BE STRONG IN THE MENOPAUSE
I am pretty certain that one of the main reasons behind my own relatively easy ride during the peri-menopause and into menopause is because I am fit and regularly active. Scientific evidence backs this up - it is known that women who are active and do regular exercise throughout their menopausal years generally experience less unpleasant symptoms, such as hot flushes and night sweats, than women who don’t.
Of course, while exercise is one of the key ways to manage menopause, it’s got countless health benefits alongside that. But there are certain forms of exercise which are especially beneficial for women who have started this chapter of their lives. Having a general regular routine such as walking every day and doing some cardiovascular activity a few times a week is very helpful, and one of the key forms of exercise that you absolutely SHOULD be doing is strength training.
Strength training is essential, not optional. It helps maintain our muscle mass and our bone mass, and keeps our bodies functioning not only for our day-to-day life, but to look forward to an independent future where we aim to prevent ourselves from - quite frankly - ending up in nursing care.
However, read on to see which two other forms of exercise you can incorporate into your training as well as strength training, and why they matter (one of these forms of exercise is especially helpful for menopause belly fat).
Sprint Interval Training (SIT)
Sprint interval training is like a shorter, harder form of high intensity interval training (HIIT). With SIT, for example, you might use an indoor cycle to sprint as hard as you can for a short amount of time (no more than 40 seconds, depending on your fitness and the intervals you’ve decided upon), then have intervals of rest, such as 20 seconds (so 40sec/20sec).
Yep, it is tough, but you could see the benefits from just two x 10 minute sessions per week (or add in a third if you are not very active otherwise), and one of the main benefits of SIT is that, unlike other forms of cardiovascular exercise, it actually reduces menopause belly fat. I’m going to write another post on this, as there is a lot of science behind it, but in a nutshell, SIT picks up the job where your pre-menopause oestrogen left off (specifically, where oestrone left off, as this is the main form of oestrogen present in pre-menopause women).
SIT helps to control blood glucose levels (which oestrone used to help with). It also improves mitochondrial function, and counteracts cortisol levels (a key driver in menopause belly fat - and belly fat overall) through its influence on HGH (human growth hormone). It is the intensity levels which do this, as studies have shown that doing cardiovascular exercise at lower intensity may have similar cardiovascular benefits to health, but it doesn’t change body composition.
How to SIT, then?
You could try a Tabata type interval to get you started. For 20 seconds in your chosen exercise (indoor cycles are good as they are low impact, but you could try sprinting or rowing), go for it at nearly your maximum effort, then take 10 seconds rest - and repeat for 8 times. Take five minutes full recovery, then repeat - so you’ve done almost 10 minutes. You could try other intervals like 40/20, but keep each SIT training period around 4 to 5 minutes, followed by a recovery period, then another SIT period so you've done 8 to 10 minutes.
Jump Training (Plyometrics)
One of the things that menopausal women are much more at risk from once their oestrogen levels start dropping is osteoporosis. In the UK in 2019, of the population who had diagnosed osteoporosis, 78.3% were women, compared to 21.7% of them being men (International Osteoporosis Foundation, 2022).
Osteoporosis is a very serious bone disease where bone mineral density loss makes the bones more brittle, and easier to break. If you fracture a hip over the age of 65, the global mean mortality risk for death within the first year is 22% (Downey et al, 2019).
The good news is, you can do something to prevent this with exercise. Jump training helps with bone strengthening - which therefore reduces the risk of this debilitating bone disease. The impact from the jumping provides your body with a positive stressor, which helps to build it stronger (to put it simply).
You can gain better bone health from doing just three x 10 minute sessions of jumping activity each week. It does depend upon your level of fitness as to where to start - don’t just start leaping about if you’re not already used to this form of exercise - but plyometrics are a huge help to women in their menopause years, and should be incorporated into your fitness routine.
How to jump, then?
It’s easy! You don’t need any fancy equipment, either. Make up a routine which incorporates star jumps, squat jumps, skipping, skaters, mountain climbers and so forth. As you become more proficient and it starts to feel easier, you can start using the boxes at the gym or benches to jump up and down from.
But as I’ve said, it can’t be stressed enough that you need to work up to this gradually - and if in any doubt, get checked by a medical practitioner first. This ESPECIALLY applies if you suspect you may have osteoporosis - you cannot start jumping if you already have it, as you may break a bone. So take care. This is a preventative measure rather than one to begin once the condition is underway (people with osteoporosis need a specialist exercise programme, as I will soon be able to deliver when I gain my L3 Diploma in Exercise Referral).
I hope you found this article useful and it has helped you start to think about how you can exercise through the menopause.
Find out more!
Are you a woman living in Greater Manchester going through perimenopause or menopause, and want to know more about training through your menopause? Then please contact me to book a free consultation with me at The PT Factory.
DISCLAIMER: This article is for general information only and not to be taken as a prescription for advice, as every individual is different. It is your responsibility to check with your GP or health practitioner before you change your activity levels or start doing any specific forms of exercise.
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