Today is the first day of my new fitness experiment.
I’m going down a deep rabbit hole… consuming all fitness and nutrition knowledge I can about the menopause transition. 🙋♀️Who’s with me here?
Based on my findings, I’m on a mission to change up my workouts.
I’m replacing one of my “steady state” cardio workouts with a HIGH INTENSITY workout. Dr. Stacy Sims—THE resource for the menopause transition as it relates to fitness & nutrition— refers to these as S.I.T. workouts.
A SIT (Sprint Interval Training) is kinda the same as a HIIT but it’s specifically cardio based – think running, cycling, swimming, rowing, stair climbing– performing short sprints at maximal effort for 10-20 seconds with 5-10 seconds rest in between.
So today I did a Tabata set on the stair climber; 20 seconds fast/hard (levels 14-15), 10 seconds recovery (level 7-8) for 8 cycles (4 minutes total). I was DYING. It sucked beyond suck. 😫🥵
I am surprised to report it took me a full 5 minutes to recover my legs and heart rate before tackling the next cycle (I only did 2!). Making 26 minutes feel very satisfying and an EFFECTIVE ass-kicking workout.
…to polarize my workouts, one of a few fitness strategies to manage the perimenopausal transition and abdominal fat gain.
One of my clients asked me this morning, “What does “polarize” mean?”
Great question! Polarize means extreme opposite; hard hard, easy easy.
Studies show for women in the perimenopause transition, or in post menopause, the steady state workouts are detrimental to body composition (think going for a steady run for 45 minutes or hanging out of the eliptical at a casual pace).
Because our hormone levels are declining, and cortisol levels (stress hormone) are rising.
Exercise is stress… we want it to be good stress, but the steady state workout turns out to be bad stress because it’s not ENOUGH intensity to burn fat AND it raises cortisol levels so creating more (useless) stress we don’t need.
…so the answer is to go hard/hard or easy/easy.
A hard/hard workout is a SIT workout. Spend less time exercising, but make it burn your muscles so it stimulates abdominal fat burn.
My SIT workout on the stairclimber this morning was just that … HARD AS _UCK
Tuesday my workout will be a HIIT on Zoom with Active Moms Club (using weights and includes plyometrics) and Wednesday’s workout will be easy easy— a power walk for active recovery. (This will allow my body to recover and de-stress after 2 high stress workouts).
💥 Many of my clients over 40 are starting to notice weight gain around the middle even though they assert their nutrition and workouts have been mostly consistent.
A likely culprit here ➠ fluctuating and lower hormone levels. As hormones begin to decline so does our insulin resistance, ability to uptake protein, and burn fat. It’s a recipe for abdominal fat gain.
Yes nutrition is critical here, especially nutrition timing, AND getting more strategic about the types of workouts ➠ they are vital to tackle fat gain around the middle, fatigue, and inflammation.
If you’re feeling symptoms of the perimenopause transition, know that you’re not alone.
Perimenopause symptoms can start as early as 37; 47 is the average age and symptoms can last up to a decade. 😱
My side-effects (sore/achy joints, 5 pound fat gain, fatigue, itchy skin, inflammation, mood swings, feeling defeated) began about 50.5 and seem to be more tolerable as I am conscious to de-stress DAILY, make better nutrition choices, and implement more strategic workout sessions.
…and honestly, taking ownership and empowering myself to understand what’s happening during this transition has been a game-changer.
❤️ It could be a game-changer for you too.
P.S. If you want to chat about strategies to use for your perimenopausal symptoms, drop me an email, cassandra@activemomsclub.com.
I’m here for you.