Build strength and stay resilient for life – with Dame Denise Lewis
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How does Denise Lewis stay fit and motivated after retiring from elite athletics?
Listen, I've seen my legendary six pack just blend into a new form. And I say that respectfully, you know, I've had four children. It's not going to look like the supreme athlete. It's fine. My skin is changing. I can see that. But whether it's, you know, relationship changes, work changes, body changes, it's learning to embrace that and thinking how, how can I still retain the self in this new guise?
Well, that's the voice of Olympian Denise Lewis, and she wants your body and your mind to be as resilient as they can be in later life. I'm Liz Earle, and this is Age Better. My mission, of course, is to change the conversation around aging. You know, I really do think that we can decide how to thrive in later life. And I do want you to discover just how good it can feel to age better than you ever thought possible. And all that starts with small changes in our diet, in our movement, the way we sleep. And the one I'm particularly interested in today, mindset. Well, Denise Lewis, DBE, is a retired Team GB track and field athlete. And you will no doubt remember her winning the gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Since retiring from athletics, she's become a hugely popular broadcaster and sports pundit. And now she has written a book, Adaptability, Seven Lessons for Success in a World of Competing Demands. Oh my gosh, do we have a lot to cope with, with demands of midlife, don't we? So what is the secret to functioning at our best in every area? How can we move our bodies? How can we eat well, maintain relationships and careers to the very best of our ability? Well, who better to ask? Denise, welcome. We're going to be talking a lot today about challenging ourselves, pushing ourselves to see what we're capable of achieving in so many different areas of life. You, of course, are such a superb example of all of this.
Have you always had this sort of massive sense of motivation to get things done?
I don't think I have. I think it's something I've grown into. It's something that has evolved through time, through experience. But particularly, I think I've had an advantage because I've been a sportswoman. And I think when you live a life in sports, it just... allows you or makes you have to face some of these issues head on and in a snapshot, making decisions for yourself, trusting your gut instinct, picking yourself up from disappointment or perceived failures and setting targets and goals for yourself. So I I know most of us loosely do that anyway, but as you can imagine, it's very specific in sport. And so you get this grounding, you get this constant education of learning about yourself. So you're intrinsically grounded.
I think you're just more self-aware and you have to then engage the mind in ways that you might ordinarily not have to do with certain areas of your life and certain vocations or work.
Well, I think it's brilliant that you've chosen to share so much here. And I think, you know, when we think about supreme athletes, we often think of the physicality. We don't often think about the mental side of it. You know, what's going on in the head and what you need to overcome and how you need to challenge yourself and motivate yourself. And as you say, you know, deal with failures sometimes and disappointments. So now for you, just turned 54, retired from athletics, although, you know, we'll obviously talk about how you still keep moving in a moment. You're a mum of four. You've got a lot of challenges. You're very busy with your career and everything that you're doing. Do you still have that sense of wanting to challenge yourself, wanting to achieve and get stuff done?
And if so, how do you do it
now? I do, but I'm a bit more relaxed about it. It's not that I've got lots of time, but I still think it's important to set targets for yourself. And, you know, they could be something really simple, you know, just what would I like to achieve in this 12 month period? How would I like to feel or have my outlook on the world or challenge myself in a new working space?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How does Denise Lewis stay fit and motivated after retiring from elite athletics?
0:00–5:53
2
What role does strength training play in mental resilience for mid‑life women?
5:53–9:01
3
How does Denise navigate menopause and hormone‑replacement therapy?
9:01–13:08
4
What simple goal‑setting strategies help you keep moving and avoid plateaus?
13:08–17:40
5
Which sleep habits and nutrition tweaks does Denise recommend for healthy ageing?
17:40–21:49
6
What supplements (collagen, butyrate, probiotics, etc.) does Denise use and why?
21:49–27:44
7
How can you use mindset, breathing, and stress‑management rituals to stay adaptable?
27:44–33:25
8
What’s next for Denise and how can listeners apply her adaptability lessons?
33:25–36:20
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Age Better with Liz Earle
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What menopause really does to your brain, heart, gut, bones and skin – with Professor Mary Ryan
Subtle skin ‘tweakments’ for the ultimate confidence boost – with Dr Maude Calveley