Menopause is an age-dependent physiological condition associated with a natural decline in estrogen levels produced by the ovaries. This phase is marked by a 12-month period since a woman’s last menstruation and is often accompanied by a progressive decrease in muscle mass, strength, and bone density. These losses accelerate at the onset of menopause as hormones shift, affecting many tissues and organs.

Reduced estrogen levels mean that women may spend over one-third of their lives with negligible amounts of estrogen and progesterone. This highlights the importance of adopting a comprehensive menopause fitness strategy, including strength training and lifestyle modifications, to mitigate these changes and support long-term health.

How Menopause Impacts the Body

A well-structured menopause fitness routine can counteract many of the negative effects of this stage of life. Exercises like resistance training and a balanced diet slow the degenerative aging process and help maintain strength. However, the reduction in estrogen in post-menopausal women can accelerate muscle loss and increase the risk of bone diseases such as osteoporosis.

The Risks of Osteoporosis:

• Osteoporosis leads to reduced bone mineral density and weaker, brittle bones.
• During menopause, bone loss accelerates to approximately 2% annually for the first six years, tapering to 0.5–1% thereafter (Management of Osteoporosis in Postmenopausal Women: The 2021 Position Statement of The North American Menopause Society).

A proactive menopause fitness plan that includes resistance training, proper nutrition, and supplementation can help preserve muscle and bone health.

Adding Resistance Training to Your Menopausal Fitness Plan

Muscle and bone health require continuous development throughout life, becoming especially critical during menopause. Resistance training (RT) is one of the most effective strategies to counteract declining strength and bone density.

Evidence Supporting Resistance Training:

• An 8-week RT program improves muscle mass and strength in post-menopausal women (Bagheri et al., 2021).
• Long-term RT significantly reduces bone loss and improves strength during early post-menopause (Kemmler et al., 2004).
• Progressing to heavy weights (above 85% of 1RM) provides optimal stimuli for improving bone and muscle health (Watson et al., 2015).

Resistance training also offers additional benefits, including:

• Improved pelvic floor health and reduced urinary incontinence (Virtuoso et al., 2019).
• Reduced hot flashes (Berin et al., 2019).
• Better sleep quality and decreased depression (Kovacevic et al., 2018; Khodadad Kashi et al., 2023).

Training Recommendation:
For beginners, start with 8–10 repetitions of exercises for major muscle groups at 40% of 1RM. Gradually progress to heavier weights, including compound movements, and incorporate periodized training blocks with higher intensities. Avoid long breaks from RT (over four weeks), as gains in muscle and strength become harder to recover.

Consider Power and Plyometric Training

Power declines more rapidly than strength with age, making power-focused training an important addition to menopause fitness routines.

Power Training Guidelines:

• Focus on high-velocity resistance exercises using free weights, machines, or weighted vests.
• Train 1–3 times per week, performing 2–4 sets of 8–10 reps at 40–70% of 1RM.

Plyometric training, such as jumping, hopping, and bounding, is another valuable option. Bones and muscles benefit from the stimuli provided by these high-impact exercises.

Plyometric Training Recommendation:
Start with 30–60 jumps per week and progress to 3–6 sets of 10 repetitions twice weekly, depending on health and fitness levels (Zhao et al., 2014). Additionally, short bursts of high-intensity exercise, like sprint intervals or Tabatas, can further support muscle and bone health.

Consider creatine supplementation

When combined with resistance training, we already know that creatine can further augment positive body composition changes, function, and bone mineral density, but this is even more significant among post-menopausal females (Smith-Ryan et al., 2021). As a result, evidence supports high doses of creatine (0.3 g/kg/d) with favorable effects on bone, function, and muscle size when combined with resistance training. Studies have also concluded that creatine enhances muscle preservation, strength, and function among aging populations, and we know that retention of muscle mass and strength is integral to healthy aging (Devries & Phillips, 2014). Post-menopause, it appears that creatine supplementation becomes even more valuable.

The Role of Creatine

Creatine supplementation is especially beneficial for post-menopausal women when combined with resistance training. High doses of creatine (0.3 g/kg/day) enhance muscle preservation, strength, and bone mineral density. This supplementation is integral to maintaining healthy body composition and functional strength (Smith-Ryan et al., 2021; Devries & Phillips, 2014).

Nutrition Strategies for Women in Menopause

Nutrition is a cornerstone of menopause fitness, supporting muscle preservation and bone health.

Key Recommendations:

• Protein Intake: Post-menopausal women may require 2.2–2.4 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.
• Leucine Content: Plant-based diets may need higher protein intake to match leucine levels for optimal muscle protein synthesis.
• Micronutrients: Monitor calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D levels to ensure proper muscle and bone health (Vázquez-Lorente et al., 2020).

Proper supplementation, including calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D, can help bridge dietary gaps.

Supporting Fitness During Menopause with Specialized Supplements

Targeted menopause supplements can further enhance health and fitness. A recommended option is Momentous’ menopause supplement, which includes creatine, turmeric, collagen, and vitamin D. This formulation is backed by research and offers effective support for post-menopausal health. Our registered dietician, Julie Hansen, is a great resource for pre and post-menopausal athletes.

Conclusion: Building a Holistic Menopause Fitness Plan

Menopause presents unique challenges, but a well-rounded fitness and nutrition plan can mitigate many of its adverse effects. For instance, by incorporating resistance and power training, prioritizing proper nutrition, and considering evidence-based supplements, women can maintain muscle, bone health, and overall vitality throughout their post-menopausal years.

Looking for more resources? Check out our podcast, Finding Fitness, to learn more!

References

 

Bagheri, R., Forbes, S. C., Candow, D. G., & Wong, A. (2021). Effects of branched-chain amino acid supplementation and resistance training in postmenopausal women. Experimental Gerontology, 144(111185), 111185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2020.111185

 

Balachandran, A. T., Steele, J., Angielczyk, D., Belio, M., Schoenfeld, B. J., Quiles, N., Askin, N., & Abou-Setta, A. M. (2022). Comparison of power training vs traditional strength training on physical function in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Network Open, 5(5), e2211623. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.11623

 

Bemben, D. A., Fetters, N. L., Bemben, M. G., Nabavi, N., & Koh, E. T. (2000). Musculoskeletal responses to high- and low-intensity resistance training in early postmenopausal women. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 32(11), 1949–1957. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005768-200011000-00020

 

Berin, E., Hammar, M., Lindblom, H., Lindh-Åstrand, L., Rubér, M., & Spetz Holm, A.-C. (2019). Resistance training for hot flushes in postmenopausal women: A randomised controlled trial. Maturitas, 126, 55–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2019.05.005

 

Devries, M. C., & Phillips, S. M. (2014). Creatine supplementation during resistance training in older adults-a meta-analysis. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 46(6), 1194–1203. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000220

 

Khodadad Kashi, S., Mirzazadeh, Z. S., & Saatchian, V. (2023). A systematic review and meta-analysis of resistance training on quality of life, depression, muscle strength, and functional exercise capacity in older adults aged 60 years or more. Biological Research for Nursing, 25(1), 88–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/10998004221120945

 

Kemmler, W., Lauber, D., Weineck, J., Hensen, J., Kalender, W., & Engelke, K. (2004). Benefits of 2 years of intense exercise on bone density, physical fitness, and blood lipids in early postmenopausal osteopenic women: results of the Erlangen Fitness Osteoporosis Prevention Study (EFOPS): Results of the Erlangen fitness osteoporosis prevention study (EFOPS). Archives of Internal Medicine, 164(10), 1084–1091. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.164.10.1084

 

Kovacevic, A., Mavros, Y., Heisz, J. J., & Fiatarone Singh, M. A. (2018). The effect of resistance exercise on sleep: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 39, 52–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2017.07.002

 

Management of Osteoporosis in Postmenopausal Women: The 2021 Position Statement of The North American Menopause Society’’ Editorial Panel. (2021). Management of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women: the 2021 position statement of The North American Menopause Society. Menopause (New York, N.Y.), 28(9), 973–997. https://doi.org/10.1097/GME.0000000000001831

 

Smith-Ryan, A. E., Cabre, H. E., Eckerson, J. M., & Candow, D. G. (2021). Creatine supplementation in women’s health: A lifespan perspective. Nutrients, 13(3), 877. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13030877

 

Vázquez-Lorente, H., Herrera-Quintana, L., Molina-López, J., Gamarra-Morales, Y., López-González, B., Miralles-Adell, C., & Planells, E. (2020). Response of vitamin D after magnesium intervention in a postmenopausal population from the province of Granada, Spain. Nutrients, 12(8), 2283. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12082283

 

Virtuoso, J. F., Menezes, E. C., & Mazo, G. Z. (2019). Effect of weight training with pelvic floor muscle training in elderly women with urinary incontinence. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 90(2), 141–150. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2019.1571674

 

Watson, S. L., Weeks, B. K., Weis, L. J., Horan, S. A., & Beck, B. R. (2015). Heavy resistance training is safe and improves bone, function, and stature in postmenopausal women with low to very low bone mass: novel early findings from the LIFTMOR trial. Osteoporosis International: A Journal Established as Result of Cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA, 26(12), 2889–2894. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-015-3263-2

 

Zhao, R., Zhao, M., & Zhang, L. (2014). Efficiency of jumping exercise in improving bone mineral density among premenopausal women: a meta-analysis. Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 44(10), 1393–1402. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-014-0220-8