Why exercising during menopause is healthy

During menopause, hormonal fluctuations occur, and levels of progesterone and oestrogen eventually decrease. These hormones influence many bodily processes, including fat distribution, muscle mass, bone health, blood sugar levels, mood, and sleep.

As a result, you may notice your body reacting differently. Your abdomen may change, your fitness may feel less stable, you might become more easily irritated, feel tired more quickly, or require more time to recover. At times, it may feel as though your body is out of sync with your daily life.

Exercise can help you manage these changes more effectively. It supports your metabolism, helps regulate your hormones, keeps your muscles and bones strong, and can contribute to more stable energy levels. Additionally, exercise can help with stress, mood, and sleep.

In this way, exercise forms a vital foundation for feeling stronger, fitter, and more balanced.

Many women notice weight gain during menopause, even if their eating habits remain unchanged. Fat tends to accumulate more easily around the abdomen, and blood sugar levels may fluctuate more, leading to increased cravings or a stronger desire for sweets.

Exercise helps your body use glucose more efficiently. During and after physical activity, your muscles absorb sugar from your blood more effectively. This can help stabilise your blood sugar levels, reducing energy dips, cravings, and frequent hunger.

Regular exercise can also improve your sensitivity to insulin, the hormone that helps transport sugar from your blood to your cells. When your body becomes less sensitive to insulin, losing weight can become more challenging, and fat may accumulate more easily around the abdomen.

This is why exercising during menopause is not just important for weight management but also for helping your body use energy more efficiently.

Muscle mass naturally decreases as you age. During and after menopause, this process can accelerate due to hormonal changes. A reduction in muscle mass may not always be immediately noticeable on the scales, but you might feel it in your strength, posture, energy, and recovery.

Muscles are crucial for your metabolism, as they use energy even when you’re at rest. With less muscle mass, your body burns less energy, making it easier to gain weight and harder to lose it.

Strength training can help maintain or build muscle mass. It doesn’t have to be complicated. You can train with weights, machines, resistance bands, or your own body weight. Examples include squats, lunges, wall push-ups, rowing movements with a resistance band, or simply climbing stairs.

Two to three short strength sessions per week, lasting 20 minutes, can already make a difference. Start slowly and build up gradually. There’s no need to train as heavily as possible; the goal is to provide just enough resistance for your muscles to grow stronger.

After menopause, the risk of osteoporosis increases, partly due to the decline in oestrogen. Your bones are less naturally stimulated to remain strong.

Weight-bearing exercises can help maintain bone strength. Activities such as walking, climbing stairs, dancing, or strength training place stress on your bones, signalling your body to preserve bone mass.

While swimming and cycling are excellent for cardiovascular fitness, walking and strength training are particularly beneficial for your muscles and bones. A combination of activities often works best.

You don’t need to do everything at once. A brisk walk, some strength training, and taking the stairs more often can already make a significant difference.

During menopause, you may become more sensitive to stress. You might sleep more lightly, become overstimulated more easily, or notice slower recovery after busy days. This phase of life can also bring mood swings. Exercise can support your mood by triggering the release of chemicals in your body that influence how you feel.

Gentle exercise can help reduce tension. Activities such as walking, yoga, light cycling, or stretching signal your body that it’s safe, making it easier to relax. Gentle movement can also help structure your day and create a sense of calm. Physical activity helps regulate your hormones, which can reduce stress.

More intense exercise can also be beneficial, but not always. If you’re sleeping poorly, experiencing frequent hot flushes, or feeling exhausted, a heavy workout might be too much. In such cases, gentler activities like walking or light strength training may be more suitable than pushing through an intense session.

Some studies suggest that strength training can reduce menopause symptoms, but the effects vary from woman to woman. Exercise is always part of a broader approach that includes sleep, stress management, nutrition, and recovery. It’s also influenced by lifestyle, diet, and medical history.

There’s no single perfect exercise for menopause. What works best depends on your symptoms, energy levels, experience, and preferences. The best exercise is often the one you can stick to.

You don’t need to follow a strict workout schedule immediately. Start with what feels manageable. If you haven’t been active for a while, even a ten-minute daily walk can be a good starting point.

If you’re tired or not feeling well, exercise might be the last thing on your mind. However, gentle movement can help you manage your energy better over time.

Start small to make it feel achievable:

• Walk for 10 minutes a day.
• Choose fixed times, such as after lunch or dinner.
• Do simple strength exercises twice a week.
• Build up gradually.
• Choose activities you enjoy.
• Plan rest as consciously as exercise.
• Don’t stop just because you miss a day.

During menopause, your body may need more recovery time. If you feel exhausted, sleep poorly, or experience prolonged muscle soreness, take it easier or start with smaller steps.

Many women try to train harder during menopause when their weight changes. They may do more cardio, eat less, fast, or exercise intensively every day. While this might seem logical in the short term, it doesn’t always work well.

If you’re sleeping poorly or experiencing high stress, a rigorous approach can strain your body further. This can lead to increased cravings, lower energy, and slower recovery. Eating too little while exercising a lot can also make it harder to maintain muscle mass.

If you’re exercising more, your body needs proper nutrition to recover. Protein is especially important for your muscles. Sources include yoghurt, cottage cheese, eggs, fish, chicken, tofu, legumes, nuts, or other protein-rich foods that suit you.

Fibre, healthy fats, and adequate hydration also support your body by aiding satiety, digestion, energy, and recovery. Eating too little can have the opposite effect, especially if you’re doing strength training or sleeping poorly. Your body needs nutrients to grow stronger.

It’s advisable to seek additional advice if you’re experiencing severe symptoms, gaining weight rapidly, developing significant abdominal fat, or finding it difficult to exercise due to fatigue, pain, dizziness, or shortness of breath. Consulting a doctor is also wise if you have medical conditions or are taking medication.

If you’re experiencing low energy alongside other menopause symptoms, it’s worth looking beyond exercise alone. Hormones, sleep, stress, nutrition, and medical factors can all interact.

If lifestyle and dietary changes aren’t enough to alleviate menopause symptoms, menopausal hormone therapy (HRT, HT, or HST) may help. It replenishes hormone deficiencies, reducing symptoms. Through an intake consultation, you can determine which treatment suits you best.

Exercising during menopause isn’t about training harder, losing weight faster, or achieving perfection. It’s about working with your body. Your muscles need stimulation, your bones need stress, your mind needs rest, and your metabolism needs regularity. Exercise can support all of this in a way that aligns with your energy levels and symptoms.

Start small with something you can maintain. Build up gradually and be kind to yourself if your body needs more recovery time.

If exercise, nutrition, and lifestyle adjustments aren’t enough to relieve your menopause symptoms, a personalised treatment plan from a doctor can help reduce or alleviate your symptoms.