What’s the best exercise for the menopause?

Why exercise is important for the menopause

During menopause and perimenopause, weight gain becomes more likely. This can be a result of having lower oestrogen levels. Luckily, regular exercise with a healthy lifestyle can help you maintain a healthy weight. Also, menopause can lead to a loss of muscle mass, which can affect your metabolism and strength. Exercising during this time can counteract some of these effects.

Below are more ways exercise can help with menopause.

• Improve your heart health. After the menopause, you may be at an increased risk of heart disease due to lower oestrogen levels. Exercise can support your heart health.
• Encourage better sleep. The menopause can sometimes cause insomnia and regular exercise may support better sleep patterns.
• Reduce anxiety and low mood. The hormonal changes during menopause can affect your mental health. Exercise produces feel-good endorphins and can lower stress.
• Support your bone health. A loss of oestrogen can affect the health of your bones, but resistance exercises can help to keep them strong.
• Strengthen your pelvic floor. Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles that supports your bladder. It can weaken due to menopause, so pelvic floor exercises can help keep it healthy.

What types of exercise are best for the menopause?

It’s a good idea to do a range of different exercises. This is because you’ll get more benefits than just doing one type of movement.

Cardiovascular exercise

Doing cardiovascular exercise will help to improve your heart health after the menopause. Cardiovascular exercise improves how efficiently your heart pumps blood around your body. You can also improve your blood pressure and cholesterol with regular exercise.

Whilst everyone needs to do cardiovascular exercise, women are at particular risk of heart disease after the menopause. So, it’s extra important to do this type of movement on a regular basis.

Some examples of cardiovascular exercise include:

• dancing
• cycling
• high-intensity interval training (HIIT)-style workouts
• running
• swimming

Strength exercises

After menopause, falling oestrogen levels can contribute to muscle loss. The strength and density of your bones also are affected. Menopause causes an increased risk of osteoporosis, a condition where your bones are weakened. This can cause pain and increases your risk of fracture and falls.

Strength-based exercises can help you build muscle. They can also help keep your bones healthy and reduce your risk of osteoporosis. People with osteoporosis may also benefit from appropriately supervised strength-based exercise though some high-impact activities may not be suitable.

Doing strength exercises can also help your metabolism and improve your heart health. Studies have also shown that weightlifting and other strength-based exercises can help to improve women’s mental health. This may be useful during menopause when anxiety and low mood may occur.

To get started with strength exercises, you could try:

• climbing stairs
• hill walking
• bodyweight exercises such as squats, planks, or push-ups (from your knees if it helps)
• lifting kettlebells, dumbbells, or other weights
• using resistance-based gym machines
• yoga or Pilates

Balance and mobility exercises

It’s really important to maintain your balance as you get older. Having good balance can prevent falls, and is linked to healthy ageing. Balance and mobility can sometimes decline during the menopause because of a loss of muscle mass.

Another advantage of doing these types of exercises is that they usually involve a mind-body aspect. So they may help your menopause symptoms as well as reduce stress and help you relax.

Balance and mobility exercises include:

• yoga
• Pilates
• tai chi

How much exercise should I do during the menopause?

You should aim to meet the guidelines on activity levels for all adults. This is 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. So, this could be 30 minutes of exercise, five times a week. You should also do strength-building activities at least two times a week.

If you can’t always find the time, you may want to try movement snacking. This is small bursts of movement you can fit into your day. For example, you could do some squats while waiting for the kettle to boil and stand on one leg as you brush your teeth.

Are there any exercises to avoid during the menopause?

Some high-impact exercises may not be suitable if you have low bone density or have osteoporosis. If you have been diagnosed with osteoporosis or low bone density, seek advice from a healthcare professional before doing high-impact exercise.

Examples of high-impact exercises include dancing, running and certain sports. Low-impact exercises include swimming, walking and cycling. A healthcare professional can help you find which exercises are safe and suitable for you to do.