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Hi, I’m Rhonda
Hi, I’m Rhonda, an exercise physiologist and an ex-athlete with a PhD in midlife and older women’s health behaviour.
I’ve also spent many years studying nutrition, hormonal health and ageing, because exercise is just part — albeit an important part — of what we need to age healthily.
I grew up in country Queensland and moved to Brisbane to study human movement at age 17. It was an unusual choice for a girl who at that stage was more arty than sporty, but some things just turn out.
After a few months of sitting around at uni, I was a few kilos heavier, so I started jogging. At first it was just five minutes. But running was a revelation to me, as bit by bit I could go further, until I was covering distances I’d never imagined doing. It made me question other things I thought I couldn’t do.
Dr Rhonda
Decades on, I’m still passionate about the difference, both mental and physical, that exercise and movement can make in our lives.
More-or-less by accident, I became an athlete. Someone suggested I try running a marathon, and to cut a long story short, a few years later I ran that distance for Australia.
Since then I’ve taught diet and exercise subjects in schools, TAFE colleges and universities, been a news and sports presenter for ABC TV and radio, and written a weekly sports column for The Australian.
I’ve run health campaigns for the Tasmanian Government, and worked with the Queensland Government developing policy and programs to support girls and women in being more physically active.
But along the way I’ve also had my share of health challenges, especially when I was younger and trying to be Superwoman. I learned the hard way about rest, sleep, balance, my immune system and the way everything is connected.
I started Fit and Well in the mid-2000s. I was in my 40s and it felt like time to go back to the grassroots, but this time with middle-aged and older women. I’d been involved in research with women using hormone replacement and run programs on menopause at The Brisbane Women’s Health Centre. I’d seen how women’s issues often weren’t well-catered for in the health care system.
The word ‘holistic’ was often sneered at, yet my own experiences had reinforced that health can only ever be understood by looking at a big picture. I wanted to focus on education and prevention.
A few more years at uni and a lot of trial and error later I feel like I’m doing something I was always meant to do.
Like other older women, I’ve now completed a few laps of the paddock of life, learnt a lot, had to discard a fair bit of it, and have come to recognise that are rarely one-size-fits-all answers. I’m a voracious researcher, constantly learning and joining the dots to make sense of what the latest findings mean for older women.
In 2017 I published a book called Life After Menopause: 5 key habits of healthy, vital older women. You can find more about that here.
My commitment is to bring you the best of what I’ve learned — and continue to learn — through tailored exercise sessions, educational talks and my blog.
I’m always keen to hear from women committed to their wellbeing. Good ways to get in touch are via the Fit and Well Facebook page or send me an email.
