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Exercise in Menopause
The best exercise in menopause is one you enjoy!
But sometimes, it’s difficult to even think about exercise when menopause symptoms like mood swings, migraines and hot flashes (just to name a few occupy your daily life.
If you’ve never exercised regularly prior to menopause, it is time to get moving. If you are an over-exerciser (yes, it IS a thing!) rethinking exercise during menopause is an area you need to consider. Opting in for more movement will make the entire perimenopause and menopause experience easier time for you.
But in order to really turn the corner on exercise during perimenopause/menopause you need to understand your “exercise why”. Then, you can connect the WHY with the HOW to put it all together.
Episode Time Stamps – jump to certain parts of the episode or listen to the whole thing.
2:35 Melanie explains the reason “no pain/no gain” philosophy for women in menopause is all wrong.
5:35 Finding your exercise why – the benefits will trickle down to the rest of your life.
9:00 The “WHY” is connected to the “HOW”
Melanie’s tips:
- Shrink the change
- Shape the path
- Add in a supporting habit
- Look for the bright spots
- Develop a growth mindset
22:09 Rhonda’s recommendations for breakfast for menopausal women (fat/protein in the morning.) Suggestions inside for breakfast ideas that will help balance your insulin levels in the morning. Starchy carbs in the evening meal (like sweet potatoes, quinoa, brown rice) help balance cortisol levels in the evening for better sleep.
26:20 Learn Rhonda and Melanie’s #1 knowledge bomb about weight gain around the middle. (hint – lack of sleep and lack of activity are two of the culprits).
29:37 (vat and scat fat) – subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue – learn how these things shift as we age and how to minimize the negative effect.
31:00 Melanie’s exercise advice – exercises that strengthen bone and muscle (weight lifting, walking, yoga, tai chi). Don’t be afraid to push a little harder and make the time you have to work out work for you. Shorter more intense work outs (swim a lap easy, swim a lap hard, etc.) Helps with boredom!
32:40 Rhonda’s final thoughts and words of encouragement.
34:25 Melanie’s closing thoughts and words of wisdom. (Everything in the middle can look like failure – how you react to setbacks will help you form a growth mindset.)
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Melanie Carvell
Melanie Carvell, PT, is a certified Worksite Wellness Consultant and also the author of “Running with the Antelope; Life, Fitness and Grit on the Northern Plains.”
Melanie is an accomplished triathlete who is a six-time All American, representing USA Triathlon on eight World Championship teams and winning a bronze medal in Germany in 1999. She has trained at the U.S. Olympic Training Center with the national cycling team, was named North Dakota’s Sportscasters/Sportswriters Athlete of the Year, chosen as the North Dakota Prairie Rose State Games Athlete of the Year, and received the “Picture of Health” award from the State of North Dakota as a top leader in women’s health. Melanie was also chosen as Sanford Health’s “Manager of the Year” in 2016.
Resources Mentioned in this Episode
Example of “shrinking the change” Dr. Miriam Voss – from Emery University her research looking at taking one thing (in this case, beverages).
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Other Die – Chip and Dan Health
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