Menopause is no joke, and once you start experiencing it yourself, the symptoms are no laughing matter and can sap you of motivation and confidence right at the start of your day. Plus, these symptoms can attack you at any moment, whether at night, where insomnia prevents you from sleeping, or with sudden hot flushes during the afternoon.
However, there is a way to combat these symptoms, and it doesn’t come in the form of a magical pill to zap all your pain away. What your body needs is a good sweat session and to introduce regular exercise back into your daily routine. Find out more in Menopause: 3 Exercises That Can Help You Get Through It!
Why Exercise?
Of course, we are all aware that regular exercise is essential for maintaining an active lifestyle, good fitness, and keeping robustly healthy. But, beyond its apparent benefits, regular exercise can also address your struggles with menopause because many of the advantages of exercise will also translate into regulating your hormones through your endocrine system to restoring vitality.
With that said, here are our recommendations on exercises you should aim to do regularly. Feel free to adjust and tailor these workouts according to your fitness level.
1. Engage in Aerobic Exercise
As is almost always often the case, aerobic exercise is in at the number one spot for the type of regular exercises you need to do, and throughout the menopause is no exception. Engaging in aerobic exercise (like brisk walking, walking in nature, jogging, cycling, treadmill etc) challenges and trains your cardiovascular endurance, giving you a full-body workout. The endorphin and serotonin chemicals secreted during and after your sessions will make you feel amazing.
You should aim for at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity every day, which translates to around 3 hours of aerobic exercise every day over six days.
2. Incorporate Strength Training
Number two on the list is incorporating strength training and weights into your workout routine. Since menopause puts you at an increased risk of developing osteoporosis due to hormonal imbalances, exercise helps combat this by improving bone density and overall bone strength. You should implement these strength workouts at least twice a week.
3. Always Stretch
Lastly, stretching will always play an important role in achieving good fitness. Especially with menopause, joints may not be as pliable as they used to be and can tend to ache a lot when you least expect it. Stretching will help encourage flexibility and move your joints through enough of a range of motion to keep them from feeling brittle and prone to injury.
Do Consult a Professional
Before trying out any of these suggestions, please seek the guidance of your health professional before committing to any vigorous physical activity. Consulting with your doctor or physical therapist will help identify potential weak areas and give you more a personalised support than an article can!
