Strength Through Menopause
“Aging is not lost youth, but a new stage of opportunity and strength.”
When we are in our 40’s and 50’s, our bodies are changing, and we have the natural tendency to become resentful of these changes. Instead, it’s better to understand them, and ultimately choose the discomfort of forming new habits to manage them.
It is the declining levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone that cause the symptoms women experience in perimenopause and menopause. But instead of imagining this decline like a gentle ski slope (sorry ladies, we aren’t enjoying the powder at Park City, I’m afraid), picture it more like the chart of a volatile stock market.
There’s the Dow Jones index, spiking, falling, spiking again, falling dramatically, and so on; meanwhile, the NASDAQ is doing its own version of the jitters. Sometimes your estrogen levels end up surging, but the general trend during these years is down.
How does this affect women’s bodies?
For starters, estrogen works in conjunction with calcium, Vitamin D, and other minerals in order to keep bones strong. With declining levels of estrogen, our bone mineral density decreases, causing us to be more prone to broken bones. This is not something we want. Ladies, we need to keep that skeleton scary strong!
But wait! There’s more! Estrogen also regulates glucose and lipid metabolism, so as estrogen levels plummet, it becomes harder for women to process carbohydrates, which are more quickly turned to subcutaneous and intramuscular fat. Aren’t we the lucky ducks?
What is the solution to both these problems? Ladies, it is more important during perimenopause and menopause than ever before in our lives to exercise purposefully. I know that many women see cardio as the best way to get or stay in shape and to lose weight, but as we age, we need to incorporate lifting heavier weights and high-intensity training (plyometrics) into our exercise program.
As we enter perimenopausal and menopausal years, power training is an essential tool in preventing muscle loss and bone weakness. Bodyweight exercises are great for functional movement and certainly help keep us strong, but lifting heavier weights helps us build lean muscle mass and reduce subcutaneous and intramuscular fat.
Lifting also helps to offset age-related declines in bone mass. Activities that put stress on bones, such as powerlifting (strength training), activate bone-forming cells, thereby increasing bone density and reducing the risk of injury. If you are not lifting now, I do encourage you to seek out assistance from a trainer to make sure your form is good, which will prevent injury. Start with light weights and work your way up slowly. Some of my favorite exercises for lifting heavy are chest press, rows, shoulder press, bicep curls, squats and lunges.
One of my favorite authors, Brené Brown, writes that we must “Choose discomfort over resentment.” It can be scary and uncomfortable to change what has worked for you for your whole life – but your body insists on it.
Those changes that are happening inside us in our 40s and 50s, they demand that we change in order to stay strong. This is a new opportunity for us. Embrace the discomfort of change, and you will thrive.
