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Unless a woman does a proper full body resistance workout, two to three times a week, by the time she hits her 40's the muscles in the backs of her arms may be headed south. To counteract this, a progressive resistance programme is strongly advised, which includes shoulder presses, bench dips and triceps kickbacks. Do two sets of 12 for each exercise.

Shoulder presses: Sit up tall in a chair or on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand. If you don't have dumbbells, try using soup cans as weights. Bend your arms and lift the weights up so that your palms face forward and are level with your ears. Slowly straighten your arms upwards, taking care not to lock your elbows. Then, slowly lower the weights until they are level with your ears again.

Bench dips: Sit on the edge of your bed or a sturdy chair, with your palms planted on each side of your hips, and your fingers hanging over the edge. Walk your feet out a little so that your hips are off the chair. Your bum should just clear the edge as you use your arms to lower yourself down. Keeping your knees bent, lower yourself until your elbows are at 90 degrees and your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Use your arms to raise yourself up, and continue to raise and lower yourself 12-15 times. Do two to three sets. As this becomes easier, do the exercise with your legs straight.

Triceps kickbacks: Start with a small dumbbell or some substitute (such as a tin of tomatoes or a plastic bottle filled with water). Bend over at the waist, resting one hand on a chair, so that your back is flat. Grasping the weight in the other hand, bring your bent elbow up to your side and keep it there. This is the starting position. Now, keeping your elbow close into your side, extend your forearm back until your arm is straight, then lower and repeat 12-15 times. Do two to three sets. When this gets too easy, increase the weight.

In your 50s you might have: 'Thunder Thighs'

Maybe we walk around more when we're young, but somehow by our 50s our legs can get out of control. Any form of cardiovascular training done, slowly but steadily, three to four times a week for, at least, 20 minutes will have positive results. These activities can include brisk walking, taking a dancing class or even cycling to and from the supermarket. It's also very important at this age to fight any possible effects of osteoporosis. Practising resistance exercises in the gym will help. Try squats, lunges, hamstring curls, quad extensions and calf raises to, not only, improve the tone of your thighs but also help strengthen your bones.

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