The Riddall Effect

If you told the girl who spent the majority of her school life trying to get out of PE that she’d spend 16+ years coaching women in a weight room, she would’ve laughed in your face.

I genuinely hated exercise. The freezing cross-country runs in muddy shorts, the dreaded bleep test, being picked near last 🏃‍♀️. I convinced myself early on: I’m just not a sporty person.

And that belief stuck like glue.

Through my 20s and well into my mid-30s, my relationship with movement was tangled up in bulimia. Every workout was penance, a desperate attempt to burn off food and force my body to be smaller.

It took years of unlearning to see what exercise was actually meant for.

You never needed to be an athlete to pick up a barbell.
You don’t need a single sporty bone in your body to walk onto the gym floor ✨

So many women I coach in their 30s, 40s, and 50s walk in carrying that exact same 30-year-old story:
“I’m just clumsy.”
“I was never a gym person.”

Lifting weights in midlife is a whole different ballgame.

It protects your bone density and muscle mass through perimenopause 🦴
It lets you heave heavy suitcases into the overhead locker without tweaking your back 🧳
And, quite frankly, it keeps you getting on and off the loo by yourself when you’re 80 🚽

It’s about discovering what your body can actually do when you stop trying to shrink it and start building real energy, strength, and zest for life 💪🏼

If you’ve spent decades steering clear of weights because of a soggy netball pitch in 1994, maybe it’s time to leave that identity behind.

Did you love or loathe PE at school? Tell me in the comments if you were also a master of “forgetting” your kit 🙋🏻‍♀️💜

Over 16 years of coaching women, my focus has never been about shrinking anyone down.

So many women spent years being told exercise was purely about burning calories or taking up less room.

Strength training gives you something so much better. It builds real energy and confidence for everyday life right now, while protecting your bones, joints, and muscle for the future.

That strength shows up in the moments that actually matter:

• Carrying heavy shopping bags from the car without struggling 🛍️
• Hoisting a suitcase into an overhead locker without asking for help 🧳
• Catching your balance quickly if you stumble ⚡
• Getting on and off the loo by yourself when you’re 80 🚽 (cheeky, but very real!)
• Moving through your day feeling capable and strong 💪

You deserve to feel powerful today, and stay completely independent for decades to come 💜

What is one everyday thing you want your body to always do with ease? Let me know below 👇🏼

I used to hold my breath every single morning.

Step on the scale. Look down. And whatever number stared back at me decided how the rest of my day would go.

Down? I was “good.”
Up? I was a failure.

That was my entire measure of progress. One tiny number on a bathroom floor.

And looking back now, I can see how much I was missing while I was so fixated on it.

I had more energy than I’d had in years.
I was lifting heavier.
I wasn’t getting out of breath doing things that used to floor me.
I was sleeping better.
I actually felt proud of how I was showing up for myself.

But the scale didn’t measure any of that. Not one bit of it.

If you’re stuck in that same cycle right now, letting one number decide whether you’re “doing well” or not… I just want you to know something.

Your progress is real. Even when the scale is slow to catch up. Even when it feels like nothing is happening.

You are building so much more than a smaller body. You’re building a stronger life 💜

Tell me one thing that’s changed for you that the scale will never show 👇🏼

“There’s no way I can lift that.” 🤔

I hear this SO often. A lovely lady I train sees the weight I’ve set up for her, and genuinely believes it’s too heavy.

Then she picks it up. And smashes out 8 reps.

The look on her face afterwards? That’s the bit that gets me every time 🥹

Because somewhere along the way, women in their 40s, 50s and beyond have been sold this idea that they’re fragile. That they should be slowing down, scaling back, sticking to the light weights and the gentle stuff.

And honestly? It’s rubbish.

Your body is capable of so much more than you think. You just haven’t been given the chance to prove it yet.

That’s what proper strength training does. It doesn’t just change your body. It changes what you believe about yourself 💪🏼💜

If you’ve ever surprised yourself with what you could lift, I want to hear about it 👇🏼


Me: “Today we’re doing Bulgarian split squats”
Also me: 🏃‍♀️💨

Look, I programme these for my clients every single week. I stand there and coach them through it with a smile on my face. But when it’s MY turn? 
Absolutely not 😂

They’re effective. They’re important. They’re also the worst exercise ever invented and I will die on that hill 🥴

The wobbling. The burning. The questioning every life choice that led you to this moment. We’ve all been there.

Drop a 🏃‍♀️ if you’d also rather run than do another set, or tag someone who needs to see this because they KNOW the pain 👇🏼


We still can’t quite believe it 🥹💜

When we opened bookings for The Collective Retreat, we hoped it would resonate. We didn’t expect THIS response.

You lot have blown us away. Seriously. The messages, the excitement, the women who said yes before we even finished the sentence 😂🙌

We’re down to just a couple of rooms now and we had to jump on here together to say THANK YOU. From both of us. This retreat is already shaping up to be something so special and we haven’t even got there yet ✨

So if you’ve been sitting on it, thinking about it, waiting for a sign... this is your gentle nudge 💜 Message Caroline or Cat to grab one of the last spots before they’re gone.

We cannot wait to welcome you 🫶

They’re open🚪

The Collective Retreat 
📍 Beggars Barn, Shutford 
📅 April 16-18, 2027 
👩‍👩‍👧‍👦 15 spots. 7 already spoken for.

Two days of restoration, breathwork, gentle movement, incredible food, and a room full of women who get it.

Investment starts from £700 (payment plans available from £87/month) ✨

This has been a long time coming. If you’ve been watching, waiting, wondering if it’s for you... it is💜

DM Caroline or Cat to book your spot. Don’t sleep on this one.