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Ange Tooley Fitness
PERSONAL TRAINING AND PERFORMANCE COACHING IN NOTTINGHAM AND ONLINE
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Heavy Legs When Running? It Might Not Be Your Running
Your pace is slower than usual. Your legs feel like they weigh twice as much. Even an easy run feels harder than it should. If you've been running for years, you probably know the difference between normal fatigue and a run where something isn't quite right. Heavy legs are common – but they're also useful information. It's not always a fitness problem The obvious assumption is that your legs are simply tired from running. Sometimes they are (my definately are as I write this
Oct 63 min read
Shoulder Pain in Midlife: Is Menopause Part of the Problem?
Your shoulder starts hurting. You stop doing anything that involves your upper body. A few weeks later, reaching overhead, putting on your coat or sleeping on that side has become difficult. Shoulder problems are common in midlife, and they can be particularly frustrating if you're trying to stay active. Frozen shoulder, rotator cuff problems and tendon-related pain are all things I see regularly with women in their 40s and 50s. So, could menopause be part of the picture? Wha
Oct 63 min read
ADHD and Perimenopause: Why Your ADHD Symptoms May Feel Worse
You’ve had ADHD for years. You know how to manage it. So why does it suddenly seem much harder? You’re struggling to concentrate. Getting started on a task takes more effort. You’re forgetting things, losing your train of thought or becoming overwhelmed by things you would normally manage. If this is happening during your 40s or 50s, peri-menopause could be contributing to the change. It doesn't mean that you have suddenly developed ADHD. Rather, hormonal changes during peri-
Oct 63 min read
Where Did That Word Go? Understanding Menopause Brain Fog
You walk into a room and forget why you're there. You know exactly what you want to say in a meeting – but the word simply won't come. And someone's name you've known for years? Completely gone. If this sounds familiar, welcome to one of the more frustrating parts of peri-menopause and menopause: brain fog. I suffered this for a number of years - over the months the frustration and anxiety compounded and I dreaded every meeting I went into. What actually is menopause brain fo
Oct 63 min read
Why Am I Suddenly So Hungry? It Might Not Be a Lack of Willpower
You used to be able to eat a sensible dinner and feel satisfied. Now you're eyeing the biscuit tin an hour later. You’re hungrier than you used to be. The afternoon cravings seem stronger. You’re reaching for something sweet after dinner – and the weight that once came off fairly easily now seems determined to stay put. Sound familiar? If you're in your 40s or 50s, your hormones could be part of the picture. But before you decide you've suddenly lost all your willpower, let's
Oct 63 min read
Why Am I Sweating So Much? It Might Not Be Your Fitness
If you’re suddenly sweating your way through workouts, waking up hot at night or feeling like a brisk walk deserves a shower, you’re not imagining it. And if you’re in your 40s or 50s, there’s a good chance your hormones are playing a part. One of the less glamorous surprises of perimenopause and menopause is that your internal thermostat can become a little less reliable. As oestrogen levels fluctuate and decline, the part of your brain responsible for regulating body temper
Oct 63 min read
Maybe your running prime isn’t behind you. Maybe it’s just changing.
For years, we’ve been told that getting older means getting slower. And, physiologically, there’s some truth in that. As we age, factors such as maximal aerobic capacity, muscle mass and power tend to decline. That can make short, fast running increasingly challenging. But here's the interesting bit: The longer the distance, the less straightforward the relationship between age and performance becomes. Research looking at ultramarathon performance has found that the age of th
Sep 283 min read
Your energy systems: what does it actually mean for your training?
You don't need a degree in exercise physiology to understand energy systems. But understanding the basics can help you make better decisions about how hard to train, how long to recover between efforts, what to eat before and after training, and how to structure your week. How your body creates and uses energy ATP-PC system – stored energy for explosive effortsYour muscles keep small amounts of ATP and phosphocreatine (PC) stored and ready to use. This system can regenerate A
Sep 286 min read
Why runners shouldn't skip plyometrics
Jumping isn't just for kids or gymnasts If you're a runner plyometrics may be one of the most useful — and most overlooked — additions to your training. And no, I'm not suggesting you need to start doing endless box jumps or trying to recreate your school sports day. Plyometric training is about teaching your body to produce and absorb force quickly. That's highly relevant to running, where you're repeatedly landing, loading and pushing off the ground in a fraction of a secon
Sep 284 min read
Running in the cold: train smarter, not harder
Have you noticed that your body doesn’t always respond to cold-weather running in quite the same way it used to. For me, now it's starting to get colder (and dark) over recent weeks I've had a few reminders of that. I’ve had niggly tendons flare up when I haven’t warmed up properly — and I’ve even started experiencing the occasional stitch in colder conditions, something I rarely used to get. That doesn’t mean we should avoid running in the cold. It means we need to train sma
Sep 283 min read
Running Heart Rate Guide + How To Calculate Your Zones For Training
What Is Heart Rate Training? Instead of basing your runs on a perceived effort scale (like RPE 1–10) or sticking to a specific pace, heart rate training uses your beats per minute (bpm) to measure and guide your effort in real time. To use this method, you’ll need a heart rate monitor and a device—like a running watch—that can display your heart rate as you run. Monitors come in various forms, including chest straps, armbands, wrist-based sensors, and even earbuds. Most mode
Sep 266 min read
Why recovery deserves the same attention as your workouts and how to support with nutrition
Most of us spend an extraordinary amount of time thinking about training and surprisingly little time thinking about recovery. It’s understandable. Training feels productive, you feel the benefit, ride off the endorphins. Recovery often feels passive, boring. However the reality is that for most of us, training accounts for less than 5% of a typical week. The other 95% determines whether we adapt, improve and perform – or simply accumulate fatigue. Every session you compl
Sep 263 min read
Training Adaptations Every Woman Runner Over 40 Should Know
There is a standard piece of advice given to women runners over 40. Run less. What recent studies actually suggest is something else. Lift more, and keep running the way you were. Data from two peer-reviewed studies published on the NIH PubMed Central last year examined female endurance athletes ages 40-60 asking how menopausal symptoms actually interfere with training using the Menopausal Rating Scale. The dominant issue was not cardiovascular. It was disrupted sleep, hot fl
Sep 262 min read
ATHX Nutrition: Fuel the Work
I've done ATHX myself, I've trained for it and I've worked with athletes preparing for functional fitness and endurance events. One thing I've learned is that you can do a lot of hard work in training and still leave performance on the table if you get your nutrition wrong. ATHX is a bit of a nutritional juggling act. You're combining running with repeated high-intensity functional work, so you need enough energy to produce power, recover between efforts and keep going when f
Sep 264 min read
Stopped Training on Empty — and Started Training Properly
For years, I thought training on an empty stomach was just part of being disciplined. Early morning run? Coffee and go. Hard session? Get it done before breakfast. Strength session? Crack on and eat afterwards. Looking back, I think I had confused under-fuelling with toughness. Like a lot of endurance athletes, I’d absorbed the idea that being able to train hungry, run on empty and just push through was somehow a good thing. It certainly felt like I was being committed to my
Sep 263 min read
How to Fuel an Ultramarathon: Eating and Drinking When the Race Gets Long
Whether you're chasing a PB, pushing your body to its limits or simply hoping to get around in one piece, how you fuel an ultramarathon can have a huge impact on how you feel during the race — and how quickly you recover afterwards. The problem is that there is no single perfect fuelling strategy. Your pace, race distance, weather, terrain, sweat rate, gut tolerance and previous experience all make a difference. What works brilliantly for one runner can leave another feeling
Sep 265 min read
Why More Running Won’t Necessarily Make You Better at Ultras
My ultramarathon success didn't come from running more. It came from getting smarter about how I prepared. After a few years of marathons, I decided it was time to dip my toe into the world of ultramarathons. Even before I became a PT and performance coach, I was slightly obsessed with researching my own training, looking at what had worked, what hadn't and what I actually needed to be able to get through the challenge. One of the biggest lessons I learnt at the start is that
Sep 266 min read
How Much Training Do You Actually Need After 40?
One of the questions I get asked quite often is, “How much training do I actually need?” And the honest answer is probably less than you think. Not because training doesn't matter. It absolutely does. But because more training isn't automatically better training. This is something I've become much more aware of as I've got older and taken on some fairly big challenges myself. When I was younger, I could get away with doing more. More sessions. More intensity. More late nights
Sep 202 min read
Why “Fit” Doesn't Always Mean “Race Ready”
One of the easiest traps to fall into when you're training for an event is assuming that being fit means you're ready. It doesn't always. You can be strong. You can have a good aerobic engine. You can run a fast 10K and train four or five times a week. And still not be ready for the event you've entered. I've learned this through my own training as well as coaching other people. Fitness is general. Race readiness is specific. Fit for what? That's usually my next question. You
Sep 202 min read
Race Preparation Is More Than Training: The Things 40+ Athletes Forget
You've done the training. The long runs are in. You've done the intervals, the strength work and the miles. You're fitter than you were three months ago. So you're ready to race. Aren't you? Well, perhaps. One thing I've learned from doing my own marathons, ultras and other events is that fitness is only one part of being ready. You can be very fit and still have a terrible race. Pacing matters One of the easiest mistakes to make is going out too quickly. You feel good. Every
Sep 202 min read
Practical, evidence-based advice to help you get stronger, train smarter and stay healthy for the things that matter to you
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