Strength training uses weight to build muscle tone that supports the joints. Whether you choose to work out at home or a gym, pay attention to technique.
Working out in front of a mirror can help. Try to commit to exercise at least three times a week. You can mix it up, though. It doesn’t all have to be weights-related.
There’s been a misconception that impact sports like running can weaken joints. However, they can have their place. Running, being a high impact, weight bearing exercise, helps maintain lower body and pelvic bone strength. It also helps keep the tendons and ligaments healthy by putting load through them, which in turn makes them stronger.
Sports like swimming, exercise classes, water aerobics, Pilates- based exercise, even off-road walking, are all low impact but contribute towards strengthening and mobility.
Other valuable activities include golf (for walking and shoulder joint strengthening), paddle boarding (core and shoulder strengthening), swimming (a great all-rounder) and cycling (knee strengthening).
Strengthening all the muscle groups, but particularly those surrounding joints, is really important. Our muscles support the joint and effectively hold it in place. If they’re weak then the joint can become unstable and this in turn can increase the risk of arthritis, as well as making movements stiffer.
A review of studies found muscle strengthening activities are associated with lower risk and mortality of major diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and lung cancer.
Recent studies show that omega 3 fatty acids can help reduce joint inflammation, too. These are found in many foods such as oily fish, nuts, seeds and plant oils. So it’s also worth paying attention to diet. Aim for unprocessed foods as much as possible.
Being more muscly not only makes you look good, it improves your posture and reduces the risk of developing back pain. Muscles burn calories, even when you are asleep, and they are also essential for keeping you active.
One of the best ways to build up your muscles is to do resistance training. Body-weight exercises, such as squats and press ups, are some of the best for your heart and brain.
Research says that squats can have a more powerful brain-boosting affect than walking or jogging. So try even just a couple of minutes a day to feel the benefits!
With symptoms such as hot flushes, insomnia, brain fog and weight gain, the menopause can be a real struggle for many women. But for some it can be made easier with these fitness tips.
The most important thing is that women are proactive before it happens, not reactive when it does. That means learning how to exercise to combat falling hormone levels, especially oestrogen.
As your oestrogen recedes, pounding on the treadmill for an hour at a time isn’t going to serve you now, as it stresses the body and raises the hormone cortisol, which lessons the ability of oestrogen and progesterone to do their jobs.
Exercise is great at getting you to sleep, especially if you go for a power walk in the early-ish morning, which is good for stabilising your circadian rhythms and helping your body know when it’s time for bed later on. However, getting the right balance, and including rest and recovery days, is crucial.
The longer you exercise, the higher the cortisol level is raised, and the more it contributes to the frequency and severity of your symptoms. Some cardio exercise is good for strengthening muscles around the bones, but it shouldn’t be done every day, nor for hours at a time.
Around the perimenopause women are in a state of psychological flux, as they are when they’re teenagers or in pregnancy, and it leaves them vulnerable to the onset of new health conditions. As a principal, mid life women should opt for shorter bursts of exercise, perhaps 15 minutes long, with an element of resistance training built in alongside the cardio.
Muscle mass decreases by 5% per year from the age of 40, and speeds up as we go into our 50s. Short bursts of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) give you a kick of natural growth hormone, which triggers the process of recovering crucial muscle that we really start to lose in midlife. There’s no question that falling oestrogen causes aches and pains, but if you go into it with a strong posture and properly engaged glutes, you’re far less likely to suffer.
Try this recommended exercise alongside keeping hydrated and following a healthy whole grain diet for the best results.
Keeping fit is bound to make you feel better both physically and mentally, but if you are suffering with severe symptoms of the menopause, speak to your GP.
If you’re going all out, keep workouts separate, because whichever comes second will certainly suffer.
But if you can work out only a few days a week and want to max your calorie burn, pair them up and do cardio first.
A study found that running before lifting weights resulted in a slightly higher afterburn effect on your metabolism than lifting weights and then running does.
Alternatively, do a mash-up circuit of both strength exercises and cardio.
Doing a quick sculpting routine pre-cardio could increase the amount of fat you melt.
Exercisers in a study at the University of Tokyo who biked within 20 minutes of lifting weights tapped more of their fat stores than those who rested longer or didn’t tone at all.
The firm-then-burn order is also good for your heart: Arteries stiffen during resistance training, increasing blood pressure, but a cardio workout such as a 20-minute run counteracts these effects and expedites your arteries’ return to normal.
Plus, strength training takes coordination and good technique, so you get more out of it if you come to it fresh.
Meanwhile, cardio is a rhythmic, low-skill activity that’s the easier of the two to do in a fatigued state.
Try the firm-then-burn routine and see how much more you get out of your workout!
Thought doing weights was a simple as lifting and lowering with the correct form? Think again!
The speed at which you contract into a move and release out of it – the tempo – seriously affects what you get out of it, even when it comes to body weight exercises.
Slower movements with weight allow all portions of the muscle to be activated, loading the muscle with more resistance and making it stronger.
For best results, use a slow and controlled tempo for the eccentric movement – that’s the lowering of the weight – and an explosive tempo for the concentric part of the movement – the phase where you’re contracting.
Kettlebell exercises, such as swings and deadlifts, tone your entire body because your stabiliser muscles have to work extra hard to keep you upright as you move.
As well as strengthening your bones and making you look leaner, evidence suggests it can also help to prevent everything from heart disease to Alzheimer’s.
To replenish muscle tissue after your session, go for protein-rich foods, such as almonds, natural yoghurt, turkey slices and eggs.
Think you don’t have time to workout? Find it difficult to put aside time just for you? Well you may be surprised that you don’t need an hour – or even half an hour – a day to lose weight or get into great shape.
Studies have found that 15 minutes of resistance training is just as effective at boosting your metabolism as 35 minutes. It also found that women have a better chance of sticking to a plan if they only had to commit to 15-minute sessions.
All it takes is 15 minutes, four to six times a week. You will soon see the many benefits, including increased calorie burn (body-sculpting resistance training builds muscle which in turn burns calories).
This type of training will also help you to decrease your stress levels, sleep better and can even fend off cancer and diabetes. So why wait? Get on and do your 15 mins today!
