealistic programme that she cannot sustain. Perhaps she cannot train six days a week. That's fine. We don't need six days. Perhaps she has 45 minutes. Then we make those 45 minutes count.

We progressively build her strength and fitness while developing the mindset and habits required to keep showing up. She also has the support of a community of other women who understand what she is going through. Six months later, the transformation might not simply be that she has lost body fat or improved her fitness. Perhaps she has completed her first HYROX. Perhaps she is stronger than she was at 35. Perhaps she looks in the mirror and recognises herself again or even a better version. Perhaps she has stopped saying, "I'm too old for that" and started asking, "Why the fuck not?"

That is the transformation I am coaching for.

Conclusion

My coaching philosophy is ultimately about possibility. It is about creating possibility beyond the stories women have been told about ageing, beyond the belief that perimenopause means slowing down and beyond the idea that careers, children, ageing parents and life's responsibilities mean you have to put yourself last.

I don't want women to spend the second half of their lives managing decline. I want them to build capacity. I want them to become strong. I want them to become fit. I want them to race, lift heavy shit, train with their crew, swear through a hard session and high-five each other at the end. I want them to discover what their bodies can actually do.

Most importantly, I want them to understand that putting themselves first doesn't make them selfish. It makes them stronger for everything and everyone else they care about.

HYROX and hybrid fitness is the new perimenopause vehicle. Community is the support system. Mindset is the difference-maker.

And the goal is simple:

Fit, fierce, fantastic women who refuse to disappear just because they're getting older.