Exercise for Menopause…..Why you should be investing time in yourself NOW. Before its too late! (Actually it’s never too late)
Why spending some time now may mean you live a longer, healthier life and will help you sail through the Menopause. “Make time for health now or be prepared to make time for ill health later on”
OK I know we are all busy, and who has time for exercise right? And what about nutrition? Picture it, your a busy working Mum, you are cooking for a house full of fussy eaters - one is vegetarian, one only likes chips and the other refuses to eat anything green! So there is no time to cater for all these people AND eat healthily right? Wrong! So many of us are so busy looking after everyone elses needs that we often neglect our own. But listen here….you are no good to anyone if you are not in tip top shape. By looking after yourself you are doing your best for EVERYONE. And particularly if you are a woman in her forties or fifties NOW is the time to really crank it up a level. So if you read my previous blog on my top tips to kick menopauses arse it was all about nutrition and how key it is to control and manage symptoms of menopause. Today I want to talk about strength training……hear me out! You are going to want to hear this!
As we age, and especially as women, we loose muscle mass and our bones weaken. Strength training is the best way, alongside a healthy diet, of maintaining or even improving and preventing muscle loss and keeping our bones strong and healthy.
Why is this so important as we age? Well in the UK over 3.5 million people suffer with osteoporosis and most of these are women. Osteoporosis affects women much more than men and one in two women over 50 will break a bone because of it. Most women don’t even know they have the condition until they actually break something so this is why it is so important to take action NOW to get strong to prevent such situations. In fact the earlier you start the better, so even in your 30’s we should all start to think about these things and take action. The earlier the better to get your body and mind in the best shape before peri menopause hits.
I mentioned in. my last blog that the best exercise you can do it the one you love (and that you are most likely to stick to!). So be it walking, or running or dancing, just do it! However, when you reach a certain age and your hormones start to change there are certain exercises that benefit you way more than others. We are always told to do cardio to loose fat but this simply isn’t the case. Cardio is great for heart health but it can put the body under a lot of stress. It doesn’t necessarily lead to weight loss - if you enjoy feeling your heart rate increase during exercise far better to do short interval style training (so really short bursts of maximum effort like sprints) followed by a short rest interval. Long intense sessions aren’t necessarily best for our ageing metabolisms.
Strength training is something ALL women should consider for optimal health and wellbeing. Not only is it a great thing for mental health it can benefit your body in ways that other exercise doesn’t quite do. Let me tell you about some of the benefits of lifting weights (and no you won’t end up with ‘man’ muscles. You will end up strong and powerful both in mind and body!)
(1) Weight Training increases your METABOLIC RATE. This basically means your body is burning more calories for longer - it increases the rate of calories you burn at rest. In fact, lift in the morning and your body will still be burning calories way into the evening at a faster rate than if you were sedentary! Now that sounds good doesn’t it?
(2) Lifting strengthens bones and muscles and as a result you not only get stronger but you benefit from IMPROVED POSTURE and you become more STABLE. During peri menopause many women will start to suffer with joint pain and instability which is due to higher levels of inflammation in the body and your declining sex hormones, lifting helps keep them stronger which in turn stops your posture from declining. Did I mention stronger bones?
(3) Better BODY COMPOSTION. As estrogen declines through peri menopause so does our muscle building (anabolic) stimulus which in turn means we start to store more fat, and in particular fat around our tummies (Ahhhh)! When you lift, your muscles receive messages which stimulate growth as a result of the additional stress put upon them which in turn improves body composition, which means a leaner look and better skin structure. Basically you lean out and build some muscle which makes your body and skin look better!
When you lift it BOOSTS your IMMUNITY and REDUCES INFLAMMATION in the body (all thanks to the creation of small proteins called cytokines that control the growth and activity of your immune system). It is also great for mental health….there is nothing quite like a great session to really zone out and feel great.
Having said all that weight training is not for everyone. And there are some things you should be doing alongside it anyway, especially as you get older. WALKING is one of the best exercises for general health and mental wellbeing. So walk everyday - walk wherever you can and in particular get out into nature where there are lots of trees and nature around you. Most of us are lucky to live somewhere near a green space so get walking ladies! Keeping your heart healthy is important and through good nutrition and some exercise that gets your heart rate elevated that will do the trick…..heavy and long cardio is not the best as we get older so short sharp exercise or LISS (low intensity steady state) is a great way to burn extra calories, keep your heart healthy but not stress the body too much.
If you found this blog interesting please follow me on instagram or join our private Facebook group. Next blog up will be all about your GUT and why its so important to look after it! So stay tuned and look out for this super important blog (it could be the most important one yet!