I’m often asked about exercise education for women during their menopause transition and Jenna wanted to interview me, because as a women’s Health Coach, she found herself, that there is so much confusion out there in menopause-land.
This podcast is from her series called Women On Fire®.
What exercise to do during the menopause transition is one of the most frequent questions I get asked. There are numerous opinions aren’t there?
So, this was the basis of my interview with Jenna. And as I said, in scientific exercise prescription guidelines there are a number of factors that come into the consideration for women in their menopause transition. These include:
- Whether a woman is sleeping. If not, then she is exercising ‘tired’ and this may lead to further immune system changes.
- Whether she has a history of exercise and therefore, has good ‘physical literacy’ (movement awareness). This influences exercise frequency, intensity, type and time.
- What her goals are. If she wants a 6-pack abdominals, then this is very different training and nutrition, compared to wanting to be able to participate in recreational activity such as hiking and skiing for healthy ageing.
- What stage of menopause she is in. In peri-menopause, women are still producing oestrogen compared to post-menopause. The stage of menopause has a direct influence on a woman’s ability to recover from exercise, hence, why heavy exercisers may increase their risk for fibromyalgia.
‘My focus is on women’s healthy ageing’ I told Jenna and the interview explains my position on some of the controversial topics evolving in exercise discussions for midlife and older women.
In this episode, we talk about the right type of exercise, lifting weights, how much protein is ideal and is creatine essential for you. I hope you can listen sometime and share it with any women or clients you know who may be interested.
Despite the well-meaning messages out there, lifting more and more weights, eating more and more protein and taking creatine may not be right for you.
It’s different strokes for different folks, is my main message to women.
It was such a privilege to talk to Jenna about this important topic. Jenna is passionate about supporting women through their experience of perimenopause and post-menopause after being unable to find answers and support with her own rocky journey.
A former magazine health and beauty editor, she’s spent the last decade studying and researching menopause and I was so pleased that she found the MyMT™ Menopause Weight Loss Coach Course to add to her knowledge in helping other women.
Jenna also works with MenoMe®, who sponsor the Women On Fire® podcast and supply evidence-based botanical menopause solutions. Jenna is a member of the International Association of Health Coaches (IAHC) and the International Institute for Complementary Therapists (IICT).
Thank you Jenna for the conversation. Don’t forget that if you are interested in understanding exercise for women’s healthy ageing, then the Rebuild My Fitness program may be right for you.
