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Pursue Your Spark: Your Guide to Escaping Midlife Traps, Reclaiming Confidence, and Living Fully
In Pursue Your Spark, wellness coach Heike Yates offers an empowering path forward with her signature SPARK Method—a practical, uplifting framework designed for women over 50 who want to reclaim their energy, confidence, and joy. With a focus on strength, agility, and resilience—inside and out—Heike shows you how to shift your mindset, build sustainable habits, and embrace change on your own terms.
This isn’t about chasing youth or following rigid rules. It’s about discovering your power right where you are, and creating a vibrant life that reflects who you are today. Through step-by-step guidance, motivating stories, and easy-to-follow strategies, you’ll learn how to:
- Reconnect with your body and trust it again
- Unlock energy and motivation that lasts
- Break free from limiting beliefs and old expectations
- Redefine success, fulfillment, and confidence for your next season of life
Pursue Your Spark is your invitation to stop shrinking back, start moving forward, and live fully—stronger, freer, and more inspired than ever.
This isn’t about chasing youth or following rigid rules. It’s about discovering your power right where you are, and creating a vibrant life that reflects who you are today. Through step-by-step guidance, motivating stories, and easy-to-follow strategies, you’ll learn how to:
- Reconnect with your body and trust it again
- Unlock energy and motivation that lasts
- Break free from limiting beliefs and old expectations
- Redefine success, fulfillment, and confidence for your next season of life
Pursue Your Spark is your invitation to stop shrinking back, start moving forward, and live fully—stronger, freer, and more inspired than ever.
- GenresSelf Help
230 pages, Paperback
Published August 4, 2025
1 person is currently reading
2821 people want to read
About the author
Heike Yates
2 books10 followersHeike Yates is a midlife fitness expert, wellness coach, athlete, and author who helps women rebuild strength, energy, and confidence—without extremes, quick fixes, or starting over.
With more than 40 years in the fitness and wellness industry, Heike understands what happens when the strategies that once worked suddenly don’t. A former bodybuilder, ultra-marathoner, and Ironman competitor, she built her early success on discipline and performance.
Midlife became the moment when pushing harder stopped working—and she realized the problem wasn’t discipline, but the message women were being taught about their bodies.
Today, Heike helps midlife women who feel stuck, depleted, or disconnected from themselves move forward through her SPARK Framework, her Pursue Your Spark coaching programs, and her books and podcast. Her work blends science, lived experience, and compassion to help women stop blaming themselves for change—and start working with their bodies instead.
Her mission is simple: to help women stop believing they’ve missed their window and start building strength, energy, and confidence in ways that feel realistic, sustainable, and empowering—right where they are.
When she’s not coaching or writing, Heike enjoys hiking, cycling, and spending time with her children and grandchildren, living the same balanced approach she teaches.
With more than 40 years in the fitness and wellness industry, Heike understands what happens when the strategies that once worked suddenly don’t. A former bodybuilder, ultra-marathoner, and Ironman competitor, she built her early success on discipline and performance.
Midlife became the moment when pushing harder stopped working—and she realized the problem wasn’t discipline, but the message women were being taught about their bodies.
Today, Heike helps midlife women who feel stuck, depleted, or disconnected from themselves move forward through her SPARK Framework, her Pursue Your Spark coaching programs, and her books and podcast. Her work blends science, lived experience, and compassion to help women stop blaming themselves for change—and start working with their bodies instead.
Her mission is simple: to help women stop believing they’ve missed their window and start building strength, energy, and confidence in ways that feel realistic, sustainable, and empowering—right where they are.
When she’s not coaching or writing, Heike enjoys hiking, cycling, and spending time with her children and grandchildren, living the same balanced approach she teaches.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 23, 2025
Do you ever have a book that you may have come across at exactly the right time? I am a 36 year old woman who can often feel trapped in the monotony of each day. This book made me feel so seen which doesn’t always happen for me and I think sometimes women find it hard to put into words how they feel and think this is just how it is. Heike brings that all to light in her experience and pulls on experiences of some clients as well which felt relatable even though I may have not been in the same exact situation as them I could understand what they were experiencing.
I really enjoyed the page breaks and the general format of this book. As a person on the go I always wants to just squeeze in one more chapter and this book allows for you to do that, nothing is super drawn out and are broken down into much more digestible pieces for even the novice readers who can get discouraged by a long chapter ahead. I did feel that sometimes I was reading the same thing with slightly different wording frequently so some items felt a bit repetitive to me and probably could have been edited out.
Main focus is starting somewhere, meeting yourself where you’re at currently which helps reach a wide range of people who are at different points in their life. Small actionable steps can lead to habits that actually stick and become your new normal which is what I’ve been looking for and felt like this pushed me to identify and start putting the pieces together instead of trying to start all over if I go slightly off course with a goal in mind.
I thought it was great that there are documents provided if you need a guide such as the QR code you can scan right in the book. There are a lot of questions for some self reflection and I think this will help a lot of people in different ways since readers will vary. Overall I really enjoyed this way of thinking and just felt empowered to go out there and take the next step. It was nice to feel understood and Heike has a wonderful way of writing that makes you feel like you’re chatting with your close friend. Really enjoyed this one and can’t wait to share it with my bookswap friends! What does SPARK look like in your life? #goodreadsgiveaway
I really enjoyed the page breaks and the general format of this book. As a person on the go I always wants to just squeeze in one more chapter and this book allows for you to do that, nothing is super drawn out and are broken down into much more digestible pieces for even the novice readers who can get discouraged by a long chapter ahead. I did feel that sometimes I was reading the same thing with slightly different wording frequently so some items felt a bit repetitive to me and probably could have been edited out.
Main focus is starting somewhere, meeting yourself where you’re at currently which helps reach a wide range of people who are at different points in their life. Small actionable steps can lead to habits that actually stick and become your new normal which is what I’ve been looking for and felt like this pushed me to identify and start putting the pieces together instead of trying to start all over if I go slightly off course with a goal in mind.
I thought it was great that there are documents provided if you need a guide such as the QR code you can scan right in the book. There are a lot of questions for some self reflection and I think this will help a lot of people in different ways since readers will vary. Overall I really enjoyed this way of thinking and just felt empowered to go out there and take the next step. It was nice to feel understood and Heike has a wonderful way of writing that makes you feel like you’re chatting with your close friend. Really enjoyed this one and can’t wait to share it with my bookswap friends! What does SPARK look like in your life? #goodreadsgiveaway
August 5, 2025
As the author of Pursue Your Spark, I wanted to leave a note here—not as a glowing “look at me” review, but as a reflection on why I wrote this book in the first place.
After decades of coaching midlife women, I kept hearing the same thing: “I feel stuck, like I’ve lost myself somewhere along the way.” So I created this guide to help you get unstuck—not with guilt or overwhelm, but with real tools, mindset shifts, and honest stories from women just like you.
Writing this book cracked me open in the best way. I've pulled together what has worked for me and the women I coach—from battling burnout and perfectionism to finding energy and strength again. If you’re in that messy middle of midlife and wondering what’s next, I hope this book feels like sitting down with someone who gets it.
And if you read it—mark it up, dog-ear the pages, and let it be your spark.
—Heike
After decades of coaching midlife women, I kept hearing the same thing: “I feel stuck, like I’ve lost myself somewhere along the way.” So I created this guide to help you get unstuck—not with guilt or overwhelm, but with real tools, mindset shifts, and honest stories from women just like you.
Writing this book cracked me open in the best way. I've pulled together what has worked for me and the women I coach—from battling burnout and perfectionism to finding energy and strength again. If you’re in that messy middle of midlife and wondering what’s next, I hope this book feels like sitting down with someone who gets it.
And if you read it—mark it up, dog-ear the pages, and let it be your spark.
—Heike
August 31, 2025
Pursue Your Spark is an empowering and uplifting guide for any woman navigating midlife and beyond. Heike Yates doesn’t just talk about fitness or diet—she gives you a holistic, practical roadmap for reclaiming energy, confidence, and purpose. Her SPARK Method is pragmatic, doable and inspiring, with real-life stories that make you nod in recognition. This book is like having a wise, motivating coach in your corner reminding you it’s never too late to redefine your life. It is a how-to guide that motivates and inspires. Highly recommended for women ready to move from stuck to unstoppable.
October 13, 2025
Dear Reader,
If you’ve ever looked in the mirror and thought, when did I start feeling invisible? —Please know this book was written for you.
I know what it’s like to juggle career, family, and identity while wondering if you’ll ever feel like yourself again. I’ve been a single mom raising two kids on a shoestring, an athlete chasing goals that felt impossible, and a woman navigating midlife shifts with all their challenges and questions. What I discovered through it all is this: midlife isn’t the end of anything. It’s the spark of something new.
Pursue Your Spark is my way of putting that discovery into your hands. It’s a collection of tools, encouragement, and small, doable steps to help you feel strong in your body, clear in your mind, and confident in your next chapter. My hope is that as you read, you’ll feel less alone—and more excited about what’s possible.
With warmth and strength—Midlife, But Make It Powerful!
Heike
If you’ve ever looked in the mirror and thought, when did I start feeling invisible? —Please know this book was written for you.
I know what it’s like to juggle career, family, and identity while wondering if you’ll ever feel like yourself again. I’ve been a single mom raising two kids on a shoestring, an athlete chasing goals that felt impossible, and a woman navigating midlife shifts with all their challenges and questions. What I discovered through it all is this: midlife isn’t the end of anything. It’s the spark of something new.
Pursue Your Spark is my way of putting that discovery into your hands. It’s a collection of tools, encouragement, and small, doable steps to help you feel strong in your body, clear in your mind, and confident in your next chapter. My hope is that as you read, you’ll feel less alone—and more excited about what’s possible.
With warmth and strength—Midlife, But Make It Powerful!
Heike
September 4, 2025
Heike Yates’ book is a deeply compassionate guide for middle aged and older women who feel like they are mentally trapped. The real life stories she presents are highly relatable. These examples and the author’s wisdom help on your own journey toward feeling like yourself again. This book is a real treat.
November 17, 2025
Heike always offers sensible and helpful advice for women to feel their best in midlife.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews