by Gemma Delaney

The middle years often bring a delightful mixture of experience and wisdom, but it’s also a time when menopausal changes may challenge your fitness commitment. Armed with expert advice from fitness mentor Clara Greenwood, let’s explore how tailoring your workouts can help navigate and even alleviate menopausal symptoms.

The perimenopausal phase, characterized by a noticeable dip in oestrogen levels, can trigger an uninvited guest list of challenges like hot flashes, mood swings, weight gain, and disrupted sleep. This phase precedes menopause, the time when menstruation ceases for an uninterruptedly span of a year, and can last anywhere from several months to years, starting as early as in your 30s.

Perimenopause’s hormonal upheavals can leave you feeling more exhausted than usual and negatively impact your desire to maintain an active lifestyle. The drop in oestrogen slows down your metabolism, diminishes muscle mass, and reduces bone density, leading to an increase in body fat and other symptoms such as night sweats that interfere with sleep.

The Silver Lining: Fit and Fabulous through Menopause

Despite these challenges, upholding your workout regime during menopause has significant benefits. Exercise releases mood-boosting endorphins, reducing anxiety and stress. Even a leisurely stroll can induce this feel-good effect.

Exercise is a handy tool to manage perimenopausal weight gain that often accumulates around the waistline. Regular movement helps burn calories and keeps your core muscles robust.

Even if fatigue takes over your will to stay physically active, remember that exercise helps alleviate menopause symptoms. Weightlifting, for instance, promotes healthy bones and reduces osteoporosis risk—a common ailment during menopause. Regular workouts can even decrease hot flashes and help reignite the ebbing sexual drive.

Mapped Out: Ideal Workouts for Menopause

The transition towards a menopause-friendly workout routine should focus on self-care. Instead of high-intensity workouts, opt for strength training, brisk walks, and yoga. When energy levels allow, you can increase workout intensity, but avoid over-exerting yourself. Here’s a roundup of exercise types that are effective.

1. Strength Training

Strength training exercises are perfect for maintaining muscle mass and burning calories during menopause. These workouts ideally comprise two to three resistance-based routines a week, engaging the whole body. Feel free to use dumbbells to enhance your squats, lunges, biceps curls, triceps dips, and dumbbell deadlifts.

2. Brisk Walking

A brisk walk is an excellent calorie-burner that raises the heart rate and releases endorphins to overcome stress and anxiety. It’s also an affordable exercise option—requiring only comfortable sneakers and maybe some enjoyable podcasts to accompany your stride.

3. Yoga and Pilates

These holistic exercises help maintain core strength while promoting stability and balance. Attending a group class can be a fun way to socialize and offers a calming approach to handling anxiety commonly linked with perimenopause.

4. Sports

Engaging in sports like tennis or netball provides both physical activity and a social interaction platform. Exercising with friends can make physical activity more enjoyable and increase your commitment to regular exercise.

5. Low-Intensity Interval Training (LIIT)

Where high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions may exacerbate perimenopausal symptoms if done too frequently, LIIT provides a less stressful alternative. Opt for LIIT workouts rather than overtaxing your body with too many HIIT sessions.

Clara Greenwood is a fitness coach collaborating with the supplement and wellbeing brand BodyVitalize.

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