Women go through many changes during menopause and will need to make lifestyle changes to take this into account.
Fitness experts tell GB News exclusively why strength training is essential when trying to lose weight around menopause.
Unfortunately, for many women, weight gain is an unavoidable side effect of menopause.
Joy Puleo, Director of Education for Balanced Body, shared some of the best exercises to address this issue.
She said muscle mass is often lost during menopause, so strength training is important to burn fat and maintain muscle mass.
An expert told GB News: “Strength training is key, so do some weight training.”
“Strength training is essential for maintaining muscle tone in your major, powerful muscles (quads, glutes, hamstrings, chest, biceps, triceps, shoulders, etc.).”
“Muscle tone starts to decline around age 30, but declines dramatically during menopause, making this the perfect time to make strength training a priority.”
Weight training doesn’t burn as many calories per minute as high-intensity cardio, but it does burn more fat overall.
Research shows that building muscle increases your resting metabolism (the number of calories your body burns at rest), so women don’t need to spend hours at the gym lifting heavy weights to see results.
Strength training also includes bodyweight exercises and yoga, which help tone muscles.
Joy adds: “If you don’t have weights you can use your own body weight. Adding in walking lunges and basic squats can be a great way to work the legs.”
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Women don’t need to lift weights to train their muscles
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“For the upper body, countertop push-ups and stair triceps dips are a good place to start.”
Ultimately, any extra exercise will lead to weight loss, so Joy encouraged dieters to add in some extra exercise wherever they can.
She said: “One of the main reasons people stop living an active lifestyle as they get older is because they don’t think it will make a big difference to their lives.”
“Every step counts – every opportunity to be active, to exercise, to spend an hour on the floor with your grandchildren, to garden, to dance – everything counts. So move, move often and enjoy moving.”
