Perimenopause and You - How Strength & Resistance Training Can Help with Perimenopause Symptoms

Navigating the Perimenopause Transition

Perimenopause is a transitional phase that can catch many women off guard. You feel like you’re doing everything right with your diet and workouts, but suddenly you’re putting on weight. Your sleep patterns can become unexpectedly unpredictable, and your mood shifts as your energy dips. This can be frustrating when those healthy routines that once kept you feeling strong suddenly have you feeling depleted.

The good news is, you’re not imagining these symptoms, and you’re certainly not alone. What can feel like being “broken,” is simply a sign of transition. It’s also an indicator that it’s the perfect moment to rewrite your fitness strategy.

Thesis Personal Training is Here to Help

During perimenopause, generic programs are far from effective because your physiology is changing drastically. This is a season when a personalized and science-backed approach to fitness is a must. That’s what our team of personal trainers at Thesis Fit can provide. When your metabolism, hormones, and stress response are in flux, you need a professional to guide you to new ways of approaching workouts so you can feel your absolute best. It’s a path to reclaiming your life, sense of self, and overall health in a period of great transition.

Starting your perimenopause strength training program

Before you jump into a new perimenopause strength training program, it’s important to understand the science behind what’s actually happening to your body. This is more than just a reproductive shift, but effectively a time of full-body recalibration. When you understand what’s going on below the surface, you can more fully understand why strength training for perimenopause and resistance training for perimenopause specifically are important.

Focus in on Hormone Changes

Taking back control begins with seeing why you might feel out of control during perimenopause. This is often due to significant hormonal shifts in estrogen and progesterone. As levels drop, the body is more prone to:

• Mood fluctuations
• Fatigue
• An increased rate of fat storage
• Slower recovery times

These hormones have a huge influence on how you feel, move, and recover. A new approach to fitness during perimenopause can be designed to work with these changes, and not against them, for more successful results.

Muscle Changes are on the Horizon

During perimenopause, it’s also typical to experience sarcopenia. This is a natural loss of muscle mass, often because of lower estrogen levels. This can lead to an overall slower metabolism, reduced strength, reduced stability, and increased visceral fat levels around the belly.

Cortisol Makes a Big Impact

Perimenopause is also defined by a time in which your body typically becomes more sensitive to stress overall. This includes the effects of exercise stress. Those high-intensity cardio workouts you used to love can now spike your cortisol levels. This can lead to:

• Sleep disruptions
• Higher anxiety levels
• Increased fat retention

These effects point to a clearer understanding of why long cardio sessions that once left you feeling great could now be actively working against you. A modified functional strength training program, specifically designed with perimenopause in mind, is the solution you need to restore your balance.

Why strength training for perimenopause matters

Every woman will experience perimenopause a bit differently, which makes a customized and science-backed training program that much more important. Here, we’ll look at specific symptoms and how a modified plan can be effective.

Strength training is often a great solution to weight gain and slower metabolism. That’s because muscle is a metabolically active tissue in the body. Lifting weights is shown to counteract metabolic slowdown, while helping women rebuild lean mass.

Fatigue and Trouble Sleeping

At Thesis Fit, we find that energy-managed training is key to combating fatigue and insomnia during perimenopause. Our trainers can help you regulate the intensity of each session, so you’re energized but never feel drained. This is particularly important when Cortisol levels are on the rise, and you’re looking to support better sleep while beating burnout.

The benefits of resistance training for perimenopause

When bone density loss is a concern during perimenopause, load-bearing strength work is often a terrific solution. Our team will help show you how heavy lifting can be an armor against osteoporosis and reduce the risk of long-term injury. Our resistance training programs are designed to improve your joint stability and stimulate bone growth over time.

Anxiety, Irritability, and Mood Swings

At Thesis Fit, our approach to strength training incorporates mental health. We find that strength training programs can boost dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin alike. This is a great way to naturally improve your mood during perimenopause while simultaneously decreasing those feelings of anxiety and irritability.

Experience the Thesis Fit Difference

When you partner with Thesis Fit, you’ll quickly discover that we’re a team that believes a personalized approach matters. Training during perimenopause needs to step out of the generic and into a customized form that fits your body as it's changing daily. We prioritize customization over guesswork and will build a plan just for you that takes your experiences into account. We’ll look at every unique factor including:

• Energy levels
• Symptoms
• Stress points
• Recovery trends
• Hormonal fluctuations

To us, personalization, taking these factors into account, is non-negotiable. To that end, our trainers are more than happy to adjust workout plans in real time to meet your needs. This could include integrating mobility training, breath work, low-impact conditioning, or slow and heavy strength work as needed.

Helping You Reclaim Your Strength

At Thesis Fit we believe that lifting weights during this transition works. It’s a strategic way to build muscle, improve sleep, stabilize your mood, increase your energy, and reduce fat over time. It’s also a wonderful way to find the emotional stability you might feel you're lacking in this stage of life. To this end, strength training can be a grounding force in giving you:

• A way to reconnect with your body
• A sense of control
• A boost in mood-regulating hormones
• A measurable path to improvement

We’re here to guide you every step of the way at all our DC Gyms, so you can find the balance, confidence, and strength you deserve to enjoy in every phase of life. We also offer personal training for seniors to ensure your foundation stays strong into your later years.

Reach Out Today to Learn More

Perimenopause is a natural transition, but that doesn’t mean you simply have to struggle through it. When you’re looking for a Washington DC Gym where you can feel supported at every turn, Thesis Fit has you covered. Reach out today to learn more about our customized training plans and to book your free consultation. We can’t wait to hear from you soon!

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