This topic remains somewhat controversial to talk about, especially as a man. This is partly down to the menopause being viewed in a negative light (e.g. as a loss or as a negative experience). I'm not here to dispute how hard it must be, however I am here to show you a positive side of the menopause when it comes to fitness, nutrition & wellbeing. It's also controversial due to most men's distinct lack of interest in the topic which is, frankly, stupid. It affects us all (directly or indirectly) & there are ways men can help empower women on their journey. Therefore I'd like to give you some benefits, some things to be aware of & some tips on how to stay fit & healthy during the perimenopause, menopause & post-menopause.
If you're used to exercising, it can be disconcerting when perimenopausal, menopausal & post-menopausal symptoms start disrupting your workouts. Even more so if you're starting your fitness journey amongst the menopausal disruption. Here's a few of the more common menopausal factors that might be affecting your workouts:
Lower bone density & muscle mass (leading to less strength, balance & making day-to-day tasks a little harder).
Increased body fat percentage (meaning you'll have to eat less &/or move more to maintain the same body fat).
Lower metabolism (leading to weight being put on more easily & a potential drop in mood).
Decrease in motivation to exercise (due to the drop in oestrogen leading to a drop in dopamine).
Physical decline (e.g. lower back pain or joint stiffness).
These factors are annoying, but not impassable. In fact, it gives you all the more reason & motivation to train, especially considering the massive improvements to your menopause symptoms that come with training.
So here is a few results, backed by science, to prove just how beneficial getting on top if your training can be:
Reduces the decline in metabolism, resulting in a better body composition, better fitness & better physique.
Not only does it prevent that loss in bone density, it actually increases your bone density despite the menopause.
Reduces stress, improves mood & reduces "hot flushes".
Prevents lower back pain & improves body function.
Reduces your risk of disease & helps you live longer.
So now you know why we think you should take control of your fitness in order to empower you throughout the menopausal stages, let's discuss how you can overcome any barriers to exercise that you might experience:
Menopausal barrier: Harder to keep the weight off.
Solution: Speak to a coach! But aside from that, upping your daily activity will help & you can find comminuty based ways of getting fit such as a sports club to aid motivation. Weight lifting tends to burn far more calories than cardio (as well as all of the other benefits) so try to include that in your weekly fitness regime. This really comes down to your standard weight loss methods, but made specific to you (which we have plenty of other articles on).
Menopausal barrier: Lower motivation due to drop in oestrogen levels.
Solution: This comes back to building up good habits, or finding a community so that you have something (or someone) to hold you to it, because us humans are nutoriously rubbish at sticking to things. The unfortunate misconception with motivation is that motivation breeds hard work. Unfortunately it has been proven time & time again that it's the other way round! Hard work is often followed by higher motivation. I bet you've never been so certain about going back to the gym as you were a couple of hours after you left your last workout...
Menopausal barrier: Physical decline making the simple things harder.
Solution: Lots of factors come into this such as memory, brain function, joint fatigue, lower muscle mass etc. The best way to counter this is to keep going & be patient! Something is better than nothing even on the bad days so remember that your progress will be slower than before the menopause & that's okay, you'll still get there.
This is definitely a topic we'd like to come back to as there's so much more to say, but in the interest of time we'll leave it there. Hopefully we've given you the nudge you needed to make some positive changes. As always, get in touch if you'd like to understand more about training through the menopause, mastering your fitness or perfecting your nutrition & we'd love to help! See you next week.
Elliot Hutchinson // 28.07.2024
© 2024 The Coaching Collective
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