Have you noticed that some things just seem harder than they used to? Maybe unloading an epic Costco shop is tough to manage on your own or carrying the laundry up the stairs just feels way more exhausting than it should? Maybe you’re shocked that you need to ask for help to open a jar? What the heck!?
If you feel weaker than you did 5-10 years ago, you aren’t alone (and hate to say it, but you probably are!) After age 30, women naturally lose 3-8% of muscle mass per decade if they don’t strength train and even more after 60. Yikes.
Then comes perimenopause, when it really gets real. If you feel like your strength is plummeting around this time, you are right. As estrogen and other hormones decline, so does our strength – often quite rapidly.
The truth is: we need to work against resistance to simply maintain our current strength and fight sarcopenia (the age related, progressive loss of muscle mass, strength and function). If we want to get stronger than we are now, we’ve got to put in the work.
Other than fighting strength and mass loss, here are three more big reasons strength training is especially important right now:
1. Muscles are your metabolism’s best friend.
- The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn! We use energy while exercising, digesting our food, going about our daily activities, and even while simply resting to keep our basic functions going. The incredible thing is, the more muscle mass you have, the more energy you burn, even while you are sleeping.
- If the scale keeps creeping up, it may not just be about food. You could be eating the same calories as you always have, but with less muscle to burn them.
- Bonus: the stronger you are, the easier daily tasks feel, which means you’ll naturally want to move more. Activities that felt overwhelming before feel do-able, maybe even enjoyable, and a whole new world opens up. It’s a win- win.
2. Strength training keeps your bones healthy (and you independent!)
- As estrogen declines, women can lose up to 20% of their bone density.
- Resistance training stimulates bone building cells and makes it one of the most effective ways to prevent osteoporosis and fractures.
- Strength training can ease joint pain, a common (and often overlooked) challenge in perimenopause, by reducing the stress on your joints and improving stability.
- Strong muscles improve balance and reduce fall risks. (It may not seem like a big deal now, but your future self will thank you, this could truly be lifesaving!)
3. Building muscle improves mood & helps you finally get some sleep (which ironically, helps with mood!)
- Strength training triggers the release of endorphins; endorphins create a sense of wellbeing and reduce pain.
- Overcoming physical stress on your body (even the “good stress” of lifting), builds self-efficacy and confidence. Proof that you can do hard things.
- If you are prone to anxiety and stress, strength training can break worry cycles by anchoring your focus on the task at hand.
- As anxiety decreases, sleep often improves. Strength training gives your body a healthy outlet for stress, making it easier to sleep at night.
- Increasing your body temperature during a workout earlier in the day can help to lower body temperatures at night, easing vasomotor symptoms like hot flushes.
There are so many benefits, and we have just touched on them here,
So……why aren’t we all doing it?
You’ve probably heard everywhere that women in perimenopause and menopause should strength train. Every meno-influencer out there is saying to lift heavy. But what does that even mean?
Most women, know they should be doing it, but the breakdown is between the knowing and the doing, because we are missing the how.
The problem is much of the advice out there isn’t personalized. What feels like a “heavy weight” for one woman could be a recipe for injury for another. Some women want to get stronger but don’t yet have the nutrition habits or support to make it stick. Some women feel self-conscious at the thought of walking into a gym. Some women get so overwhelmed trying to figure it out that they just do nothing.
That’s where coaching comes in. When your program is tailored to your history, goals, body and starting point, everything changes. You stop second guessing yourself and instead start building strength, habits and confidence that grows with you.
Strength training really isn’t about a quick fix or something you do for a short period to reach a certain body size goal. It’s about creating an identity shift, becoming a person who trains. With the right approach it becomes part of who you are: strong, capable and independent, for life!
Feeling ready to start building muscle, but not sure how to begin? Reach out with your questions, together we’ll find the best first step for you.
PS – I answer all my emails myself, so if you’re wondering about something, ask away!
Xo,
Kim
