Dame Kelly Holmes was ‘in denial about perimenopause’ and how it affected her body

With less than two months to go until the Paris Olympics, Dame Kelly explains that there’s a couple of British runners she’s got high hopes for. ‘There is a lot of young talent – Team GB have done really well over the past few games and we’ve got a lot of investment in sport.

‘In my events, you’ve had two or three of the best 800m runners like Keely Hodgkinson. She got silver in Tokyo, and she’s always been, in my eyes, a medalist and maybe an Olympic champion one day. She’s still so young, but it could be this year. Also, Laura Muir in the 1500m – again, she’s a multi-medalist at different events, and she could pull it out of the bag.’

Excited about the event herself she went on to say: ‘I think Paris will take it to another level, when it comes to the opening ceremony, it’s always good when it’s an Olympics year – there is always a buzz.’

Still running

Despite her retirement from professional sport, Holmes is still a keen runner, with a competitive streak. She says, ‘I still do one long run a week and two shorter runs. I also do two or three gym sessions, with weights. Plus I’m trying to get ready for an outdoor obstacle race called Spartan.’

Of course, as an ex-international athlete, it’s easy for her to feel confident when it comes to fitness, but she can understand why there may be barriers for others. ‘It could be a financial barrier, with some thinking that they can’t do exercise because it costs too much. Or they’re embarrassed to start a regime because of a lack of confidence or self-esteem.

‘I know some people think “If I go to a gym or go out running people are looking at me”. But If I see someone out who is clearly a beginner or not a runner I actually think the opposite – we all have to begin somewhere.’

We’re at the launch of Nuffield’s Healthier Nation Index survey – which worryingly shows that nearly 3-in-4 people aren’t exercising enough. NHS guidelines state that we should all be moving our movement up to 150 minutes-a-week – and that can mean walking, running or lifting weights at the gym – but on average, Brits are only moving around 82 minutes a week. So, how can we make exercise more accessible and attractive to more people?

The Olympian says you don’t need to start training for a marathon, just taking small steps towards your goal, every day, is enough: ‘When you start something, you’ve taken action for yourself, and if you make it in sizeable manageable chunks you’ll start to form a habit. It’s more attainable, it’s more manageable.’

Mental health

The research also looks at how lack of movement could affect our mental health, something which the ex-athlete has spoken openly about before. In 2005 she admitted she suffered from depression.

‘Once you’ve had one major breakdown, I don’t think you can ever get over it, and then different parts of your life become more vulnerable. I’ve been very open about self-harming and about being clinically depressed,’ she says.

‘In elite sports terms, I was one of the first people to talk about the breakdown and how it affected my career,’ but she went on to admit that she only did this after she retired because ‘at the time no one spoke about mental health. If you got injured, they would say, “OK, we’ll treat you, we’ll get you better”. There was no conversation about how that injury was making you feel, the highs and lows. You just didn’t discuss it.’

But she says that keeping fit has helped keep her mentally healthy too; ‘I’ve made a point of making fitness a priority. Even coming into this year, 20 years on, I want to prove that actually, you can still do something positive in your life. No matter what age you are, you can still have goals, you can use fitness as a way of supporting your motivation, your energy levels and your general wellbeing.’

In denial

Holmes, who was made a Dame in 2005, also admits that fitness has been key to her perimenopause journey. But it was one odd symptom that confused her at the beginning.

‘I got to the point where I was in the gym and I couldn’t do press ups – and I thought “this is ridiculous, I’m an ex-military soldier and international athlete” – but it was because I had such bad body pains.’

She goes on to admit, that at the time she was in ‘denial’ that this and other symptoms such as insomnia, low energy levels and moods were connected to the menopause.

‘I did some research around perimenopause and realised they were all the symptoms. But instead of making me stop exercising altogether, I found that changing my routine and doing more strength training helped. I realised that strength training was going to keep me strong, to keep my muscles strong.’

However, she knows that all perimenopause journeys are different: ‘Some will start late 30s and some women don’t even know that they’ve been through it. But the more we talk about it, it helps you realise you’re not alone. It’s the same as being on a fitness journey. You’re never the first, or only person that’s started at the gym – there will always be somebody else. But if you talk about it, you’ll find somebody that can support you.’

Nuffield Health has launched the #MyDailyMovement campaign, sharing educational content and expert advice to dispel some of the more common myths and raise awareness of the importance of daily movement.

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