Present Perfect

Strong, Not Exhausted: A Smarter Approach to Women’s Fitness | S1E15How do you become stronger and healthier when your work and daily life are already taking most of your energy?In this episode of Present Perfect, I speak with Anna, personal trainer and women’s health coach, about building a fitness routine that supports women’s bodies and busy lives — rather than becoming another source of pressure and exhaustion.Anna knows the corporate reality personally. Before moving into fitness, she spent around 10 years working in the corporate world. During her final years there, she describes herself as overfunctioning, working too much and increasingly feeling that the environment was no longer right for her. When she was eventually laid off during a restructuring, she decided to use the opportunity to change direction completely and build a career in personal training and women’s health.That experience shapes much of our conversation: what does a realistic fitness routine actually look like for someone working long hours?And do we really need to train five times a week, push ourselves through highly intensive classes and finish every workout completely exhausted in order to see results?Anna’s answer is much more practical: start small, build strength progressively and learn to distinguish between healthy effort and simply pushing an already exhausted body even further.In this episode, we talk about:• How busy professionals can realistically fit exercise into their week• Why even two strength-training sessions per week can be a meaningful starting point• Strength training for women and why being afraid of becoming “too bulky” is often misplaced• Why muscle becomes increasingly important for healthy ageing, stability and injury prevention• How office work and sitting all day affect posture — and what actually helps• Why mobility alone may not be enough to correct posture without strengthening the relevant muscles• Strength training vs cardio — and why we need both• How much protein women may need and why Anna places particular importance on breakfast• Why being slim does not necessarily mean being strong or physically resilient• How to recognise when your body may already be overstressed• The difference between mentally not wanting to exercise and physically needing recovery• How energy, mood and training can feel different throughout the menstrual cycle• Why strict “cycle-syncing” rules may be less useful than learning to understand your own body• Whether you should train when you genuinely feel exhausted• Hyrox and CrossFit — and whether extreme intensity is always beneficial• Reformer Pilates: where it can fit into a fitness routine and where progressive strength training may offer something different• Why progressive overload matters if the goal is genuinely becoming stronger• Cardio, strength and mobility as different pieces of a complete fitness routine• Why sleep may be one of the most underrated parts of fitness and recoveryWe also challenge an idea that has shaped women’s fitness for decades: that the goal should simply be to eat less, do more cardio and become smaller.The alternative is much more interesting:Become strong. Build muscle. Improve your posture. Support your cardiovascular health. Recover properly. And create a routine you can actually sustain.Because a great workout does not have to leave you unable to function afterwards to be effective.🎙️ Strong, Not Exhausted: A Smarter Approach to Women’s Fitness | Present Perfect S1E15Subscribe to Present Perfect for conversations about careers, health, ambition and building a life that performs well without requiring you to run yourself into the ground.

Why do so many successful, ambitious women feel exhausted — even when, from the outside, everything seems to be going well?In this episode of Present Perfect, I speak with Heidi Hauer, executive coach specialising in high-performing women, about the hidden patterns that can make achievement so draining: perfectionism, people-pleasing, self-doubt, invisible work and the pressure to become an imaginary “superwoman” who somehow does everything perfectly.Heidi shares a story that captures this perfectly. At one point, she was so committed to doing her wellbeing routine “right” that she found herself running to a meditation class because she had to complete a certain number of meditation minutes that week. The class lasted an hour — and she spent the first 20 minutes simply recovering from rushing to get there.It raises an important question: what happens when self-care itself becomes another performance target?We talk about how to move away from constantly trying to optimise yourself and instead understand what actually gives you energy, focus and balance.In this episode, we explore:• The “superwoman” ideal — and why trying to meet it can become an endless source of pressure• Why “good enough” does not mean becoming less ambitious• How to manage energy instead of simply trying to manage more tasks• How to recognise what genuinely works for you instead of copying someone else’s ideal routine• How to develop an authentic leadership style without becoming colder or more aggressive• Empathy, boundaries and why empathetic leadership does not mean tolerating everything• Why intuition, emotional intelligence and human connection may become even more valuable in the age of AI• Longevity as a foundation for sustainable career performance — not simply a goal of living longerA conversation about ambition without burnout, confidence without perfection, and becoming a powerful leader without losing the human side of yourself.

In this episode, Helen de Haan shares the mental performance tools that can turn any high performer into a corporate athlete.Helen is a human performance and resilience expert who took an unusual path into coaching — working across three FIFA World Cup™ tournaments and inside TAG Heuer, Formula 1 Official Timekeeper, she spent the first half of her career as a legal counsel and sports businessexecutive at the heart of global sport, with a portfolio spanning some of the most prestigious names and properties in the game: Manchester United FC · Premier League · Bundesliga · LaLiga and the LaLiga Legends · Copa Libertadores · The Giro Italia · BMC Racing Team,to name a few.She now channels that experience into a coaching and training practice to help leaders in both sport and business navigate times of uncertainty, change and transition, inspired by one question: what do elite performers know about resilience that the rest of us don't?Message Helen on her LinkedIn profile at linkedin.com/in/helendehaan or on her website www.helendehaan.com

In this episode of Present Perfect Podcast, I sit down with Shivangi Walke, founder of Thrive with Mentoring, to explore how the right mentor can change not only your career, but also your confidence, identity, and sense of direction.We talk about the real difference between mentoring, coaching, and sponsorship, how to find a mentor who is truly the right fit, and why so many women benefit from having support outside their own organization. Shivangi also shares what makes mentoring relationships actually work, why some of them fail, and how women can become both better mentees and better mentors.This conversation is especially relevant for women navigating career growth, career change, leadership, entrepreneurship, and the question of how to belong while becoming more of who you are — particularly in an international environment like Switzerland.A thoughtful and practical episode for ambitious women who want to grow with more clarity, support, and courage.About the guest:Shivangi Walke is the founder of Thrive with Mentoring, a women-to-women mentoring platform active across multiple countries and cities worldwide. With a background in talent management and leadership development, she has spent years designing mentoring programs and helping women grow through meaningful mentor-mentee relationships.If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to Present Perfect Podcast.

In this episode of the Present Perfect Podcast, I speak with Nadine Hunkeler, certified financial planner and financial coach, about one of the most important and still misunderstood topics in modern life: how women can build real financial security and wealth in Switzerland.This conversation goes far beyond generic budgeting advice. We talk about what actually matters if you want to become financially stronger: starting early, understanding risk, using the Swiss system intelligently, building assets instead of just holding cash, and protecting yourself against the kinds of disruptions most people do not plan for.Some of the most interesting topics we covered:• why holding too much cash can quietly destroy wealth • what to do first before investing: bad debt, emergency fund, then investing• how the Swiss 3a system works and what many people get wrong about it• why having multiple 3a accounts can matter for future tax efficiency• the hidden problem with many life insurance products inside 3a• why women are often too risk-averse in investing — and what that costs over time• why diversification matters more than stock picking• why luxury items like Hermès or Chanel bags are not automatically good investments• why future financial security is not only about investing, but also about salary growth and negotiation• how AI upskilling is becoming part of financial survival and income protection• why multiple income streams and portfolio careers can create more resilience• the often-ignored role of legal protection and insurance in personal financial planning• one especially important and rarely discussed topic: the financial side of fertility planning and egg freezingThis episode is really about risk management for real life — not just retirement, but career uncertainty, inflation, family planning, income protection, and building a system that gives you more freedom over time.If you want to become more financially informed, more strategic, and more confident with money, this conversation is for you.