Women can enjoy a good quality of life after menopause, even without hormones. Postmenopausal women, who engage in the comprehensive exercise program, benefit by maintaining a healthy body, bone density levels, and good mental health.
Anxiety, weight gain, exhaustion, lack of confidence, depression, and many more; the list of menopausal symptoms goes on and on and on. You may ease the discomfort of symptoms with Elleste Solo Tablets. The good news is that you may take back control, and exercising plays a massive part in this.
Why is fitness necessary after menopause?
Exercise during and after menopause has many benefits, such as:
- Preventing weight gain. Women lose muscle mass and gain abdominal fat around menopause. Therefore, regular physical activity might help prevent weight gain.
- Reducing the risk of cancer. Exercise during and after menopause may help lose excess weight or maintain a healthy weight. This might offer protection from some types of cancer, like colon, breast, and endometrial cancer.
- Strengthening your bones. Exercise may slow bone loss after menopause, which lowers the risk of fractures and osteoporosis.
- Reducing the risk of other diseases. Menopause weight gain can have profound implications for your health. For example, excess weight increases the risk of heart disease and type-2 diabetes. Regular exercise counters the risks.
- Boosting your mood. Physically active women may have a lower risk of depression and cognitive decline.
Getting started
It is always possible to start exercising. The key is to start slowly and do things one enjoys, like walking, cycling, vigorous yard work, swimming, cardio machines or attending group fitness classes. Regular exercising can help in improving overall well-being. Even moderate physical activity, which involves moving the body enough to get the heart pumping, brings excellent health benefits, including more energy. The movement should be fast enough to get the heart pumping without being out of breath or exhausted.
The best physical activities to try
For most healthy women, experts recommend moderate aerobic activity for 150 minutes weekly or vigorous aerobic activity for 75 minutes weekly. In addition, strength training exercises are best twice a week. Feel free to spread out your exercise throughout the week.
Consider the exercise options and their benefits:
Aerobic activity
Aerobic activity helps you shed excess pounds and maintain a healthy weight. For example, try jogging, brisk walking, biking, swimming or water aerobics. If you are a beginner, start with 10 minutes daily and gradually increase the duration and intensity.
Strength training
Regular strength training might help you reduce body fat, strengthen muscles and burn calories more efficiently. Try hand-held weights, weight machines, or resistance tubing. First, opt for a weight or resistance level heavy enough to exhaust your muscles after about 12 repetitions. Then, gradually increase the weight or resistance level as you get stronger.
Stretching
Stretching might improve flexibility. Take time to stretch after each workout when your muscles are warm.
Stability and balance
Balance exercises improve stability and help prevent falls. Try simple exercises like standing on one leg while brushing your teeth. Activities such as tai chi also can be helpful.
Exercises to Avoid During Menopause
All postmenopausal women should be encouraged to employ lifestyle practices, including appropriate exercises that reduce the risk of bone loss and osteoporotic fractures. These exercises for women with osteoporosis should not include high-impact aerobics or activities in which a fall is likely, such as exercising on slippery floors or step aerobics. Activities requiring repeated or resisted trunk flexions, such as sit-ups or toe touches, should also be avoided because of the increased loads placed on the spine during such activities that may result in spine fracture.
Find Your Fitness Mojo
It’s not rocket science; take up an activity you enjoy, and you are more likely to do it. Also, don’t put unnecessary pressure on yourself. Accept where you are today and build from there. A 10-minute walk around the park is brilliant. 1% better each day is a helpful reminder.
If you struggle with motivation, set some goals for yourself, and share them with your friends or team up with others for accountability and encouragement. Some people feel too self-conscious to exercise in public. If that’s you, remember you don’t have to go to an actual gym or hit the park. There are so many online alternatives where you can do everything from strength training, pilates, yoga, indoor cycling, HIIT and more from the comfort of your home.
Many women have started their fitness journey in their living rooms. They have gone on to enjoy training alone and even participating in events such as triathlons! Alternatively, look for women-only local coaching sessions for everything from swimming to running. Open water swimming has become particularly popular with menopausal women, with many enjoying the mental health benefits and the body confidence it has given them.
Mind over matter
Other midlife symptoms that can stop women from exercising relate to mental health, particularly menopause stress, anxiety and depression. Erratic hormone fluctuations can cause these. Without treatment, these symptoms can worsen, motivation levels to exercise are almost non-existent, and a woman’s self-esteem can plummet. For this reason, it is wise to seek help from a knowledgeable GP or menopause specialist. Unfortunately, often women are wrongly prescribed antidepressants to treat these symptoms, and HRT may be a more practical option.
Exercise can be a brilliant way to manage mental health issues. However, it would be best if you relied on something other than it solely (excessive exercise is also a stressor on the body). Please make sure you also factor in rest and relaxation, be it yoga, meditation, other hobbies, and spending time with others. Talking therapies like cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) may also help.
Conclusion
Learning to enjoy exercise is excellent for the body and mind and your social life. So, with many years left, let’s make them fitter, stronger, and healthier.
Exercise works by improving muscle mass, strength, balance, and coordination. Therefore, unlike treatment with medicine, exercises work simultaneously on various aspects of one’s health.
