Exercising through menopause
Menopause is a very challenging time for most women. From what I hear from my female client, it’s an experience that is nothing like anything that has happened before. There is no one size fits all solution to exercise related problems during menopause for the reason that each woman’s biology is different. Menopause is still not fully understood by many – a million and one changes are occurring in the female body during this time.
Hormonal interactions affect each woman differently and the only way you will be able to see what works and what doesn’t is to keep an exercise journal. As an example:
I ran 4 miles on the treadmill today and felt great, a little headache I just can’t seem to shake it, seems to happen every time I go on the treadmill, coincidence?
The purpose of the above exercise is to develop a deeper understanding of how your body is responding to the changes its going through. Other things to take a note of include the following:
Sleeping habits.Food and drink choices and impact on your ability to exercise and health in general.Exercise types and duration.
Moderate exercise has been shown to help alleviate the common symptoms of menopause such as lack of sleep, weight gain and hot flashes. Changes occurring in your body during this time include reduced levels of estrogen that can impact how fat is stored by the body. Again because every woman is unique you may find that intensive exercise seems to work better for your symptoms, if that is the case then stick with what works for you.
If you have led a relatively active life menopause can be a challenging phase. The pressure to stop doing any exercise is sometimes strong because of the failure to understand and control the changes taking place.
Know yourself by trial and error, find what’s working and do more of it, find what’s not working and stop doing it.
Get guidance and expert coaching from a certified professional that might be able to see things that you’re missing. Here at Storm Fitness we specialize in working with an older population and are well aware of the unique role that menopause can play in an exercise program.
This is why each client is treated on an individual basis. Through a series of exercise sessions we are able to identify the best workout regime ideally suited for each client to obtain optimal results both physically and mentally. And remember, it’s never too late to begin an exercise program – or too early!