The keys to training in menopause

Do you want the years to pass and do with your body whatever you want?

There are two milestones that mark us: the arrival of the period and its disappearance.

The benefits of physical activity are supported by science, also in menopause.

However, due to the existing misinformation about exercise in this period, the training schedule is often approached as a challenge to maintain “the same size” for the rest of our lives.

This result-oriented and unreal approach can lead us to frustration and abandonment.

No two women are the same, nor are two menopauses.

But the goal for all of us should be health, not trying to fit into our 20-year-old pants.

The exercise is independence, autonomy, freedom.

We are facing

that protects us from many diseases and, in addition, allows time to pass and we can do what we want without our body being a limiting factor.

Symptoms

Over the years, ovarian function begins to decline, and as a result, there is a gradual reduction in estrogen secretion that affects the menstrual cycle.

The World Health Organization (WHO) points out that the natural menopause usually arrives between the ages of 45 and 55 and admits the following: "It occurs after 12 consecutive months without menstruation, as long as the end of it does not is due to no other obvious physiological or pathological cause or clinical intervention.

Our hormones change.

Since the production of the primary reproductives occurs in the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland in the brain, the symptoms of menopause could come more from the brain than from the ovaries.

The transition to the definitive withdrawal of menstruation could be associated with several effects on our health.

As the review

published by The Journal

(2021) admits, we could have vasomotor symptoms (such as hot flashes), cardiovascular system conditions, osteoporosis, genitourinary ( including vaginal dryness), changes in mood, body composition, and sleep patterns.

Exercise is an ally and it should adapt to us, not the other way around.

Excuses work against us.

At my age am I going to "hit" the dumbbell?

Whenever I am asked that question my answer is: “It is never too late to start taking care of yourself.

Of course.

You can and should start: first learn to move well, then move more intensively and work with loads.

Lose your fear and stop the myth”.

Strength training is important at all stages of life;

however, considering the rapid decline in our bone mineral density, muscle mass, and joint health—as we gain life experience—this type of exercise becomes even more important.

According to The North American Menopause Society (NAMS), starting in our thirties, we begin to lose approximately 1% of muscle mass each year.

strength training

Dumbbells, free weights, bars,

(Russian weights) are our allies, a source of health.

Let's put aside, please, the tiny colored dumbbells, those that have little weight and allow us to perform series of infinite repetitions.

Strength is the ability to overcome resistance (such as our own body weight) in a given time.

We are before the

of basic physical abilities, we need it for our day to day: climbing stairs, running after a bus, carrying shopping bags, getting up from a chair.

As part of a comprehensive exercise program, ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) and the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend training each muscle group 2 to 3 days per week, with 2 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions. that imply reaching the last ones with effort (more difficulty to complete them).

Some examples of exercises that involve large muscle groups are: strides, squats,

(push-ups), rowing…

What if I start at 47?

As if it is at 52 or later.

There is no age to start strength training, the important thing is to understand that to obtain its benefits we need it to be sustainable (maintain it in the long term) and individualized (we can have osteoarthritis, pelvic floor problems, hypertension, osteoporosis or any pathology and these must be taken into account when prescribing a training plan).

Just as we go to a dietitian-nutritionist to learn how to eat, we will visit a Sports Science Graduate to find out which exercises are the most appropriate and perform their technique correctly.

We need them to live better, to be self-sufficient, and they can also become an effective intervention to improve the symptoms of menopause.

However, most women do not perform them.

The goal of the meta-analysis

.

(2023) notes that strength training compared to aerobic training appears to improve functional capacity, bone mineral density, decrease hot flash frequency, and percentage fat mass.

Keep the heating on

“We are in January, at three degrees and I am wearing shirt sleeves.

I have heat inside of me”, one of my

told me one day .

Vasomotor symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats, are experienced by between 50% and 75% in perimenopause (transition to menopause).

“I exercise feeling good, yes, at my age, and noticing that I can handle my body… It's nice to know that I manage to walk, climb stairs, that I am able to lift

.

It's positive both physically and mentally."

These are the words of one of the study participants

(2022) that, in principle, had the purpose of observing the result of strength training in hot flashes.

It was found that they decreased by almost 50% and that the quality of life improved.

But, after the intervention, some interviews were conducted and here is the surprise: force began to be seen as the driver of a change that had nothing to do with the physical.

The women felt better about themselves.

A “natural fat burner”

Body composition can be modified, but not in any way, nor all equally.

The slowdown in basal metabolism is a predisposing factor for weight gain over time, regardless of gender, it is clear that not all weight gain -as the years go by- is attributable to this.

Diet, exercise, sleep control or emotional management are key when it comes to understanding how two people, of the same age, can have a different evolution in their body composition.

Metabolism is our

and the car is our body.

Muscle enables that

to be more efficient and faster.

The body requires energy simply to exist and needs more to run after the bus, carry a suitcase or climb the floors of our house.

For us, contrary to popular belief, more muscle mass can also help burn more fat, since it increases our basal metabolism.

This is achieved by training strength.

bone formation

“The doctor has told me that the little

that they sell in the supermarket refrigerators do nothing, that I should go to the gym.

I listened to him, but I don't quite understand why”, a client told me at the time.

The transition to menopause is a sensitive time for bone density.

Up to 20 percent of bone loss occurs during this stage, according to the American Endocrine Society.

Studies such as

show that strength training could maintain and promote bone formation.

The

(2020) review established the following recommendations to promote bone health in menopause: Better exercise with "free weight" (dumbbells, kettlebells or bars) than with guided machines;

two sessions per week and work with intensities that pose a challenge to the body (which is difficult for us to lift).

walk for pleasure

Walking can be an accessible and sustainable option.

The challenge is to make that ride yours.

The review

(2020) admits that a walking program would help maintain fitness in midlife and postmenopause, but the benefit in alleviating the most common menopausal symptoms remains uncertain.

According to ACSM recommendations, women seeking to improve their health and well-being should aim to achieve 5 or more days per week of 30 to 60 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 3 or more days per week of 20 to 30 minutes. of vigorous activity, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity.

The Mayo Clinic (United States) admits that aerobic activity can help maintain a healthy weight.

He recommends, if you are a beginner, to start with 10 minutes a day and gradually increase the intensity and duration.

What can we do if we don't have time?

High intensity intervals, known as HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), repeated bouts of high intensity effort ranging between 80% and 100% of maximum heart rate followed by less intense recovery times could be an efficient modality.

According to the meta-analysis

(2020) these programs reduced body weight, total and abdominal fat.

That being said, interval training should be prescribed on a personalized basis by a physical activity professional, after performing a stress test in a clinical setting.

Training for yourself is an act of self-love and self-care.

In fact, this stage can be a good time to start a change in habits within healthy and realistic expectations.

Reaching this age is an achievement and we should enjoy it.

We are not going to be 20 years old again, pretending it is absurd, but we can live this stage from the prism that knowledge gives us.

Good decisions come from experience, which in turn leaves us with bad decisions.

Do you want the years to pass and do with your body whatever you want?

That's health, whoever tried it knows it.

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