Menopause, by medical definition, is the time in life when menstrual periods stop due to the decline in sex hormones, primarily Estrogen. These hormones are produced by the ovaries. That overtly physical definition does not include the shared experiences that women who are menopausal discuss amongst themselves. These experiences include but are limited to, hot flashes, mood swings, cognition fogginess, weight gain, and sleep issues/disturbances.
Since menopause, and the associated peri-menopausal symptoms which can start 10 to 20 years earlier, the shifting and changing of hormones manifests in other physical and emotional ways including accelerated age associated muscle loss, insulin resistance/blood sugar elevation, general fatigue, weakness and emotional overwhelm. The average age for a woman entering in full menopause, cessation of menstrual period, in the US is 51, but can be a journey that can begins in the middle 40s through to the middle 60s. Exercise can play a very important role and address many issues during this period of life.
What is a woman to do? Well, here are 5 key workouts/exercises that, when coordinated into a program, will create positive results, both physically and emotionally.
- Get your blood pumping – from walking to light jogging, to cycling, to dancing…get up and move…all rhythmic movement matters and accumulates. If you have 10 minutes for a walk at work, take it. Getting outside, changing your perspective, and moving will work wonders on your mind as well as your body. When it comes to cardio, do not overthink, just move. Longer duration, lower intensity is just as great as short and hard. Also, variety is the spice of life here. Add dancing, mowing the lawn, and hiking, as these are all excellent ways to change your environment, vary your effort, and, quite frankly, enjoy the process!
- Strength Training is Key – Pick up the weights. Strength training is a necessity to keep muscle tone in primary powerful muscles (think quads, glutes, hamstrings, pecs, biceps, triceps, and shoulders). Muscle tone starts on the decline as early as age 30 but sharply declines during the menopausal years. This is a great time to put strength training top of mind. If you do not have weights, you can use body weight…adding walking lunges or some basic squats will work the legs quite effectively. As for the upper body, countertop push-ups and tricep dips off the stairs are good places to start.
- Get mindful! – Pilates, particularly Pilates using machines such as the Reformer, is an excellent way to work both strength and mindfulness. Mindful exercises, which also include Yoga and Tai Chi, will help with an overall sense of wellbeing, provide a safe and effective low-impact workout that will target all primary muscles groups, and will also work intrinsic muscles that support posture and spinal and joint health. These forms of exercise are essential to aging well, aging thoughtfully, and creating movement patterns that are associated with longevity of health and an independent lifestyle.
- Balance – Balance changes as early as age 30 but accelerates as we age. Adding balance and coordination challenges is super helpful and important. When working on balance and coordination, the nervous system needs to adapt and make quick decisions. This training is essential, as adaptation to changing environments is crucial for long-term health and well-being.
- Move for the fun of it – We spend a lot of time getting prescriptive, but find ways that work for you, that move you, literally, and that you enjoy engaging in. Now that is a recipe for program adherence and creation of habits that will make a difference. From tango to boxing and everything in between, put yourself first, and set time to create movement opportunities that you enjoy. This is what will train the body, soothe the mind and feed the soul!
Top things to think about when you’re trying to stay healthy 50+
- Nutrition over fads – eat food, healthy food, and not too much. Do this most of the time, and you have a recipe to create a healthy platform. Avoid processed foods, sugary foods and eat for your health.
- Put yourself on your own priority list – by 50+ between family, careers, and expectations we are often low on the priority pole. Put yourself up high enough to see in the distance and to understand that you have options. You can choose how you want to engage for your health so let go of what worked, or did not work, in the past and set yourself in a space where you can see who you are becoming by embracing all you have accomplished and all that is before you.
- All movement matters – One of the primary reasons, as we age, that people do not engage in an active lifestyle is because they do not believe that it would make a substantial change to their lives. Every step matters, every opportunity to move, workout, spend an hour on the floor with grandkids, garden, dancing, everything. It matters…so move, move often, and move joyfully.
As we move into this next chapter in our life, keep positive, embrace wisdom, and stay close to a community of like-minded individuals who’ve got your back!
Joy Puleo is Balanced Body's Director of Education. In July of 2013, Joy moved, with her family, from New York to Sacramento, California to join Nora St. John and the rest of the Balanced Body team to work on developing curriculum and educational programming. Joy has been teaching Pilates teachers since 2002 and in the health and wellness industry since 1996. Joy earned her MA from Columbia University in Applied Physiology. As a lecturer she presents at conferences and studios across the country and abroad and with Balanced Body, she is a regular at most Pilates on Tours. In addition to her degree Joy is A.C.S.M. certified and is able to provide ACE credits for students who take her classes. She is a fully qualified Balanced Body Pilates Instructor and teacher trainer, CoreAlign and Bodhi Suspension System master trainer and a graduate of the PhysicalMind Institute. Joy was also trained on the GYROTONIC,® Level I and the Ladder. In 2011 Joy founded Body Wise Connection, a not-for-profit which works with women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Body Wise Connections sole purpose is to remind women that even in the throes of a diagnosis and treatment for cancer the body can heal and strengthen. Body Wise Connection works to restore physical self-awareness and empowerment through gently, rhythmic Pilates based movements. Though Joy is no longer in New York, Joys work has expanded to include all cancer patients regardless of the primary cancer diagnosis. Joy believes that movement changes lives and that education is the key to unlocking potential. Joy is thrilled to be working with Balanced Body on the shared mission of elevating mindful movement as a component to long term health and wellbeing.
