Menopause and type of Cardio

[Tugger31]

I have been reading some studies on the best kind of exercise to do during menopause, to help combat fat loss in particular. Studies pretty much said to make strength training a part of your routine to help maintain lean muscle mass (and strength) and to help preserve bone density. As far as cardio, many studies agreed that interval cardio (the intensity was based on percentage of V02 max) was better in menopause than steady state.

Any thoughts or experiences? I've been trying to back down on intensity due to fatigue and I've definitely not made much progress in the fat loss dept. (I know we can't discuss diet particulars, but the study also suggested cutting back calories by about 200 per day during menopause)

[Michefit]

Hi Tugger31 - am in perminopause and dealing with low thyroid. The inches have been creeping up on me and it is so disheartening in spite of working out consistently and watching diet. I do TA streaming workouts along with dance cardio and they are tough and I really enjoy the variety. However the lack of lower body weight and ONLY steady state cardio does not seem to be doing it anymore.

Recently I have gone back to some Tonique Express workouts - this are some of the hardest toning plus cardio workouts I have done (and I been a Cathe devotee for years as well) They range from only 16-25 minutes of pure intensity. They are low impact mostly except for a few plyo moves throughout.

These along with some proper Thyroid medication have seem to finally tip the balance in losing inches. THANK GOD! I would consider these to be high intensity and they are tough but only last a short time. I do them 2-3x a week along with the other workouts I enjoy. Just thought I would mention them - if it's not Tonique maybe its just some short/intense a few times a week that will make a difference.
HTH

[TinaT]

I've been in this season of life for at least 2 yrs now. In early Feb I started working out again. I started with Piyo. It helped me with form and understanding body weight exercises better, but I soon felt the need for weights. Since then, I have gone back to the FIRM. I really do agree that having weights somewhere in the routine really helps maintain and rebuild muscle tone. I will reach my 8 week time line on the 9th, where I'll measure and weight myself again. (I do this every 4 weeks). The first 4 weeks I lost 7 lbs and 18 inches over all.

I wear a Polar HR Monitor to track my HR and calorie burn. Using weights really makes a difference in how much I burn, etc. Just 3 lb weights ups my HR significantly. In fact, when doing a FIRM cardio routine, I will remove the short step from the routine but always keep the weights in order to keep my HR in the zone.

Yes the big "D" word is a part of my fitness regiment as well. Everyone's life is different, so find something you can live with long term. Good luck ~

ETA: I also use the "My Fitness Pal" app to track diet and exercise. It's a great tool and really gave me a shocking "wake me up" moment when I saw my intake. It can help with a reasonable plan for your specific goals. Something to check out. I use the free version and it gives me everything I need.

[marki64]

I know a lot of people here don't like intensity in their workouts, but I have found intensity blast with weights/body toning to be the best. I also incorporate regular dog walks. As far as food goes, moderation, moderation moderation. It works!

[superfit41]

I am a big fan of rebounding. I am 53, and I just can't do the high impact, high intensity cardio workouts that I used to do. I find that rebounding allows me to do the cardio moves that I love, with little impact. I started with an Urban rebounder, and last year I bought a 49" Bellicon. One of the best fitness investments I have made! I do mostly Barre, and Pilates for strength work with light weights. I don't d*** never have. I believe in moderation.
Sherry

[Gale K.]

Debra Atkinson of Flipping Fifty promotes short (20 mins or less) interval cardio workouts for menopausal women. I like her approach to both fitness and nutrition for menopause, and she seems to base it on solid research. She has a lot of info on youtube, etc.

[lizh]

Originally Posted by TinaT

I have gone back to the FIRM. I really do agree that having weights somewhere in the routine really helps maintain and rebuild muscle tone. I will reach my 8 week time line on the 9th, where I'll measure and weight myself again. (I do this every 4 weeks). The first 4 weeks I lost 7 lbs and 18 inches over all.

These are impressive results! I'm a long time "FIRM"er and have been having such a hard time getting myself back in the exercise groove. I am going to start again today and try to keep consistent. One day at time!
Liz

[toaster]

Interesting thread! I turn 49 at the end of this month. I don't believe that I have entered perimenopause yet, but I take birth control pills, so that might be warning off any symptoms. (My GYN mentioned last summer that he's probably going to have me come off OCP in th next 1-2 years, which I dread b/c they have helped with my migraines.)

The reason I have chimed is because like others here, I'm low thyroid. Also, since last May (2016) I have gained about 7-8 lbs. with no clear reason--my eating and exercise habits have not changed. My story is that I finally got placed on meds for hypothyroid in August 2015. When I did, my weight immediately dropped by about 4-5 lbs. It was very stable for 9 months or so, but then the weight gain started. My endocrinologist refuses to consider any further medication adjustments (separate long story).

So more recently, I keep trying to change up my exercise regimen a bit, but to no avail. I still exercise daily, and I'm really not doing high intensity stuff--1-2 days are often yoga only, I don't do a lot of cardio, plus I do plenty of CS/Essentrics and other stretching or unweighted work. I'm still at a healthy weight, but I"m at the top end of my range, and I feel more tired and run down. I wish I knew how to change things up!

[Erica H.]

Originally Posted by toaster

Interesting thread! I turn 49 at the end of this month. I don't believe that I have entered perimenopause yet, but I take birth control pills, so that might be warning off any symptoms. (My GYN mentioned last summer that he's probably going to have me come off OCP in th next 1-2 years, which I dread b/c they have helped with my migraines.)

The reason I have chimed is because like others here, I'm low thyroid. Also, since last May (2016) I have gained about 7-8 lbs. with no clear reason--my eating and exercise habits have not changed. My story is that I finally got placed on meds for hypothyroid in August 2015. When I did, my weight immediately dropped by about 4-5 lbs. It was very stable for 9 months or so, but then the weight gain started. My endocrinologist refuses to consider any further medication adjustments (separate long story).

So more recently, I keep trying to change up my exercise regimen a bit, but to no avail. I still exercise daily, and I'm really not doing high intensity stuff--1-2 days are often yoga only, I don't do a lot of cardio, plus I do plenty of CS/Essentrics and other stretching or unweighted work. I'm still at a healthy weight, but I"m at the top end of my range, and I feel more tired and run down. I wish I knew how to change things up!

I ended up gaining the same amount of weight as you did (6-8 pounds) right when I turned 49 last year without any change in my diet or workouts. I did have to change my diet and the weight came off plus I ended up losing even more.

I exercise a lot and am afraid to cut back on frequency/intensity/duration because I worry I'll gain weight. I'm at the low end of my weight range now, but I feel tired and run down all the time. I am in menopause now - hit the one-year mark in January. I've been playing around with supplements since taking one in particular seemed to make a big improvement last year when I was feeling really lousy.

Erica

[toaster]

Erica, can you PM to tell me what supplement helped? I saw a naturopath for awhile and played around with some supplements too, but they weren't seeming to help me.