Waking up drenched in sweat at 3 am? Can’t remember why you walked into the kitchen? Every little thing your coworkers or family do feels like nails on a chalkboard?
If you’re noticing these signs and you’re a woman anywhere from 45 to 56, you’re probably not imagining it — your body and mental health are changing. It can feel like you’ve stepped into someone else’s body and what used to work for you suddenly doesn’t. Now, those baggy jeans are hidden in the back of your closet and re-named as “skinny jeans”, even though you haven’t changed how you eat.
While you can’t hit pause on menopause symptoms, you can take back some control. A few simple changes, like adding certain types of movement, can make a world of difference. The right exercise routine, one that feels manageable and energizing, is one of your best bets for feeling like yourself again — which is why women need to start strength training. Movement can help stabilize your mood swings, clear up brain fog, and make everyone else seem (at least a little) less annoying.
In this article, you’ll learn exactly how exercise impacts your hormones and makes you feel more whole again. Plus, which exercises are actually menopause-friendly, leaving you energized instead of exhausted.
Menopause happens when your body starts producing less estrogen and progesterone. These hormones play big roles in countless bodily functions, leaving you out of sorts while you adjust. All the shifts can make you get headaches, feel constantly cranky, and wonder where your sex drive went (just to name a few). Understanding what’s really going on is the first step toward learning what you can do to reduce symptoms and feel more balanced.
While these changes might feel overwhelming, they can become more manageable with some time and tools, like exercise.
Exercise doesn’t just help you look good, it can make you feel amazing, too. From invigorating your mental health and brain power to improving your life-long independence and confidence, movement changes how you move through your life.
When you exercise, your body releases a whole host of neurochemicals and hormones that light you up (in the best way). You get a blend of mood boosters like endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine, to name a few. The endorphins give that sense of euphoria, while serotonin and dopamine fight stress, anxiety, and depression.
Cardio especially increases serotonin, helping with long-term mood improvements. Strength training ramps up dopamine production — your brain’s reward chemical. It’s linked to motivation and pleasure and reinforces any behavior that gives it a boost (that means after some time you may start to seriously love strength training).
Regular physical activity boosts your metabolism and promotes muscle mass, helping to fight the changes of reduced estrogen. Plus, more muscle mass might increase your resting metabolic rate (RMR), helping you burn more calories at rest.
Regular cardio and strength training also work to balance your insulin levels, which can start to work differently from hormonal shifts and lead to insulin resistance. When you’re not processing sugar properly, you’re more likely to get cravings and gain weight, especially around the belly. Finally, exercise reduces stress hormones, like cortisol, which are famous for increasing belly fat and overall fat storage.
Brain fog can feel like a dark cloud taking over all your brain power, messing with your memory, focus, and decision-making. Fortunately, exercise works like the high beams on your car, cutting through the fog and helping you see clearly again. Movement boosts blood flow to your brain, making it easier to think and focus. It also increases brain plasticity — the ability to adapt and form new connections — making it easier to learn new things and solve problems.
Aerobic activity can also increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that supports neuron growth and repair. It helps reduce inflammation, improve memory, and adapt to new experiences (key for a hard time full of changes). Plus, don’t forget the better night’s sleep you’ll have after a hard workout, which puts you at optimal cognitive functioning.
We all know bone loss makes us more likely to experience painful falls and hip fractures when we’re older. Except, we don’t realize just how early the process that leads to falls begins — and that we have the power to reduce that risk.
Strength training helps you live a longer, stronger, and healthier life. It builds muscle, which not only supports your joints but also helps keep bones from losing density. Plus, as your muscles get stronger, your balance and stability improve — something you’ll appreciate when your friends are moving into retirement homes while you stay put, walking up a flight of stairs to your bedroom like a breeze.
While you might not feel full of energy and ready to tackle your workouts every day, you can set up a plan that helps you feel better. You really don’t have to work out five days a week and pump iron like a bodybuilder. A few tweaks to your day here and there can go a long way to setting up a routine that works for you. Here’s how to begin:
Menopause symptoms might make it feel impossible to workout, but the right exercises can change everything. Not sure where to start? A personal trainer can help you build a strength routine that works with your body, not against it—so you can feel strong, energized, and in control of your health.
Here are a few menopause-safe exercises that can help:
A warm-up can last about 5-10 minutes and help your muscles loosen up by getting your blood flowing. You can do this through a gentle walk, marching in place, and moving your limbs around, like with arm circles. You can also do hamstring and lat stretches, and an overhead to floor stretch to get started.
Cardio work is great for getting your heart pumping and releasing endorphins, leading to a better mood. A brisk walk, cycling, dancing, or swimming are all great options.
Using weights, resistance bands, or your own body weight helps you build muscle mass and increase lifelong bone health. Start with lighter weights where you can still finish each set with good form, but feel fatigued by the last few reps. As it gets easier, increase the weights or resistance band strength, and be sure to target major muscle groups, like your legs, arms, and core. Here are some examples:
Feel free to scroll through our exercise library with thousands of exercise images and explanations to make sure you get all the benefits of proper form.
It’s always important to stretch after a workout. It helps your muscles recover, keeps you flexible, and prevents next-day soreness and stiffness. Try gentle stretches holding each one for about 15-30 seconds, like the butterfly or cobra. Make sure to get the muscles you worked out, like hamstrings, calves, quads, triceps, or legs and lower back. Put on some soothing calm music to get into the mood so it feels calming and relaxing, setting you up for a great feeling once you’re done.
Even though menopause can feel like riding a roller coaster you never signed up for, your body’s not betraying you. More than anything, it’s needing a little extra TLC — and movement is a great way to give your body the care it needs to manage it all.
Sweating it out with cardio, building muscle, or finding your zen with yoga all help. But if you don’t know where to begin, haven’t been able to stay consistent, or are just plain bored and frustrated with your workouts, trainwell’s here to support you.
Our trainers are ready to craft a plan so tailored to your needs that you’ll feel energized in no time (not to mention emotionally supported). Whether you're battling brain fog or hot flashes, they'll be there to guide you through it (and maybe enjoy a victory dance with you when you reach a new milestone). See for yourself the difference a trainer can make with a 14-day free trial. In the end, your menopausal journey might just become less of a roller coaster and more of a fun fitness adventure.
Written by Jennifer Olejarz.
