What happens when a fun runner decides the next challenge isn't about pushing harder, but about being gentler?

Casey Stewart Smith ran two London Marathons. Then perimenopause hit, and running became too much. So she made a radical choice to train for something that was more gentle on her body. She signed up to swim two miles in the Serpentine despite only ever swimming recreationally.

What started as a physical challenge became a lesson in self compassion, especially after receiving her ADHD diagnosis mid-journey.

In this episode you'll learn:

• The mental strategy to go from 10 laps to 120
• Exactly how open water swimming is different to swimming in a pool
• How to work with ADHD not against it when training
• The subtle shift that transforms both your training and your race day

This one's for you if you're tired of fitness culture telling you to go harder, faster or stronger, if your brain works differently and standard training plans just don't fit, or if you just want permission to be kinder to yourself.

Casey's story proves you don't have to compete with yourself to achieve incredible things. Sometimes the bravest choice is softness.

Find out more about Casey @caseystewartsmith

Follow the podcast on Instagram @unshrinkablemidlfemoves

Find out more about Onika on Instagram @lifeopenedup

What happens when your body forces you to stop? Desna McKenzie shares her journey from 5 Am workouts and long commutes to complete adrenal burnout and the difficult path back to wellness, that required completely reimagining her relationship with exercise.

In this reflective conversation, Desna shares her lifelong relationship with movement, from lifting weights in her youth, discovering the meditative power of running, navigating burnout, adrenal fatigue, and rebuilding her body and confidence in midlife.

We talk candidly about what it means to return to fitness after exhaustion, and long periods of stopping, and why consistency, not perfection, is the key to wellness.

Desna opens up about learning to move again on her own terms, finding strength through high intensity training, overcoming fear as an adult learner through swimming, and redefining what being fit looks like in this chapter of life.

This episode explores movement as more than exercise but as a foundation for mental wellbeing, momentum, confidence, and the quality of life we’re building for our future selves.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• How burnout and hormonal depletion can change your relationship with exercise
• Why doing less can create better results
• Why starting again in midlife requires a different mindset and different tools
• The power of being a beginner, even when it feels uncomfortable
• How to restart exercise when your old routines don't work
• Why consistency beats intensity, especially for women in midlife

Whether you're navigating burnout, train intensely or if you're intimidated by starting over with fitness, this conversation offers hope, practical strategies, and permission to start exactly where you are.

Movement isn’t about going back. It’s about building forward.

Connect with Desna at www.higherplayingfield.com and CAG-Croydon

Follow the podcast on Instagram @unshrinkablemidlfemoves

Find out more about Onika on Instagram @lifeopenedup

What happens when a woman in midlife sees a post for a Hybrid Race on Instagram and thinks, "I could do that", despite never having trained that way before?

Meet Szidy. She went from home workouts with a few dumbbells to completing six hybrid fitness races in one year. This isn’t a story about being naturally athletic, it’s about signing up before you’re ready, learning as you go, and discovering just how strong you can become.

We talk about transitioning from home workouts to the gym, overcoming the intimidation of using unfamiliar gym equipment, nearly quitting mid-race, training on dark rainy mornings and how a knee injury became the catalyst for building unexpected strength. We also explore why doing hard things consistently is life changing.

If you’re curious about hybrid fitness (beyond Hyrox), or are ready to stop playing small, this episode is for you.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How to move from home workouts into gym and hybrid training
• How to overcome gym intimidation
• Mental strategies for consistent training (even when you don't feel like it)
• Why asking for help builds confidence
• What nearly quitting taught Szidy about resilience and what it can teach you

Find out more about Szidy on Instagram @fit_Szid

Follow the podcast over on Instagram @unshrinkablemidlfemoves

Find out more about Onika on Instagram @lifeopenedup