Menopause Symptoms? Exercise Can Help

The menopause. There’s no hiding from the fact that all women have to go through it – and yet, until recently, it was a subject most females avoided. So, we are thrilled and find it refreshing to hear so many of our clients talk openly about the hot flushes, the mood swings, and physical changes it forces on us. The more we talk about it, the more we accept and acknowledge that it can have a huge impact on life, the more we de-stigmatise a subject that is totally NORMAL! We shouldn’t have to hide the fact that our bodies are changing – embrace it! And, that’s exactly what we’re doing during October, which is Menopause Awareness month.

Studio Zest pilates reformer class

About 80-90% of women experience mild to severe physical or physiological menopause-related complaints per year when approaching menopause. And, unfortunately for those of us living outside of major cities, women living in rural areas were found to have worse symptoms. Great!

But there is a way of easing some of those symptoms – exercise.

Several studies have shown that regular exercise significantly reduced menopausal symptoms and improved well-being. They found physically active women of menopausal-age experienced fewer problems with insomnia and better mood. And, an observational study indicated that physical activity was associated with better mental health, and less anxiety and stress during menopause. We know first hand how true that is, because many of our female clients tell us how much better their symptoms are because of the activities they do within the studio.

Exercise doesn’t just help with how we’re feeling – it can promote better physical health as we get older. We all lose bone density and muscle mass through the years, but studies also found that resistance exercise may reduce the decline in muscle strength in middle-aged women.

It’s one of the reasons we’ve started our Women’s Strength Lifting classes. There are many benefits to this type of strength training, including the enhancement of mental and physical well being, decrease of injures, enhanced bone density and muscles growth. Plus, studies have shown that resistance training also increases the resting metabolic rate by 5% which means that you will keep burning calories even when you have finished working out. A major bonus!

Our Z-60 classes also offer strength and condition, plus a good dose of cardio work.

And, let’s not forget yoga. Going back to those studies – one found that inactive women aged 40-62 who attended 12 weeks of yoga classes improved their quality of life and experienced fewer hot flushes, better sleep quality and fewer depression symptoms.

If you feel like you would like to get more active – whether you are going through the menopause or not, pop in and have a chat.