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Menopause and Exercise
Health | January 02, 2015
Some of you may either be going through menopause or fast approaching it. Though it may be still far away for some us, it is a reality that all women must face. Not that it’s the end of the world. Far from it. If anything it’s just a natural, hormonal transition and an essential part of what makes us women.
Menopause happens in our 40’s and 50’s. The average age in the U.S., according to the Mayo Clinic, is 51. As the name suggests, menopause signals the natural end of a woman’s menstrual cycle. As a result, a variety of physical and emotional symptoms often occur. Mood swings, hot flashes, depression, weight gain, low energy, etc., are common symptoms of menopause though the severity and duration of these symptoms vary from individual to individual. I know, I know, sounds like a lot of fun!
While there are no magic answers to remedying the variety of symptoms associated with menopause, there are steps one can take to lessen the impact of menopause on our lives. Exercise is one such step that can go a very long way in providing relief both physically and emotionally from all the hormonal fireworks.
According to Leslee Kagan, author of Mind Over Menopause – a book she wrote with Dr. Bruce Kessel and Dr. Herbert Benson – exercise can dramatically curb the various symptoms of menopause. To begin with, Kagan cites a Swedish study that indicates that women who regularly exercise during menopause experience far less hot flashes than women who remain sedentary. In fact, the number of moderate and severe hot flashes for women in the study who consistently exercised was almost half that of women who didn’t. Hey, if you’re going to sweat anyway, you might as well do it while working out!
Mood swings are also tamed by consistent exercise. As with depression and anxiety, exercise can have a pronounced affect on stabilizing our moods due to all the feel-good chemicals that flood our brains. As well, exercise can allow our minds to better handle stress and find our way out of the menopausal fog.
Finally, consistently exercising can limit even stop the notorious weight gain that many women experience during menopause. Why this occurs is still a mystery according to Kagan though some researchers suspect that the hormonal changes during menopause may affect how the body stores fat.
Are any of you Warriorz experiencing menopause? How has working out benefited you? Please share your experiences with me!
Private Member |
medicine hat, alberta, canada
I am forty six years and I believe I never will experience menopause. I had a partial Hysterectomy in my early thirties and haven’t had any problems. I believe the fatty deposits in my cells are from the good choices I’ve made and I also firmly believe deeply in what you sow you reap and with our words we are accountable and live and for by them; justified or condemned. For many many years I was speaking life and health and blessing from God over myself and my children and for things I had not yet seen come into reality yet. Ex:,,I would say. .thank you Father for fit sexy muscular toned thighs and shapely calves beautiful teeth cavity free and healthy luscious full hair etc etc etc. Right down to speaking life too the cells and atoms and ligaments and sinew and marrow of my bones,telling them HOW TO BEHAVE AND BE in my body. I had faith and moved a few steps closer to my desired body and soul and mind by writing these thoughts and affirmations and hopes and commands out on paper every nite and as I would write them out I would read them out loud. I sometimes would write out specific ones that really meant something to me that seemed like a fight for it more than once or the times. …I’d write it out for about the whole page like writing lines as a child when in trouble♡remember lol….anyway I also put my imagination to work with it and visualized myself with the strong teeth, beautiful skin, clear facial skin, happy spirit and calm mind peaceful manner etc etc. And it didn’t take long at all before I noticed my changes taking place. Soft spoken words overtook my harse voice and sometimes critical spirit, toned legs developed as I found myself not desiring the fried foods and my habits were changing. Thank God I cried Ann’s keep moving on. More and more affirmations and prayers were sent up with Great expectation ALL THE WHILE BEING AWARE OF THE NEED TO BE THANKFUL FOR THE FAT THIGHS I had at the time. Very important♡ .I married and fell away from the practice and thankfulness of the abilities I had found in the Law of sowing and reaping. Now onto it again. All the best from me to you. T.
Private Member |
Thank you T for sharing your story with us. I pray that you will continue to be Blessed.
Zuzka,
Thank you for this post
Private Member |
ohio, united states
I am turning 50 this year and am going thtough pre menopause I believe. Menstrual cycle skipped since October; however if it stays like ths for 12 months with no period, then you have reached menopause. It is very difficult to keep weight off without watching everything you eat. Sugar free for me in 2015. So far day 4 not so good. Had some friends over yesterday January 3rd and had dessert! But weight creeps up on you. One thing that stays consistent is exercise for me. I also ordered a fitbit to keep me moving even more. I used to be able to stay in shape with exercise alone, but not anymore, and that started changing in late thirties for me. So keep posting these great workouts and tips. Kudos to you for noticing us older women too!
Private Member |
I’m 43 and experiencing the beginning of perimenopause, a long phase many women experience before true menopause without really being aware of. Zuzka, you may be interested to read books by the expert in perimenopause Dr. Jerrilynn Prior http://www.cemcor.ubc.ca/media/prior_bio. I have changes in my menstrual cycle, moods and am finding it very, very hard to lose the last 10 lbs no matter what I eat. But since resuming regular daily exercise after falling away from it for a month or two, I am finding the mood swings and other symptoms greatly lessened.
Private Member |
Zuzka
Exercise has helped with menopause tremendously. Sticking with your workouts for the past 3 years has helped keep most anxiety and depression under control. I have also lost 15 lbs and have kept it off, although that was not my goal when I started this fitness and nutrition journey. My goal was to lower my blood pressure and have better mental clarity. There are so many symptoms women can be plagued with at this time of life (menopause) but by staying in tune with your body and really paying attention to how it reacts to a healthy diet and exercise routine is key to managing these symptoms. Communication with other women about menopause is important, it’s not tabu and we should talk about it more often. I find it tough to take a “rest” day because exercise makes me feel fantastic!!!! At 52 years of age I am blessed to have my health and ability to move and challenge myself with your workouts. I will continue to share your website with anyone who ask “Do you workout at a gym?”
Thank you for all you do!
Sherri
Private Member |
I’m 51 and right in the middle of Menopause. Zuzka your comment “Hey, if you’re going to sweat anyway, you might as well do it while working out!” really made me laugh, and here is why: Did you know, Zuzka, that it is possible to have a hot flash in a cold swimming pool?? Yup, you read that right – I had a full blown hot flash while swimming laps – that was truly horrifying. But, thanks to my mental fog, I know I will soon forget… 🙂
I have worked out quite consistently since my early 20s, and I do believe that has “lessened” some of the problems associated with menopause, but it doesn’t eliminate all of them. Weight gain is one that I have never had to battle – until now. Also, muscle recovery is slower than it was even just five years ago. For me, the key at this stage of my life is moderation. When I push too hard, or go too far, I get injured and then I can’t do anything. With your workouts, I push myself to complete to the whole thing, but I make changes where I need to, so that I can make it to the end, and do the next one tomorrow. Also, correct form is more important than ever during and after menopause. Muscle recovery is slower and bone density is lessened – so injuries can happen more easily if form is sloppy. I also like that your workouts use either bodyweight, or manageable weight with dumbells and kettlebells. Thank you for the great workouts and posts!
Private Member |
Zuzka, I am so glad you decided to tackle this topic. And, what fun reading the other Zwarriors comments 🙂 I went thru menopause 7 years ago = 57 years old now == and will tell you that it definitely makes a difference. The body is no longer so forgiving when it comes to diet slipups and missing a workout or two. It is my goal this year to exercise each day with Zuzka and the other Zwarriors and maintain a clean diet to achieve the best me I can be. I have already been diagnosed as having osteopenia – precursor to osteoporosis – so exercise is critical to maintaining bone mass and building muscle. I just recently found you, Zuzka, and am having such a fun time with you and all the other folks from around the world. Thank you, Zuzka, for being such an inspiration and resource for all of us. See ya’ll (or Ciao!)
Private Member |
I’ll be 48 this April.I’m just entering Perimenopause & these past 2 weeks have been hell! I’m not suffering from hot flushes or depression but joint pain,it started in my ankles,I just found that to be annoying but when suddenly I experienced lower back pain at the base of my spine,it’s been unbearable.I had to stop working out.I tried to workout yesterday & today but it’s painful.I’ve been reading & it’s recommended to take a multivitamin,so I bought GNC Women’s Ultra Mega.I already take Fish Oil 1000mg.Fingers crossed these will help settle my hormones.
How many of you experience joint pain & How are you treating it?
Private Member |
Hi, Zuzka! I am fully menopausal, and it’s a mixed bag of tricks. I am a distance runner and have been very physically active since my early 20’s (initially to help manage depression). Weight maintenance has never been an issue with me…until now. I find I gain weight much more easily and it is SO HARD to lose, plus I have weight gains in areas that I have never experienced before!! I also find that I lose muscle strength and tone very quickly, which can certainly contribute to both weight gain and loss. I am learning that I really, REALLY need to include weight training much more regularly in my overall fitness routine, but I struggle with figuring out a good, total body, long-term, not boring strength program that will also support my running endeavors. When I was younger, I found your workouts really fun and challenging, but the ‘regular’ workouts are impossible for me right now. I am recovering from COVID, but once I am good to go, I will start with your beginner program and hopefully that will get me on track! Any advice or recommendations you can provide with regard to reading materials, diet, fitness, etc., would be so greatly appreciated!!
Private Member |
vail, arizona, united states
Hi Zu! Thank you for sharing this article, I am so grateful that along with your incredible regime of workouts, you provide an entire library of super helpful articles regarding women’s health. 💞 And thank you to all our ZWarriors here who have shared their personal experience with peri-menopause and menopause. All the wisdom and insight provided by each of you is abundantly clarifying and helpful. Plus it feels wonderful to know that we are not alone in this. Thank you, thank you. 🙏🤍
I am 47 years young 😉, turning 48 this year. Around Dec. 10th in 2022, my period came. 2 days later, I got the shakes – like a panic attack, or the experience of shock after one undergoes surgery – and my mind and body felt flipped upside down. I don’t like thinking about it, it felt incredibly scary. I have always considered myself to be very strong and healthy. So when this happened, I felt frightened, I had no idea what my body was going through. Today is January 15th, 2023, and I am on my cycle again. I have not experienced the same type of panic episode since, for which I am incredibly grateful!! And the symptoms of feeling frightened have eased, perhaps also due to my being familiar with the feeling right now. It comes and goes in waves. I am grateful to have an incredible, WONDERFUL husband, who is my safe haven, and helps me to feel even better. He is also a fire fighter, so he is familiar with a lot of medical related issues, signs to look for, and what they mean (for which I am deeply grateful too 🙏💙). When the anxiety happens, I take deep breaths, and drink water. However, I haven’t stopped bleeding since December 2022. I’m currently taking Progesterone to help reduce the bleeding, and to help me feel calmer, and this has helped immensely, especially with my getting really good sleep at night.
As it is, with BIGGEST thanks to my daily workouts in the ZGYM, my vitals are great – my cholesterol levels are excellent, blood pressure is good (regardless of the waves of anxiety I’ve felt lately), and everything checks out great in my labs. I lost some weight in the first several weeks as I lost my appetite (it felt weird eating foods, and I was afraid that eating food would spike the anxiety again – no fun).
There is something important I want to also mention here. Before all this happened, I did not drink enough water (ladies, get your water in!! 💙💙). In fact, basically the only water I consumed on a daily basis was during my workouts, and they were only sips. Instead, I drank a lot of Dr. Pepper Zero, and I drank it like I should have drunk water. 😬 Whenever I felt thirsty, I would reach for a Dr. Pepper Zero, and drink only that. This also means my body was getting a ton of caffeine, and no water to flush it properly.
So practically no water. Tons of caffeine. And way too much artificial sugar in my system. Yikes!!
Also, my sleep was terrible. I would go to bed super late, and not give my body the amount of sleep it really needed. (Sleep is MAGICAL. I am grateful to know this now. 🙏 🙏)
Then. I took a giant amount of vitamin C supplements (this was probably the day my period started in December), because I had been neglecting taking it. So I thought, I’ll just up the dose today to catch up.
Ugghrr.
Then my body began reacting! Lol – I am actually deeply grateful now that I look back. Because my body (which is super smart) had been doing such a good job making me feel great for so many years. But it had had enough abuse. And she was telling me that something was wrong, and, yelling at me, “Silly woman, get your act together!” 🤣🙈
And although my labs (blood work) were good, they weren’t textbook perfect. My iron was a bit too high, indicating that my body wasn’t absorbing it properly.
Apparently (the following is due to personal research) too much caffeine and vitamin C can inhibit proper iron absorption.
Oohhh.💡
So I did a re-flush of my body, and I did it the slow and natural way. I quit drinking Dr. Pepper Zero. No more caffeine (at least for now). I am drinking a LOT more water (I am endeavoring to increase my water intake each week). The doctor advised me to stay away from red meat for a while, and I’m good with that. I just started taking small amounts of vitamin C again. And I am staying away from artificial sugars such as those found in diet sodas.
I continue to do my workouts on a daily basis, which helps immensely. Right now I am focusing on jump rope (4000 basic bounce), and body weight exercises. Sometimes I will do kettle bell swings. One of my latest favorite go to Zuzka workouts is the 3 min workout for butt and abs with the kettle bell swings and jump lunges. It’s fast, easy, gets the heart pumping, and utilizes both strength training and cardio. Here’s the link:
https://youtu.be/DY8duqdJVWA
My daily workouts are very simple right now, and they are working for me, for which I am abundantly grateful. 🙏💪💞
My body and mind together feels much better compared to those first couple weeks (it was literally hell). Some days have been a little rougher than others. But I am feeling a lot better as I take care of myself better.
As it is, I am grateful for when the bleeding stops, and I resume feeling amazing, and like ME again. I keep imagining this feeling, and seeing it in my mind. I endeavor to think about what I want in my life. And I continue to tell myself, “I am healed. I am whole. I am healthy beyond measure.” (Especially when I do my daily pistols to push ups 😉💪). And because I see this in my imagination, and I believe this, it must happen. 😉💗
Thank you, thank you again to Zuzka for being the Light that you are. I wanted more info and here you were! Plus the support that is found in our ZGYM community through You, is phenomenal. Thank you for YOU, Zu!🙏💞
And thank you, thank you to each of you Wonderful Ladies who have shared your own personal experiences, and how you have overcome this moment in your life. You truly are WarriorZ. I feel deeply grateful simply knowing that I’m not alone, and knowing because you have done it, I can too. 💖💪
If you are going through peri-menopause or menopause, you’ve got this Beautiful! I am grateful to be here with You on this amazing journey as a woman. 💖💞
Sending SO much love to each of you! 🥰💞
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
Sending all this love back!!! 💕 and thank you for sharing your story.
Private Member |
vail, arizona, united states
Thank you, Zu!! 💖💞💞
Private Member |
massachusetts, united states
Elisabeth thank you for sharing, I have been in menopause now for about 5 months or so , but thankfully my cycle just stopped one day. Nothing funky about it. The only thing I got were those darn hot flashes!! Day and night, I would get a sick feeling in the belly and I knew it was coming😩 I was getting about 20-30 in a 24 hour period 😓Drove me nuts, I used to welcome them because I’m always cold but shit they were horrible. I ended up doing a lot of research and found this natural organic vitamin called Mena, in 3 weeks the hot flashes were GONE!!😃 I’m still taking the supply i have then I will decide to keep taking or stop. Luckily I have not had any other menopause symptoms like weight gain, fatigue, mood swings, nothing. Don’t know if it’s my pretty healthy lifestyle or genes 😀. Anyway I hope you get everything back on track and start to feel better, hang in there, us ladies are with you!😘
Private Member |
vail, arizona, united states
Hi Darlene! Thank you, thank you for sharing your experience. It is comforting to know that you, and many other ladies, can identify with these issues during this time of our lives. Thank you for especially mentioning that after about 5 months, one day your cycle ended. This means a lot to me, because having a cycle non-stop has left me feeling nervous (I daily give thanks that it ends 🙏). Even though intellectually I know our bodies are smart and our bodies know what to do, and that the cycle will end, simply reading your own words, and the simplicity of it ending, offers me an added feeling of immense relief. 🙏🤍 As for the hot flashes you experienced, oh my – 20 to 30 a day! I’m SO glad you found a natural, organic vitamin that helps to provide both relief, and its going away once and for all. 🙏 🙏 Hehe yes, I would certainly attribute your healthy lifestyle and genes towards you not having to experience other menopause symptoms, way to Be Amazing, Darlene!! 🙌💪🥳 Thank you, thank you again for your kindness, support and encouragement. You are a Blessing!! 💖💞
Private Member |
massachusetts, united states
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