Top 10 Ideas for Trainers and Their Post-Menopausal Clients

Fitness encompasses more than a woman’s physical body. It extends to her emotions, her spirit, and her unique definition of self. Women deserve to celebrate their lives at any age; however, when the “change of life” years creep in, many females struggle to discover new positive ways to define themselves. Personal trainers can help clients enhance their quality of life before, during and after menopause. By recognizing how changing bodies have unique workout requirements, you can guide your clients towards a gateway to stronger, healthier, and more radiantly confident bodies!

Menopause: More Than Just a Word

With symptoms ranging from hot flashes to anxiety, insomnia to weight gain – menopause makes it challenging for a female to feel her best. An abundance of research points to the fact that exercise can make a huge difference during this time. Exercising can also help to reduce health risks in the post-menopausal years as well. Read on to find out which types of exercises work best for your female clients who have aged into this demographic.

The Facts of Life

Given a reasonable life expectancy of 80.2 years, a third of the average woman’s life could extend beyond the menopause transition. Cultivating a regular exercise routine prior to the onset of perimenopause can truly enhance how a female experiences and thrives during her later years. Besides helping to reduce menopausal symptoms, women can anticipate many benefits to remaining active, including ~

• Ease of maintaining a healthy weight
• Building muscle mass – helping to protect bones, and increase metabolic rate
• A reduction in breast cancer risk
• Lowered levels of stress
• Improved mental well-being/quality of life
• Heart health (through weight reduction, improved cholesterol levels, and prevention of type 2 diabetes)
• Improved sleep patterns
• Increased ease of mobility
• Improved insulin sensitivity

Creating A Smarter Training Program for the Mature Female Body

Even if a client already engages in regular exercise, switching up her routine as she ages can help address her changing body’s needs while also introducing new challenges to keep things interesting and fun. Within this structure, trainers might keep in mind some key points to address for female clients in the perimenopausal, menopausal and post-menopausal years. Our top 10 list of suggestions includes ~

1. Cardiovascular activity
2. HIIT (high- intensity interval training)
3. Resistance training (focus on proper form)
4. Flexibility
5. Balance
6. Higher number of reps/sets
7. Keeping weight loads in the 60-80% of 1RM
8. Always include warm-up’s/cool-down’s (reduces cortisol levels)
9. Guidance on nutrition and sleep
10. Listening to one’s body and adjusting workouts accordingly

Cardio Considerations

Cardiovascular exercise encompasses any movement that elevates the heart rate: cycling, dancing, brisk walking, swimming, gardening, elliptical/stair-steeper machines, etc. Any of these can help keep the heart and circulatory systems functioning optimally.

If a new client finds it challenging to embrace 30-40 minutes of cardio at one setting, personal trainers may suggest striving to amass 10,000 steps a day; after that, a client may feel prepared to embark upon a more comprehensive workout regimen.

The HIIT Conundrum

High-intensity interval training works for many individuals because it takes less time to complete while still proving effective. HIIT will definitely promote building endurance, strength, and improvements in metabolic health. However, such modes of training tend to exact certain amounts of bodily demands, some of which can prove counterproductive and even dangerous for some older female clients.

Trainers might exercise caution in the following areas ~

•  Regular HIIT workouts require considerable rest periods. Not stressing that clients allow sufficient recovery time between HIIT workouts may risk an increase of injury. Err on the side of caution by recommending only 1-2 HIIT workouts each week, holding them to perhaps 20 minutes in total length.
• Typical HIIT routines commonly include high-impact movements (jump squats, burpees, plyometrics or jumping jacks) which may negatively impact clients with osteoporosis, inflammation issues and/or osteoarthritis. Balance insecurities among this age demographic can also contribute to an increased risk of falls/fractures.

Monitoring the Spine During Flexibility Moves

Keeping one’s body supple throughout the change-in-life years helps foster better balance, posture and stability. However, we must recognize that not all exercises prove ideal for aging bodies. Usually with enough prep time, a trainer can easily tailor most exercises to safely address his client’s abilities. Trainers might keep an eye out for these potentially hazardous moves ~

• Repeated or resisted trunk flexion
• Sit-ups with rotation
• Standing toe touches with rotation
• Russian twists

Basic Strength Training

While there exist an infinite number of ways to cultivate strength and muscle mass, most females in this stage of life prefer to keep things efficient and relatively simple. A basic resistance training protocol might include the following moves:

• Squats
• Overhead Shoulder Press
• Mountain Climbers
• Standing Side Crunch
• Lateral Raise
• High Knees Marching on the Spot
• Split Lunges
• Bicep Curls
• Standing Calf Raises
• Hanging Leg Raises

A client new to the gym might appreciate an expedient and safe approach to weightlifting, so trainers could suggest she experiment by doing the aforementioned moves, 45 seconds of reps and 15 seconds of rest for every exercise. This sufficiently taxes most of the major muscle groups and offers a basic introduction to strength training.

The Abdominal Fat Deposits Discussion

In our article on movement during perimenopause, we touched upon nutrition and adequate sleep during this time of life as critical factors in addition to exercise. Here we take a slightly different direction, looking at a few research studies.

Data published in the Annals of Internal Medicine revealed that individuals ages 50 and older, with weight disproportionally packed in their midsection, successfully shrunk the abdominal regions of their bodies by engaging in a 12-week tai chi program. This accomplishment mirrored that of participants who opted for aerobic exercise and resistance training throughout the same 12 weeks. The authors of the study added, “Tai chi [has] health benefits similar to those of conventional exercise and thus provides an alternative and more amenable exercise modality for middle-aged and older adults to manage central obesity.”

A smaller study published its results in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. It turns out that not getting enough sleep can lead to an increase of abdominal fat by negatively impacting ghrelin and leptin, our bodies’ “hunger hormones”.

One study author suggests combating this problem, often exacerbated by late-night snacking, by shutting down the kitchen and brushing teeth by 7:00 pm. “You shouldn’t be eating before you sleep, because it will interrupt your sleep and encourages packing on unwanted pounds,” she says.

Movement Is Medicine

Contrary to what we may hear and see advertised by pharmaceutical giants, movement remains the best defense against aging bodies. We all age; however, we do not have to grow old. When we help our older clients learn to love exercise, we help them work both their minds and their bodies…and improve their self-esteem along the way.

Never has this been of more importance than during the menopausal years. By increasing muscle mass, strength, balance, and coordination, exercise wields a tremendous amount of power for navigating the challenges of menopause and aging. Help your female clients preserve bone density, thwart osteoporosis, and cultivate lean muscle mass. You CAN improve their quality of life as well as their longevity.

References:

https://www.fitnessinmenopause.com

https://www.bupa.co.uk/newsroom/ourviews/menopause-exercise#:~:text=How%20much%20exercise%20should%20I,least%20two%20strength%2Dbuilding%20sessions.

https://www.menopause.org.au/images/factsheets/Mantaining_Weight_and_Health_0219_V2.pdf

https://www.themenopausecharity.org/2021/04/24/exercise-advice/#:~:text=But%20including%20a%20combination%20of,muscle%20mass%20and%20strengthen%20bones.

https://www.coretotalwellness.com/blog/exercises-to-avoid-during-menopause

https://www.everydayhealth.com/menopause-pictures/ways-to-beat-menopausal-belly-fat.aspx#:~:text=To%20attack%20belly%20fat%20and,%2C%20or%20swimming%2C%20Peeke%20says.

https://www.nuffieldhealth.com/full-body-exercises-post-menopause-workout

https://exerciseismedicine.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/EIM-FactSheet_Menopause_Prof-2022.pdf

https://backtomotion.net/top-10-anti-aging-exercises/#:~:text=Resistance%20Training%20–%20If%20you%20want,into%20your%20standard%20work%20out.

https://fitnesseducationonline.co.uk/product/training-menopausal-and-perimenopausal-women/