What Exercise Should We Be Doing in Peri/Menopause?
For a start, let’s ditch that ‘should’
Instead, we need to figure out what exercise is best for us in perimenopause. I think that has three elements: exercise that helps our bodies, exercise we enjoy the most, and exercise we can fit into our lives.
What’s the exercise that helps our bodies the most?
There is very definitely a consensus that in perimenopause we can benefit from exercise that builds bone and muscle. That’s exercise where we’re carrying our own weight and exercise with weight. That’s going to help protect you from losing bone density and muscle and it’s also going to strengthen the tissues that protect the joints that can get so painful.
Lots of people also find that exercise with an element of stretching such as yoga can help those joints. Pilates can also be very useful.
You may also want to think of exercise that helps your mental and emotional wellbeing — that calms you when you need to be calm and stimulates you when you need to be stimulated.
It’s probably not a good thing to overdo things at this time. Our bodies take longer to recover and many people find that the high intensity exercises we may have loved a few years ago are not as helpful as they used to be, either for weight management or general wellbeing. That said if they work for you, and you enjoy them, why wouldn’t you continue them.
But whatever your level of fitness, you want to be pushing towards the edges of your capacity, but never past it. Discomfort is sometimes ok, but pain isn’t.
What’s the exercise that you enjoy?
This is a personal thing — but here are some questions you might want to ask yourself.
- Would you rather exercise alone or with others?
- Would you rather exercise outside, in a gym or in your own home?
- Would you rather have music to motivate you or get you in a flow?
- Does it help if exercise feels expressive or creative?
- Does it help to be able to track your performance?
- Does it help to have someone telling you what to do and holding you accountable?
All exercise can be challenging when we’re first building the habit but if you try and force yourself into something you really don’t enjoy, you probably won’t stick at it.
What’s the exercise that fits in with your life?
For many people regular short bursts of exercise are more convenient than setting aside longer periods of time. For others it’s setting aside bigger blocks of time a couple of hours a week.
Look realistically at the shape of the week and see what you can fit in. You may even want to look honestly at your life and see if there’s a load that someone else can take from you to allow you a little more time to exercise. After all, if you’re not able to keep yourself well, it affects your ability to look after those around you.
See if you can build routines where exercise fills a double purpose. For example exercise in the morning might help you feel more alert. Or stopping to exercise on the way home from work may help you destress and transition from school to home. Or some kinds of exercise in the evening might help you sleep. Or perhaps it can be combined with social time or quality time with loved ones or pets (unfortunately my cats dedicate their lives to trying to get me to sit down so they can plonk themselves on my knee!).
Gain without pain
Try and create a routine. Making it a habit stops you having to argue with yourself every time. But equally don’t be too rigid. If you just don’t quite manage it sometimes don’t ditch the whole plan. Forgive yourself and get back into the routine as soon as you can.
I know some people love a challenge, but most of us have quite enough of them right now. When introducing or increasing exercise into your life, it’s ok to do it gradually. Set achievable goals. Create one new habit at a time. Stay within your limits and increase your effort gradually. There can still be gain without pain.
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