Women, Strength Training and Menopause
Women, Heavy Strength Training and Menopause
AGING WOMEN! Pick up some weights!! The hard truth is there comes a point in life when we start to lose strength.This is not due to lack of activity or motivation. It is a natural process related to changing hormones with menopause. Once this starts, we have to put in extra work to build strength because our bodies' natural ability to build muscle decreases. As early as 40 muscle mass starts to decline. Without intervention, you will lose 8% of your strength each decade. This accelerates after 60. For athletes, loss of strength may mean a decline in performance and increase in injury risk. For everyone, it can mean loss of functional strength (think carrying a suitcase and lifting it into an overhead bin, carrying heavy bags of groceries, hauling heavy objects up the stairs). However, there is good news! We can significantly reduce muscle loss by strength training! This isn’t any kind of strength training. To cause true strength gains, you have to lift heavy enough to break down muscle tissue and trigger your body to respond by building muscle.
During perimenopause and postmenopause, hormone ratios between estrogen and progesterone are changing and ultimately decreasing. The hormone shifts are responsible for the symptoms of menopause. In terms of body composition, changes happen 3-4 years into perimenopause, before you reach menopause. Fat mass increases and lean muscle mass decreases. As estrogen decreases (estradiol specifically), the body has more difficulty building muscle mass and producing strong muscle contractions. Estradiol is an anabolic hormone, which means it helps in the repairing and rebuilding process of skeletal muscle. Often there is an increase in abdominal fat, which increases risk for heart disease. In one study, for every 20% increase in abdominal fat, the carotid artery lining thickened by 2%. Another study in 2021 of more than 11,400 women showed that men and women with increased muscle mass had decreased risk of dying from heart disease. Heavy resistance training can help to offset the strength losses and can help with decreasing body fat. Below are additional benefits of heavy resistance training.
Increasing resting metabolism
Increasing fat burning while you exercise (study showed this in early stages after menopause)
Improves posture
Improves tendon tension which improves joint stability and reduces injury risk
Improves bone density (important for women and men)
Reduces fat gains and improves lean muscle mass
Building strength does NOT mean ongoing body weight exercises. These will build strength initially, if you are new to strength training. After you get used to these exercises, they will only maintain the strength you have. The overload principle states that to improve strength, one must continually increase the demands placed on the system, forcing it to adapt. Remember, you are losing strength so your goal is to gain, not maintain.
What does heavy mean? To build strength, the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) recommends lifting loads of 85% or more of one repetition maximum. That means 85% of something so heavy that you can only lift it one time. In terms of repetitions, 6 repetitions or less recommended.
When you start progressing into heavy lifting, you must start safely.
Exercise choice. Strength and power exercises done at or below 6 reps should be recruiting large muscle groups and involve more than one joint. Examples include back squats, pull ups, tire flipping, bench press, lunging, hang cleans, deadlifts. Core recruitment with these exercises allows you to safely lift heavy weight. If you are targeting one muscle group at a time, reps should be 8 or more, with less weight. Examples include bent over rowing, crunches, biceps curl, triceps extensions, calf raises. These recommendations are straight out of the NSCA’s textbook on strength training.
Injury prevention. The best protocol is to hire a professional who knows how to instruct strength and conditioning and prevent or manage injury (that’s what I do!). Proper form is paramount in injury prevention. If you lift a weight that is so heavy it causes you to compromise on form, it is too heavy and must be decreased. Lift correctly and progressively build up to the weight you want to lift. If you are someone who wants to do this on your own, without professional help, I suggest you watch youtube videos on proper form for various lifts. Also important is to slowly work up towards heavy lifting. It is not recommended to go to the gym and rip out 3 sets of 6 hang cleans day one. Progress methodically and intelligently. Start with lighter weights and higher reps (reps of 12-15) and slowly increase weight and decrease reps until you safely lift heavy 6 reps.
Plyometrics or other impact activities is an additional way to improve muscle integrity, contractile strength and responsiveness. Examples include squat jumps, jumping rope, depth jumps, speed skaters. A 2019 systematic review showed that in adults ranging from 58-79 years of age, plyometrics improved muscle strength, bone health, body composition, posture and physical performance. No studies showed increases in injury.
Estrogen and progesterone also contribute to strong bones. You can lose one fifth of your bone density during the 5-7 years following menopause. One in two women over age 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis. Bones respond to the strain or deformation caused by forces from muscle contraction and/or impact. These forces lead cells, called osteoclasts and osteoblasts, to remodel and strengthen existing bone. An important note is that multi-directional movements (lateral hopping, court sports) improve bone density better than unidirectional activities such as running. Current research suggests that due to differences in loading forces, bone health in distance runners, cyclists, and swimmers tends to be inferior to that seen in athletes of other sports.
If you are interested in learning how to lift heavy weights or desire a program designed for you specifically, please reach out. We can set up group lifting or individual sessions. Please send me an email or call me, as this can’t be scheduled online.
763-360-9462
Scofield, Kirk L. MD, CAQ1,2; Hecht, Suzanne MD, CAQ, CCD1. Bone Health in Endurance Athletes: Runners, Cyclists, and Swimmers. Current Sports Medicine Reports 11(6):p 328-334, November/December 2012. | DOI: 10.1249/JSR.0b013e3182779193
Sims, S. (2022) Next Level, Penguin Books Publisher.