Ladies are you menopausal? or post-menopausal? Research suggests that you should be hitting the weights, not the treadmill.  This is great news for me to hear.  As ONE (1) I am 50 & currently going through menopause & TWO (2), I am a Personal Trainer who loves strength training.  

Janet Viljoen, a Research Fellow in Physical Activity & Health at Rhodes University found that Women over the age of 50 should try lifting weights and doing other strength training exercises if they want to kick menopause symptoms. – weight gain around the belly, knee, back & hip pain, inability to climb stairs or get up from the ground with ease, less confident, unhappy, loss of muscle mass, osteoporosis & mood swings. Happy days

Their study looked at how 30 minutes of strength training, five times a week, could benefit a group of women aged 55 to 65. Performed at a moderate to high intensity.
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The women exercised in small groups with a personal trainer doing exercises that targeted their upper bodies, torsos and legs. The programme got progressively harder as the two months went by.

The women in the study were more confident, happier – and even received compliments from their partners. And after 3 months on the programme, they had lost significant centimetres from their waists.

A paper published in the National Center for Biotechnology Information by Nalini Mishra, V. N. Mishra, and Devanshi stated that “women can enjoy a good quality of life after menopause even without hormones. Research indicates that postmenopausal women who engage in the comprehensive exercise program, benefit by maintaining a healthy body, bone density levels, and good mental health. Osteoporosis, the greatest ailment in older women, can be kept under control with exercise. Even a moderate exercise schedule can not only keep the weight in check, but it also lowers the risk of stress, anxiety, and depression, all of which tend to show up liberally during and beyond menopause. Exercise works by improving muscle mass, strength, balance, and coordination. Therefore, unlike treatment with medicine, exercises work simultaneously on various aspects of one’s health.”

“An effective exercise prescription may be resistance and weight bearing exercise three days a week (on alternate days). Care should be taken to do the exercise for all the muscle groups by rotation preferably with a trainer. Brisk walking at the speed of five to six kilometres per hour, cycling, treadmill, gardening or dancing may be done on the remaining days of the week.”

“Warming up beforehand can help to reduce exercise related injuries and pain following exercise. One should aim for two hours and 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity each week. Other deep breathing, yoga, and stretching exercises can help to manage the stress of life and menopause-related symptoms.”

It is never too late to start exercising.  Contact me today so we can put together a plan together to get you healthier and happier.    https://www.fabulousphysiques.com.au/contact-me/