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Having recently turned 50 years old, it reminded me how important it is for all menopausal women to understand what’s going on in our bodies and do what we can to prevent, reverse or minimize any negative symptoms. It’s also important to note that the entire process can take up to 20 years for some women!

What can you do to manage menopause from an exercise perspective?

 

Definitely Move Your Body!

It will positively impact your energy, your sleep patterns and your mental health.

Strength Training

It’s truly the fountain of youth. Lift something heavy to help preserve muscle mass and reverse or slow down the negative results of bone density loss, slower metabolism, poor posture, loss of balance and less strength.

Experiment With Cardio

Some of you will fair better with high-intensity interval training and some of you will have better responses to easier, longer duration exercise. Listen to your body and pay attention to how you feel after certain types of cardio. Document your workouts and analyze your menopausal symptoms. Do what your body responds best to.

Get Functional

Perform movements that load the spine or the hips, strengthen the lower body in a manner that increases our ability to function in life, strengthen the postural muscles, strengthen the core, condition our upper body, and improve our ability to balance and move through space. Movement such as Squats, Step ups, Lunges, Pulling, Overhead pressing, Bridging, Planking, Walking/Running, and one-legged movements are all very helpful.

Perform Movements in a Variety of Different Angles and Planes

Most of us get stuck in a rut doing the same exercise in the same way each time. The body, specifically the muscular and skeletal systems, responds better when we mix it up each time we perform an exercise. So for example, you might perform a wide squat, a mid squat, a narrow squat…you might perform a squat with one leg positioned more forward than the other or a one legged squat. Or you might hold a weight on one side of your body and not the other and then switch to the other side. You might try going very slow and then fast. You might move through space squatting laterally or moving forwards or backwards. The idea is that our body moves in 3D and we want to make sure we’re not doing everything in a linear format.  So, as you perform each movement, ask yourself each set or session, ‘how could you do this exercise differently?’

Be Sure to Incorporate Mobility and Stretching

We can get tight and rigid as we age so we want to assure we include stretches and movements that maintain our flexibility and range of motion.

Most exercise physiologists agree that what we do today, directly determines how we age. Aging is less about chronological aging and more about disuse. Use it or lose it! Age gracefully with strength and fitness by moving your body!

Yours in health & fitness,
Sherri McMillan

Note: As an avid Columbian reader, you can redeem a complimentary initial in person or virtual personal training appointment to help get you started. Email us for more details.

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We Are Open!

Northwest Personal Training is NOW OPEN! We are SO EXCITED to see you! For Private Training, you’ll have the option to continue doing virtual training, outdoor training or training at the studio. For Group Fitness classes, you will be able to continue doing virtual online classes (live or saved) and we are also going to host some outdoor programming.

We specific safety precautions that we have in place so please watch this video where I explain everything we are doing to keep you safe.

Here is a link to our Reopening Protocol in detail so you can review closely.

#NWPTSTRONG

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