PERIMENOPAUSE -A quick guide to positively managing changing hormones & weight gain. Aged between 35-55years? Read on for BEST Exercises & WHY (science based)
WHAT IS PERIMENOPAUSE?
The period leading up to menopause – called perimenopause – typically lasts for 2 to 8 years, prior to the official onset of menopause. This is the time where the menstrual cycle essentially starts to tail off.
The vast majority of women will experience at least some of these common symptoms:
Irregular and/or erratic menstrual cycles, increased PMS symptoms
Hot flushes (technically called vasomotor symptoms)
Mood disturbances, typically an increase in irritability, depression and anxiety
Cognitive symptoms, including difficulty with memory and ‘brain fog’
Insomnia
Weight gain, particularly around the abdomen
Joint aches
HORMONES
These changes are driven primarily through declining levels of the hormones, the 2 most well-known of which are oestrogen & progesterone. As hormone levels begin to shift, women will typically start to notice some physical changes, which can lead to weight gain despite eating well & exercising regularly.
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WHICH TYPE OF EXERCISE IS BEST?
Perimenopause brings a number of physical changes, which have significant implications for women’s health & functional fitness.
Most of these changes are positively influenced through exercise, specifically Strength Training (using weights)
WHY STRENGTH TRAINING?
Because it’s been proven to help manage weight, maintain muscle mass, build bone & keep the nervous system happy. All the things that are impacted by changing hormones during perimenopause.
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POSITIVELY MANAGE MIDSECTION WEIGHT GAIN… Starting lifting
It can be very frustrating to gain weight despite eating & exercising in much the same way as you had before, so you do more exercise & eat less & it doesn’t make any difference to your body composition, shape or weight…. That's because it’s not the most effective strategy, which can leave you going round in circles without getting the results you want.
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All living tissue is metabolically active, but muscle tissue is particularly so. Generally, if you have more muscle mass, your basal – or resting – metabolic rate (how much energy you burn just to stay alive) is likely to be higher (it’s more complex than that but the correlation between lean tissue mass & resting metabolic rate is significant) so the best way to boost your metabolism is to maintain or build your muscle mass by lifting weights & progressively lifting more & more as you get stronger.
This means that progressive strength training needs to be part of any weight-management programme. Strength Training & weight-bearing exercise is also key to building bone density, which is crucial to avoid conditions like; osteopenia & osteoporosis developing in later life.
I hope that gave a bit more of an insight into how & why strength training can help manage so many of the perimenopause symptoms & why.
If you want to start safely doing progressive strength training. I can help you.
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I started teaching exercise with weights in 1994 when I qualified to design sport specific programmes. I then went of to qualify as a British Amateur Weight Lifting Assessor & then in early 2000's did a number of qualifications to teach progressive strength training in group exercise class settings. It is also a big component with my personal training clients.
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My experience crosses; sports individuals & teams, groups & individuals of all ages & spans 3 decades.
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A lot has changed during that time as science & psychology have moved on.
Writing this even 15 years ago would have been radicle, today it's welcomed...
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If you want to start safely doing progressive strength training.
🔻Click the link here to see all the classes you can do:
https://www.tracydixonmindandbodyfit.com/body-pump
Love Tracy x