The importance of pre menopause exercise cannot be emphasised enough. Menopause, 12 months since the last period, occurs between 45-55 years of age. The average age being 51. This life stage is hallmarked by a significant drop in oestrogen (the reason ovulation ceases). Once patients’ have reached menopause they tend to be weaker and wobblier as their oestrogen levels have (naturally) dropped off a cliff!
From a physiotherapy perspective, oestrogen is important for muscle strength. After menopause muscles will automatically lose strength!
Therefore, in the decade before menopause, if you make a concerted effort to create stronger muscles, then you literally have more muscle bulk available to you as menopause causes you to lose strength.
The stronger you are before menopause, muscle wasting due to menopause will have less of an impact on your life. So during your 40’s, make a concerted effort to tailor your exercise to prepare for menopause.
Exercise to be stronger NOT ‘smaller’
Weights are REALLY important to maintain and build muscle mass. The best resistance training involves 3 x 12 repetitions 2 x week. The program needs to target all areas of the body as strength is ‘site specific’ – it makes sense that building up your biceps will have no effect on your hamstring muscles!!! You have to do weights on all the muscle groups.
Impact exercise
Muscles and tendons need impact exercise to maintain them! Non-impact sports such as swimming and cycling don’t have as much effect on the body as walking (3 x body weight) and running (9 x body weight). As the body gets used to regular impact and habits, you also need to change your route and intensity – You have to mix it up otherwise your body stops responding to the stimulus!
Agility and Balance exercise
You need to add exercise that will challenge your dynamic movement, including,
- bending (getting the golf ball out of the hole, dead lifts in the gym, getting down to perform floor exercises)
- 1-legged exercise (exercise involving stairs, weights on 1 leg)
- unstable surfaces (walking on soft sand, using bush trails, weights on foam mats)
You will need to discuss with your GP your own personal journey with HRT. But by making a concerted effort to optimise your pre menopause physical health, you will improve your muscle mass, cardiovascular fitness and bone density; the big health issues of post-menopausal women.
If you don’t use it, you lose it.
At Active Solutions Physiotherapy we have Physio Exercise sessions and Mat Pilates to help you understand exercise during this life stage. The aim is to live your best life and thoroughly enjoy an active life when you are aged over 60, by smart and specific exercise particularly during your 40’s.
