Best Exercise During Perimenopause
Are you approaching or into perimenopause and noting that your body isnât responding to your regular exercise? Perhaps you hit a plateau in your physical goals or youâre holding onto extra weight around the middle. Whatever your frustration, itâs important to recognize that what may have worked in your 20s is not doing you any favours as your hormones shift.
When I in active chiropractic practice, I used to say the best exercise is any type of exercise. I committed to cardio classes, half and full marathon training, CrossFit, OrangeTheory, and KickBoxing for about twenty years (not all at once, but one at a time). Unbeknownst to me, by doing these high intensity workouts, I was adding MORE stress to my body, which contributed to hormonal and metabolic issues.
WHY is this? High intensity exercise adds stress to our body. We release cortisol (a stress hormone that when is released chronically, works against a healthy metabolism) and become addicted to it. We think we are addicted to the "high" of the workout (runners high for example). I used each of these forms of exercise as a means of stress release. It was MY time to get my frustrations out. I poo poo'd the idea of yoga. I remember saying to people "it's just not intense enough for me".
When I was younger...my body likely felt more resilient to these forms of exercise because the side effects weren't evident. However, years of high intensity exercise, eating anti-metabolic foods, dieting, not prioritizing sleep, ignoring symptoms....it all starts to add up.
If you are experiencing symptoms related to metabolic dysfunction and/or hormonal dys-regulation, it's time for some changes.
Symptoms of Metabolic and Hormonal Dysfunction
Itâs important to know that many symptoms of metabolic and hormonal dysfunction are often misrepresented as random symptoms. They are often dismissed by medical doctors when traditional blood tests come back within normal ranges. OR, women are told that this is simply a part of aging and there isnât anything that can be done (WRONG).
Here is a list of symptoms that are related to metabolic and hormonal dysfunction:
waking up in middle of night and having difficulty falling back asleep
always feeling cold
thirsty all the time (do you have multiple beverage containers on you at all times?)
irregular and/or painful periods
difficulty maintaining a healthy weight
low/non-existent sex drive
irregular digestive system
brittle nails/hair
low energy
If you experience these symptoms, itâs time to start making some massive lifestyle changes. You need to start eating, moving, sleeping, and living to align with the season of life youâre entering or are in (perimenopause or menopause).
THREE ways to optimize your exercise in perimenopause (and beyond)
Strength training 3 days a week that focuses on functional movements (movements that mimic our daily movements - squatting, lunging, rotations, overhead lift, etc.) As we age, strength is important for bone health, muscle health, tissue repair, balance, strength, injury prevention, and more. **Important to have a day of rest inbetween strength days.
Walk every day (10 minute moderately paced walk after each big meal helps to stabilize blood sugars + a consistent 30 minute walk...a total of an hour a day).
Yoga or other gentle mobility every day (helps keep our muscles and joints supple and moving)
Moving your body to support your metabolism and promote hormonal health is KEY at any age. So, it's not that you shouldn't be exercising...it's just time to change up your exercise to better support your health.
I run a 5 Day Metabolism Challenge that helps dip your toe into eating pro-metabolically at ANY age. If you want to understand and start to nourish your metabolism better, this challenge is a great place to start.