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The Power of the Windmill exercise
Mobility, Strength & Grace for Women in Their 40s, 50s, and 60s
By Fanka Wellness Expert Jodi Barrett | Nov 15th, 2025 | 4 Min Read
By Fanka Wellness Expert Jodi Barrett | Nov 15th, 2025 | 4 Min Read
Ever notice how your body starts to tighten up in your 40s, 50s, or 60s? Suddenly, your shoulders feel tense after sleep. Your hips don’t move like they used to. You stretch, but the stiffness keeps creeping back.
That’s not weakness, it’s your body asking for smarter movement. Enter the Windmill, a simple, rotational exercise that restores what most of us lose over time: balance, stability, and flexibility.
Unlike most strength moves, the windmill teaches your body to move as one connected system. It builds strength through awareness, not force. And while it’s often done with a kettlebell, it can be performed just as powerfully with bodyweight alone.
For women in midlife, that’s everything. Because this is the age when flexibility, hip mobility, and spinal rotation start to fade quietly until we find ourselves feeling limited or even injured doing everyday things.
The windmill doesn’t just strengthen your body, it reawakens your mind-body connection, improving coordination, balance, and confidence in motion.
There’s a quiet power in the windmill exercise
It’s not loud. It’s not fast. But it’s one of the most intelligent moves you can give your body, especially in midlife.
For women in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, mobility isn’t a luxury; it’s a non-negotiable. It’s what keeps you feeling youthful, confident, and capable, whether that’s lifting a suitcase, carrying groceries, or stepping onto a paddleboard with ease.
Why the Windmill Matters
The windmill is more than a flexibility move. It blends strength, stability, and awareness into one powerful pattern.
It teaches your body how to move with control.
It teaches your mind how to stay connected.
And it reminds you that strength isn’t about how heavy you lift, it’s about how well you move. As we age, we tend to lose rotational strength and hip mobility- two key ingredients for balance and joint health. The windmill brings both back online, helping you stay mobile, graceful, and grounded.
The Brain–Body Connection
Every time you hinge at your hips, rotate through your torso, and stabilize a kettlebell overhead, you’re not just training your muscles - you’re training your brain.
This is neuroplasticity in motion. The sequencing, balance, and focus light up the brain’s coordination centers, strengthening cognitive pathways while improving coordination.
The more mindful and complex the movement, the more your brain learns and the sharper it stays.
How to Train It
1. Unloaded - Learn Your Line
Start with no weight. One arm reaches overhead while the other slides down your leg. Keep your eyes on your top hand and move slowly. Feel your obliques and hips guide the motion.
2. Light Kettlebell - Add Stability
Add a small kettlebell overhead. Move with control and breathe through the hinge. Focus on maintaining alignment from your hand to your heel.
3. Bottoms-Up Variation - Build Calm Strength
Flip the kettlebell upside down (bottoms-up). This forces your smaller stabilizers in the shoulder and core to engage. It’s not about speed, it’s about awareness and control.
The Takeaway
Mobility is freedom.
The windmill is your reminder that power and grace can coexist.
You don’t have to chase heavy lifts to feel strong, you just have to move with intention. The windmill is your blueprint for aging strong, moving well, and keeping your body and brain alive with energy.
Set your intention. Move with purpose.
Be movement. Be mindful. Be strong.
Want More?
If you enjoyed this quick and effective windmill exercise, you’ll love our other wellness reads:
· Desk Exercises for Office Workers to Relieve Sitting All Day — simple moves to keep you energized and reduce stiffness.
· Can Back Exercises Help Reduce Wrinkles? — discover how back exercises can lift your face naturally.
Click, read, and let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Jodi Barrett | Fanka Wellness Expert
Specializes in Strength Training
· Master Kettlebell Kickboxing Instructor, M-KBIA
· Kettlebell Certification Specialist, MKC (Maxwell)
· Best Selling Published Author - "I Don't Do Vanilla"
Jodi Barrett | Fanka Wellness Expert
Specializes in Strength Training
· Master Kettlebell Kickboxing Instructor, M-KBIA
· Kettlebell Certification Specialist, MKC (Maxwell)
· Best Selling Published Author - "I Don't Do Vanilla"
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3 comments

Looks interesting!
I’ll be 50 this year.. love your posts, crushing it!!

Kelly

Love how this highlights strength with intention — the windmill really does make me feel connected, grounded, and strong!

Idgie

Lately, I’ve been looking for workouts like this, no jumping, knee-friendly. Thanks for sharing, Fanka!💗

willow

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