What is the best exercise for females over 50?

Making lifestyle changes really worked for me as I approached my 50’s.

I was lucky that I already had an exercise routine, but it has changed since hitting 50 and starting the menopause.

In this blog I’ll share the tips I’ve learned, to find the best exercise for you to start that will support your goals and find and create a workout routine that works for you.

What is the best exercise?

Your muscle mass naturally declines from your thirties onwards and accelerates once you hit perimenopause as your oestrogen levels drop. This can affect your power, balance, strength and aerobic capacity.

Declining oestrogen (the key hormone protecting and maintaining your bone health) means osteoporosis is a real threat as your bone breaks down faster than it repairs. 

The good news is that it’s not too late to do something about it. For optimum health, your exercise routine should include a mix of:

1) Cardio. For heart health, plus great for endorphins! 

2) Resistance training. Improves bone density, reducing risk of bone fractures, creates leaner muscle mass.  

3) Yoga. For flexibility, agility, posture and stress management.

Should I do cardio?

Firstly, choose something you enjoy and are going to continue doing. Consistency and building routine is really important when it comes to exercise. 

Secondly, think about your goal. If it is weight management, you may need to make some changes to your current exercise routine. It’s possible that HIIT workouts may now be causing far too much stress on the body, which can increase visceral fat storage. As an alternative you may want to consider swapping your HIIT to running, cycling, spinning, swimming or hiking. 

Try different approaches to find out what works for you. You are unique and each woman responds in different ways to the changes during menopause – so your exercise routine will be as unique as you are.

Resistance Training

Also called strength training, resistance training refers to using weights, bands or bodyweight to create resistance for the bones in the body to move against. Put simply, the more work you give your bones to do, the stronger they’ll become. They respond to the exercise by renewing themselves.

How often do I need to exercise?

Ideally, try to fit 20-30 mins sessions in two to three times a week. If you can only manage smaller chunks of time, try and do them daily. 

Session length will depend on you. Some women will be OK starting off with 30 minutes while others will find that overwhelming and intimidating. Don’t set yourself unrealistic expectations.

Can exercise help menopause symptoms?

 Studies have shown exercise can help reduce vasomotor symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats, brain fog and migraines. But more crucially, there is extensive evidence that exercise improves mental health, which can take a knock in menopause. If you feel strong emotionally, you’ll feel more able to deal with whatever comes your way – and with hormones being the fluctuating little devils they can be, this could vary from day to day! 

Energy and disturbed sleep are typical in menopause and while it sounds counterintuitive, many studies have proven that exercise helps boost energy levels which in turn promote better sleep. Moreover, good levels of sleep and exercise lead to better nutritional choices – so there’s a positive impact on reaching a healthier weight too.  

It’s important to understand that this change is driven by your body, not by you. Before menopause your progesterone levels help by buffering against stress-induced cortisol spikes. The body’s ability to do that reduces as the levels of progesterone lower during perimenopause, and so you become less able to deal with stress. This higher cortisol level can cause many typical perimenopause symptoms including disturbed sleep, weight gain, low mood, food cravings and low libido. 

My menopause experience.

Looking back, I realise my symptoms started in my 40’s, mild and hard to recognise but by my early 50’s they seemed to escalate. 

They crept up slowly, but I started speaking to friends and my older sisters and things began to make sense.  We’re only talking about 5 or 6 years ago, but it really wasn’t talked about.  I certainly changed that in my friendship groups and with the ladies I train.  I asked everyone I knew what their experience was, it was eye opening.  Slightly different for everyone but lots of similarities.  You need to do your own research; symptoms vary and can be hard to recognise as hormonal.

Joint Pain

Disturbed sleep

Hot flushes

No libido

Brain fog/memory loss

Major mood swings

I had such a low mood and couldn’t quite understand it, although my children were growing up, I’d been married for over 20 years and working hard, I put some of it down to those things.

I did a huge amount of my own research into menopause and learnt that these changes are all part of being perimenopausal. I also read lots on HRT but was prescribed a mild anti-depressant as I just thought I was feeling low ( this seems to be common amongst women at this time).  I carried on for a couple of years but read up on HRT and decided that I’d like to try it but not the combined, I had an oestrogen gel and separate progesterone tablet, it was amazing how much better I felt, the joint pain went, and I slept well for the first time in what seemed like forever.  I also learned how to adapt my nutrition, stress management, exercise, and sleep to help my symptoms.

My symptoms have reduced over time but it’s a work in progress. The brain fog and memory loss still aren’t resolved and sleep isn’t as good as it could be but I’m working on it, along with cravings and a bit extra around my middle.

Top tips for getting going

It’s the starting that’s the hard part. My advice to create lasting habit change:

• Start small – 5 minutes is a good start

• Set yourself up to succeed – decided where and when you’ll do it

• Then take small incremental steps from there

Making time for exercise

• Try a walk at lunchtime or just standing instead of sitting at your desk 

• Catch-up with friends and family on a walk too

• If you want to start resistance training, try some bodyweight squats 2 x 10 each day, such as when you’re waiting for the kettle to boil, that will soon add and could be as much as 30 minutes per week, you won’t even notice it as exercise.

• Every time you put something in the microwave do 15 lunges.

• 10 sit ups after cleaning your teeth.   

This all adds up and you WILL start to feel stronger – which in turn will motivate you to make time for more exercise.

How to step up your exercise routine?

If you’re already exercising but feel ready to do more, reach out to a professional for some advice.

Maybe it’s time to join a class, get some heavier weights, ask for a new gym programme, or add in something new – Tai Chi? Sometimes we get into an old routine that no longer serves us.