Are Certain Workouts Better During Menopause?

No matter what type of workouts you do, they all can help during menopause. The key is to get 75 minutes of vigorous exercise or 150 minutes of moderate exercise. It can be cardio workouts like jogging, riding a bike, swimming or just walking or you can use the time for strength training. If you’re doing cardio, it boosts your heart rate, burns calories and improves circulation. Just getting exercise is regularly is what is important.

Strength training, especially weig0our body makes changes and estrogen levels drop.

The estrogen helped the body maintain bone strength. It’s estimated that 10% of the bone mass is lost during menopause and if the person is inactive or has other risk factors, it can be as high as 20%. When you do strength training, your muscles tug on the bone and that sets into motion the absorption of calcium to deal with the added force and prevent the bones from breaking when muscles tug on them. People tend to gain weight during menopause and strength training can help burn fat and build muscle tissue, which requires more calories for maintenance, so you’ll boost your metabolism.

Flexibility and relaxation training, like yoga and tai chi can help with hot flashes.

Each person going through menopause has different symptoms. Some have hot flashes, while others think they have no symptoms at all, until they realize that insomnia is one of those. Exercise of all types can help the insomnia, since you sleep better at night after working out. There are also poses in yoga that can help relieve the fatigue, irritability and hot flashes of menopause.

Do something you enjoy.

If you want to relieve some of the irritability of menopause, then do something you enjoy. Having fun and staying active is what it’s all about. Maybe you love playing tennis. It’s a good cardio workout and also improves flexibility. Dancing is another exercise that can improve overall body fitness. It builds strength, flexibility and endurance, too. It can be regular dancing like you’d do on an evening out on the town or take special classes in jazz, ballet or even belly dancing. The key is to enjoy it, not necessarily to prepare yourself for a chorus line.

• You can use a StairMaster or take the frugal route and simply climb stairs regularly. I know someone that runs up and down their stairs at home as part of their workout. As your estrogen levels drop, your risk of coronary problems increase, so getting this type of cardio can keep you heart healthy.
• If you don’t have time to workout, you can combine exercise with household duties. Just do your jobs with more speed and vigor. Washing windows, doing yardwork and scrubbing the tub can actually be quite a workout when you do it that way.
• The food you eat also makes a difference in the severity of your symptoms. Eating healthy with plenty of greens, healthy fats and lean protein sources are important. Green tea, flax and oatmeal have also been shown to help relieve symptoms.
• If you’re finding it hard to stick with a program or simply aren’t sure where to start, we can help. We’ll help you create realistic goals that are realistic, specific and attainable. At The Worx, we create personalized programs for you.

For more information, contact us today at The Worx by Maia