Prepare for perimenopause & age proof your body!
Perimenopause: A time to get on top of your health and fitness
Getting older is inevitable, but the nature of ageing is to a large extent under one’s control and choice. What would happen if we choose to challenge the idea that with age - there’s a decline, making changes becomes too hard, or our efforts won’t yield results? Instead, what if we go with the idea that being fit and healthy to be able to do all the things we want to do, is possible and has less to do with our actual age and more to do with our lifestyle choices plus, some self-belief? Be prepared for perimenopause and age proof your body, should be our new mantra.
When we start to prioritise our wellbeing, health, spirituality, and relationships, we may begin to maximise lifespan – the period of life during which we are generally healthy and free from disease.
Understandably, when it comes to menopause, we may go through denial, anger, feelings of despair and that’s quite natural, but once we accept this new phase, there is a choice and a need for us to take responsibility for our health. Menopause is a natural transition, but declining fitness and health are not. It’s time to flip the script, address what needs to be done, make a plan, and positively define the new chapter.
How we lead our lives can in my opinion help “Age proof your body.”
Christina Howells has 25 years’ experience as a personal trainer and lifestyle coach, she shares 7 ways to be prepared for perimenopause by age proofing your body.
Sit less, move more
Inactivity is an unseen epidemic that is harmful to our long term physical and mental health, in particular during midlife. People who exercise on average live longer than those who don't, but more importantly, they live a more capable and fulfilling life.
You may not feel a difference by moving more today or even this week, but over an extended period you will feel a notable difference from sitting less and moving more. Regular physical activity is the cheapest and most accessible form of preventive medicine I know, reducing our risk of age-related diseases. It may even help us stay mentally sharp, and don’t forget it has significant mood-boosting properties, which can help with depression and self-confidence.
Protect your heart
Menopause might be a natural stage in a woman’s life, but heart disease does not have to be. Heart Disease is the most life-threatening concern post menopause and the biggest killer of women in the UK and worldwide. Menopause does not cause heart disease, but a decline in oestrogen is generally believed to change several factors in a woman’s physiology.
Lipid profiles change with increases in LDL cholesterol “bad’’ cholesterol and a rise in triglycerides (fat) in the bloodstream. Simultaneously, age-related increases in blood pressure often occur. Couple this with a sedentary lifestyle, muscle loss, changes in fat distribution towards the middle, and potential weight gain, and the risk of heart increases further.
The heart is a muscle, and like any other muscle responds well to being worked. The benefits of being active not only reduce our risk of heart disease but can also significantly reduce other risk factors, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, elevated blood sugar, and being overweight.
One of the simplest things we can do right now to protect our hearts is walk more, in fact aim to walk 30 to 60 minutes a day at a moderate pace will make a significant difference to long-term physical and emotional health. Furthermore, it may be an old cliché, but incorporating small changes into your daily routine like taking the stairs, walking the escalator, and frequently getting up from your desk helps not a little but actually a lot! When I take the tube it personally saddens me so much when I see scores of people standing on the right-hand side when they could be walking the left-hand side and reducing their risk of disease considerably while improving cardiovascular fitness, muscle tone, and reducing bone loss.
Muscle is key
Loss of age-related muscle mass (sarcopenia) and function represents a significant threat to loss of independence in later life. We start losing muscle in our 30 and 40’s which continues to decline through the decades. However there is a lot to be said for the phrase “use it or lose it±” maintaining and increasing muscle tone is key to living a fully functional life and maintaining independence in later life, it provides you with the strength to complete daily tasks and the endurance to last for longer at a given task.
To preserve and potentially gain muscle alongside increasing strength, you need to apply the principle of overload whereby you place a stress upon the body beyond what it is accustomed to affect. Gym based programmers are an obvious choice, but you can train anywhere incorporating body weight, resistance bands and of course you can purchase weights to add resistance. Use your muscles at every opportunity; we were not designed to stand on escalators or use machines to achieve daily tasks.
Reduce your risk of bone loss
As we know during menopause the natural decline of oestrogen directly affects bone density. On a positive, bones are just like your heart and will stay strong if you give them work to do. When our muscles move, they pull on our bones so the more load the muscle moves the more your bones will respond, helping prevent loss of bone strength and density as we grow older.
Exercise will benefit your bones no matter when you start; it’s not clear if we can still strengthen our bones post-menopause but exercise undoubtedly stops us from losing bone density and strength which is crucial to preventing osteoporosis.
For exercise to be most effective for bone health we need to add variety, including weight-bearing impact exercises and muscle strengthening exercises.
Impact involves being on your feet and adding additional force through your body. This can range from lower impact options such as walking and stair climbing, through to moderate and higher intensity such as dancing, jogging, or sports such as netball and tennis. Alternatively, incorporate movements such as squat jumps, jump rope, high knees into your exercise routines are a great way to integrate impact.
Muscle strengthening exercises as discussed earlier refer to using weighted equipment such as holding a weight in your hand, kettle bells or using resistance bands. As you get stronger you can increase the load to increase the stress upon the muscle and, therefore bone. You can also use your bodyweight to provide overload. As an added bonus, bodyweight movements require you to use your whole body helping to improve overall functionality along with balance and co-ordination. You can also use resistance machines in a gym, but these are not particularly functional to life, we squat in our day but do we ever leg press? If your using a gym try to incorporate more cables and free weights working in as many planes of motion as you can and ideally incorporating some balance exercises, which will help reduce the risk of falls in later life. Doing an exercise standing on one leg is a great start or on an unstable surface such as a foam balance pad.
A note on swimming? This is an excellent form of exercise for your heart and does strengthen your muscles. However, the weight of your body is held by the water so there isn’t much force going through to your bones. Don’t stop swimming though as your heart will thank you for it.
Mobility is key to moving well
When we lack mobility in joints we lack an ability to move efficiently and will frequently catch ourselves recruiting other muscles to perform given tasks resulting in movement compensations. By incorporating mobility exercises into your life will help you reduce restrictions in the body such as tight hips, upper back and shoulders. It provides you with a foundation to move better and advance movement, correct imbalances, undo the damage of sitting at a desk, alleviate daily pain and create a foundation to improve movement ability and accomplish everyday tasks such as doing up a dress zip or getting up off the floor. It goes without saying it also invaluable in maintaining good posture too.
Don’t live in chains when you have the key
Your beliefs could be the biggest hurdle standing between the life you’re living and the life you could be living. Our perception and expectations we have about our ability to change are fundamental to the way we live and engage with life.
When we truly believe we can’t then we hold ourselves back plagued by self-limiting beliefs. However, cause that’s what we believe it does not mean it is true, but there is a good chance that we will find all the evidence we need to back this belief. What we believe influences our actions, and soon these self-limiting beliefs turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
If we see growing older as the onset of disease, a decline in health and physical ability then we are likely to allow this to happen. Conversely, if we see growing older as being active, enjoying life, and being healthy, then is a good chance that is what we will make happen.
I believe there is still always a choice to get stronger and healthier at any age. Its about finding something you enjoy, taking small steps to learn new activities so you build your competence and confidence, and being consistent. By the way you can teach an old dog new tricks, take it slow, don’t jump to far out of your comfort zone to soon, enjoy the process and I repeat be consistent.
We all have the potential to become the best version of ourselves, it’s just a case of finding our passion, developing the right mindset and investing time and having a little belief.
People need people
Did you know that one of the most fundamental components of our health is our connections with others? Countless research has shown time and time again, a clear link between social ties and a longer and happier life.
Social support and social interaction are often cited as the most important factors in predicting our physical and mental health. The Harvard Women’s Health Watch recently reported people who have satisfying relationships with family, friends, and their community as happier, have fewer health concerns and live longer.
Conversely, a relative lack of social ties is associated with depression and later-life cognitive decline, as well as with increased mortality.
In addition, the life-enhancing effects of social support extend to the giver as well as the receiver, how often has helping another made your day a whole lot better?
As a 50 plus woman, I also encourage social relationships extend across all decades. Keeping the doors closed to others we feel we have nothing in common with dampens are learning and experiences. Rather than stereotype age groups, let’s open the doors to conversations with people of all ages, celebrating the difference, and enjoying viewing and experiencing the world through everyone’s eyes.
Finally, don’t forget exercising with others is a great way to see friends, stay motivated and stay healthy.
Personal trainer
October 2019
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