Kelly Campoverde-Dela Cruz,
R. Kin
Kelly is a recognized Kinesiologist with years of extensive experience in health, rehabilitation and performance.
Females experience many changes throughout their lives and maintaining an active lifestyle can look different depending on age and life circumstances. In Part One of this article, we talk about active lifestyle tips for girls & women from childhood into their 30’s with evidence-based research and recommendations from the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines. Introducing exercise at a young age into teen years helps build the foundation for an active lifestyle. Moving into their 20’s-30’s, the priority is to develop healthy habits around nutrition and exercise. This stage of life is meant to be the building blocks of a healthy balanced lifestyle. Moreover, the most important part of being active is consistency and incorporating exercise into your daily routine.
According to the 24hr Movement Guidelines, the early years of childhood into the teen years is a crucial time to implement physical activity. More specifically, the guidelines recommend 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity at least 3 times a week. (Children & Youth 5-17 Years – 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, n.d.) The teen years are when females start to experience changes with their body (mostly due to hormones) that directly affect their confidence and as a result negatively impact their involvement in exercise. It is during this phase where we a see a decline in female participation in sports and exercise in general. In a qualitative study by Borhani et. al (2017), they looked at the experience of female youth and the determinants of physical activity. They concluded that in order to increase the promotion of physical activity in female youth, researchers and decision makers must understand and recognize the cultural-social-psychological factors affecting the youth’s behaviour. At this stage, girls & women ages 10-19 can focus on exercise that is enjoyable to them and should be encouraged to focus on the impact of exercise such as an increase in energy, self-confidence and mood. This transitional period into adolescence is a fundamental time to build confidence in female youth to facilitate an active lifestyle into adulthood. (Adolescent Girls and Physical Activity, 2013)
Women in their 20’s-30’s may be pursuing post-secondary degrees, establishing their careers, family planning, among other endeavors. It is in this stage of life where there should be an emphasis on developing/continuing healthy habits. This includes complementing a balanced diet with consistent exercise. The 24hr Movement Guidelines specifies that adults aged 18-64 should accumulate 150 mins of moderate to vigorous exercise per week with a balance of cardio and strength training. (Adults Aged 18-64 Years – 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, n.d.) The focus is for women to develop/continue healthy habits for an active lifestyle to prevent chronic conditions in the future. For example, consistent exercise can improve cardiorespiratory endurance, which naturally begins to decline in the early 30’s. (Cheng, J., Chiu, C., & Su, T., 2019)
Healthy habits for women in their 20’s-30’s are especially important for pregnant and post-partum individuals. Paulsen, C.P., et al. (2023) looked at the effects of exercise during pregnancy and concluded that prenatal exercise is not only safe but can prevent complications such as gestational diabetes mellitus. Moreover, research suggests that regular exercise during pregnancy is associated with fewer aches and pains, maintaining a healthy weight, preventing urinary incontinence, among many other positive benefits. (Ribeiro, M. M., Andrade, A., & Nunes, I., 2021) Exercise is just as important for post-partum recovery. The body undergoes a traumatic experience during labor and reintroducing movement can help with the mental and physical recovery process. All in all, women in their 20’s-30’s are encouraged to continue physical activities and/or develop healthy habits with exercise and nutrition, especially for perinatal individuals.
From the early years into their teen years, the focus is to introduce exercise and make it enjoyable. The 24-Hour Movement Guidelines recommend 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity at least 3 times a week for girls ages 10-19 years old. (Children & Youth 5-17 Years – 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, n.d.) However, it is not that straightforward for most. With a decline in exercise for girls/women into their teen years, research suggests that understanding cultural-social-psychological factors affecting youth’s behaviour may provide insight on how to encourage female youth to continue participation. (Adolescent Girls and Physical Activity, 2013) For women in their 20’s-30’s, exercise may look different depending on what is going on in their lives as women in this age range may be pursuing post-secondary degrees, establishing careers, family planning, among other endeavours. The priority for this stage is to develop healthy habits around nutrition and exercise. For those that are family planning, research encourages perinatal exercise to support both the mother/parent and fetus. Moreover, the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise for women in their 20’s-30’s. (Adults Aged 18-64 Years – 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, n.d.) Overall, introducing exercise at a young age helps build a strong foundation of habitual routine and confidence for girls and women as they age.
In Part Two, we will discuss the different factors/conditions women may face as they age and the recommended movement guidelines for women ages 40+. Whether you are interested in learning more about maintaining an active lifestyle and/or are interested in creating a sustainable exercise routine, Kinnected Chain offers Kinesiology services that can help. As Kinesiologists, with our background in exercise and human movement and behavioural studies, we understand the importance of an individualized program based on your specific needs. Additionally, we utilize evidence-based research to support our decisions in creating exercise programs for our clients. For more information on how we can help, reach out to us at Kinnected Chain. We look forward to supporting you on your health journey.
Children & Youth 5-17 years – 24-Hour movement guidelines. (n.d.). https://csepguidelines.ca/guidelines/children-youth/
Li, S. L. (2025, April 1). Women’s health: Active tips for your life stages – ParticipACTION. ParticipACTION. https://www.participaction.com/blog/womens-health/womens-health-tips-for-life-stages/
Adolescent girls and physical activity. (2013). https://www.apadivisions.org. Retrieved June 16, 2025, from https://www.apadivisions.org/division-35/news-events/news/physical-activity#:~:text=Being%20physically%20active%20as%20a,particular%20for%20their%20mental%20health.
Borhani, M., Sadeghi, R., Shojaeizadeh, D., Harandi, T. F., & Vakili, M. A. (2017). Teenage girls’ experience of the determinants of physical activity promotion: A theory-based qualitative content analysis. Electronic physician, 9(8), 5075–5082. https://doi.org/10.19082/5075
Cheng, J. C., Chiu, C. Y., & Su, T. J. (2019). Training and Evaluation of Human Cardiorespiratory Endurance Based on a Fuzzy Algorithm. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(13), 2390. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16132390
Paulsen, C. P., Bandak, E., Edemann-Callesen, H., Juhl, C. B., & Händel, M. N. (2023). The Effects of Exercise during Pregnancy on Gestational Diabetes Mellitus, Preeclampsia, and Spontaneous Abortion among Healthy Women-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. International journal of environmental research and public health, 20(12), 6069. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20126069
Ribeiro, M. M., Andrade, A., & Nunes, I. (2021). Physical exercise in pregnancy: benefits, risks and prescription. Journal of perinatal medicine, 50(1), 4–17. https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2021-0315
