A weird thing happened one day in August. I woke up 50 years old. I honestly don’t know where that came from because my attitude is still stuck somewhere around 19 or 20.
But every now and then my body (and face) ruin it for me and let me know that I’m really 50. Besides considering that my first colonoscopy is due…that is definitely going to wait…I realize that menopause will probably be my next milestone in life.
Woohoo! So what does this mean for me and how does it affect my health and fitness habits?
A major change takes place for post menopausal women. No fellas, I’m not talking about the personality changes. I am referring to the absence in estrogen production.
This hormone has a huge affect on women’s health like protecting women against heart disease and osteoporosis. So in the absence of this hormone, we suddenly find ourselves at equal risk for heart disease as men and at greater risk for developing osteoporosis at faster rates.
It then becomes more important for us to develop a health and fitness plan that relates to these changes.
While women age, they tend to mistakenly think they have a decreased need for weight training when actually the opposite is true. Most women will begin shying away from weights as though it is meant for the younger gals for aesthetic purposes only. Nothing is further from the truth.
One of the best ways to retard the process of bone wasting osteoporosis is resistance/strength training. Weight lifting not only helps strengthen muscles, but also slows down significantly the natural process of age related bone loss. Now that we find ourselves without the benefits of bone saving estrogen, we need more than ever to pick up those weights.
Overdoing it is not necessary. Twice a week, full body resistance training incorporated around weight bearing exercise and cardiorespiratory exercise can provide wonderful results.
Cardio respiratory, or aerobic exercise, is another important exercise to include in our post menopausal routines more than ever now that the estrogen protection against heart disease is gone. I don’t mean that if you’ve been consistently doing aerobic exercise that you have to greatly increase the intensity, I mean to suggest that now is not the time to stop.
If cardio respiratory exercise has not yet been a part of your life, now is a good time to gradually add it…it is not the time to spend more time on the couch.
As always, see your health professional before starting any exercise plan or making any significant changes in your diet. And fellas…instead of dreading the post menopausal years of your lovelies, start looking forward to having a new lifting buddy.
