There was ping pong happening behind me when I recorded this episode.
Not aggressively. Just enough that if this were the audio episode you’d hear it and think, oh, she’s definitely not at home.
I was standing in a coworking booth with a resistance band around my legs.
Yes. Around my actual legs. While working.
Very professional.
And I keep wondering, why is it so weird to move at work?
Because my brain is moving. My thoughts are moving. Everything up here is firing. And my Body wants to join in.
If you want to keep thinking about this with me, you’re welcome here.
I write to make sense of what my Body is doing and how that changes how I work, move, and think. And right now what it’s doing is refusing to sit still like a polite midlife woman with a laptop.
😏 And I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
Desk Jobs, Sedentary Work, and Midlife Restlessness
For a couple of years in Denmark I had a standing desk. I went up and down all day. If I wanted to record somewhere else in the apartment, I moved. If I wanted to go for a walk, I went. If I wanted to exercise for ten minutes in the living room (behind me) on the yoga mat, I just did it.
Movement wasn’t a separate event. It was just… there.
Now I’m in coworking spaces. First Bilbao. Now San Sebastián. Different vibe. Different energy. Different expectations.
And I’ve noticed something.
When I sit very still for a long time, I don’t just get stiff.
I get restless in a deeper way.
Like I’m separating into parts.
Brain here.
Body parked below.
And maybe that’s fine for some people. Maybe they don’t feel that split. But I do.
So instead of pretending I don’t, I’ve been experimenting.
Strength Exercises You Can Do at Your Desk
A resistance band lives in my backpack now.
Sometimes I put it just above my knees. Sometimes lower, near my calves or ankles so it doesn’t shake the shared table. Because I don’t need my movement to turn into someone else’s problem.
I just move my legs outward slowly. Hold. Release. Out. Release.
Does this build muscle? I don’t know.
I genuinely don’t know.
Is it enough resistance to create strength gains? Probably not huge ones.
But does it calm me down? Y-E-S!
Does it make me feel more like a whole person and less like a floating head? Also yes.
That counts for something.
I’ve also been carrying around one of those hand grip circles. It looks like a giant cereal loop. You just squeeze it. Over and over.
I used to use the finger expanders, the ones where each finger goes in its own little slot. Those were fine. But I don’t really need my individual fingers stronger. It’s the wrist. The hand. The whole structure that gets tight from typing.
So I squeeze. Release. Squeeze. Release.
Under the desk, I flex my feet. Point. Flex. Spread my toes wide. Crunch them in.
I don’t wear narrow shoes anymore. My feet made that decision for me.
None of this looks impressive.
But it keeps something from locking up.
5-Minute Strength Breaks During the Workday
There’s a small gym one floor down.
And lately my husband and I will just go down for five minutes.
Not thirty. Not a “proper” session. Five.
Three minutes on the elliptical. Just enough to get my heart going and my hips unstuck. Because my hips get so stiff when I’m deep in work. Especially when I’m excited about something. It’s actually worse when I’m excited.
Three minutes used to feel pointless.
Now I’m not so sure.
Then there are weighted carries.
This one surprised me.
I pick up two dumbbells. Right now I’m using 3.5 kilos in each hand. I just walk around the gym. Maybe three or four laps. Sometimes they’re down at my sides. Sometimes I bring them up near my shoulders. Sometimes overhead, like this.
My arms need to be straighter to do this better and I’ll get there. For now this feels great.
And I leave feeling… lighter.
Stronger in my posture. Less compressed.
Here’s the part that really got me.
I left my 2 kilo weights in Bilbao less than a week ago when we moved. Those used to feel hard overhead. I was using them for months.
And this week I accidentally grabbed 4 kilos.
And I could carry them.
Wait. What?
Not overhead yet. I’m not rushing that. I don’t want to injure myself. But at my sides? At my shoulders? Totally fine.
When did that happen?
Because I wasn’t doing some intense program. I was doing five minute sessions. Resistance bands under a desk. Hanging from a bar for ten seconds at a time with my feet still on the ground.
That’s it.
And yet… something shifted.
That feels very my Body can.
Not dramatic. Not flashy. Just quietly stronger.
Building Upper Body Strength in Midlife
I’m also hanging from a pull-up bar.
Not doing pull-ups. Not yet. Let’s be clear.
I’m hanging with my feet on the floor. Eventually I’ll lift one foot off the floor. Then both for a second. Then back down.
Slow.
I want to build up to pull-ups eventually. And maybe one day that pull-up dancing thing I keep seeing on Instagram. Have you seen these videos? Comment below and let me know if I should share a few of them that I’m seeing.
But I’m not in a rush.
I think that’s the other piece of this.
I’m not trying to prove anything.
I’m just… seeing what happens.
Strength Training in Midlife Without Burning Out
I spent decades thinking movement had to be scheduled. Proper. In workout clothes. In the right space.
And if it wasn’t that, it didn’t count.
Now I’m not so convinced.
Maybe strength can grow in small spurts.
Maybe hips can loosen from three minutes on the elliptical with jeans on.
Maybe you can carry something heavy down a hallway and that counts.
Maybe midlife isn’t maintenance mode.
Because I genuinely assumed improvement would slow down or stop by now.
And it hasn’t.
That’s the part I can’t ignore.
I had no idea I could still improve like this at this age. I really didn’t.
And I think a lot of women assume the same thing. That this is the stage where we manage decline politely.
But what if we’re still adaptable?
What if we’re still responsive?
What if we just need to stop pretending we’re supposed to sit still all day and call that professionalism?
Strength in Midlife Doesn’t Require Perfect Conditions
I’m not saying everyone needs resistance bands at their desk.
I’m saying you don’t have to wait.
You don’t have to wait for the perfect block of time. The right outfit. The ideal energy.
You can do something small. Something slightly awkward. Something that makes you feel a little more alive in the middle of your workday.
Spurts count.
Tiny strength counts.
Five minutes counts.
And if you look up one day and realize the 2 kilos feel light and the 4 kilos feel possible, don’t brush past that.
Pause.
Because that’s your my Body can moment.
And those are worth noticing. 💛
Steph
