Now that you realize you’re officially going through menopause, perhaps you think it’s better to take it a little easier physically. After all, with all the hot flashes, stress, and fatigue you feel from menopausal symptoms, you may not have the will to do anything physically taxing. The value of exercise in menopause perhaps isn’t stressed enough in the media, because it’s essential to keep yourself healthier. Unfortunately, fatigue may turn you into a sedentary person until you move out of the menopausal phase.

Recent medical evidence shows being too sedentary only increases symptoms. CNN reported this back in January through a study examining women in Central and South America. In the report, they found those who only exercised fewer than three times per week ended up reporting more severe menopausal issues.

Conversely, some reports from years earlier showed aerobic exercise could reduce hot flashes in women.

The value of exercise goes way beyond the above in helping your menopause. Let’s examine this more and what exercises you should do.

Staving Off Other Symptoms of Menopause

If you’re already going through menopause, then you’re already aware weight gain and loss of muscle mass are two of the biggest issues you could face. Your most recent medical report might show hints of this now, and it’s time to turn the tide before things get worse.

Starting a regular exercise program staves off both of those above problems. In total, consider about 150 minutes per week doing moderate aerobic exercise. Should you have physical ability to do more vigorous exercise, do about 75 minutes worth per week.

Yet, what kind of exercises should you focus on during those critical minutes?

Practical Exercises

If it is the case that you don’t have exercise equipment readily available around the house, you can do other physical activities to gain the same benefits. While you might want to reserve time at a gym for more targeted exercises, don’t discount doing things like housework around your home.

What’s important to keep in mind is “housework” doesn’t mean just dusting. You should make it as physically active as possible, whether it’s sweeping floors, or vacuuming.

Strenuous work in the garden helps as well and counts as an official cardio workout. Doing this and work around the house targets your larger muscle groups like your quads, glutes, and core. Remember, though, start slow if you haven’t been physically active in a while.

For more fun, consider doing some dancing, especially if you have a spouse who’s able.

Meditation and Yoga

While you may not consider yoga or meditation real exercise, they help your body considerably to control irritability and fatigue during menopause. In that regard, they definitely count as exercise while equally helping your mind.

Restorative yoga poses sometimes help calm nerves. It pays to do some research first, but some studies over the years suggest yoga brings more relief from hot flashes than regular exercise.

For those of you with physical ailments, yoga and general meditation techniques are a good alternative to helping you feel better.

Cardio & Strength Training

Activities like walking, jogging, swimming, or biking are the top four cardio workouts to control all menopause symptoms. Even so, the CDC reminds you need about 10 minutes of light activity first before doing full-force cardio exercises. Surprisingly, walking works better if you take three 10 minute walks rather than 30-minutes all at once, so this makes it easier to accommodate busy schedules.

Strength training equally helps cut down on osteoporosis risk usually associated with menopause. The removal of oestrogen removes potential bone mass, so doing strength training helps build up your bones. At the same time, you’re building up your metabolism to prevent menopausal weight gain.

Try burst training as a great cardio workout since it gives you both intense and low impact training. Doing this helps optimize growth hormone release.

Contact us at Doctor Allie’s Vitality Clinics so we can help you through every step of menopause by showing what’s possible and logical.