Strength and Movement Through the Menopause: Where to Start

On Monday we published Menopause and Your Joints, Muscles and Bones: What Changes and Why, which set out what happens to muscle, bone, joints and tendons through this stage of life. If you have not read it yet, it is worth starting there. This article puts that into practice: what to do about those changes, at home, with no equipment.

Everything below is about movement and exercise only. Questions about the medical side of the menopause belong with your GP.

Where to Start

Start with resistance training: movement that asks your muscles to work against a load. That load can be your own body weight rather than a barbell.

Resistance training is the form of exercise most consistently linked with maintaining muscle strength and supporting bone health as we age. Walking is valuable and worth continuing, but strength work asks more of the body, and that extra demand produces the change.

Two sessions a week, twenty minutes each, is a realistic target.

Five Exercises to Begin With

Work through these in order, resting around thirty seconds between each. Three of the five is a reasonable start.

Sit-to-Stand

Sit towards the front of a dining chair, feet flat and hip-width apart, heels tucked slightly back under your knees.

Lean your chest forward over your feet, then stand up. Lower yourself back down slowly, taking three seconds to sit rather than dropping.

Eight to ten repetitions.

• Easier: use a higher chair, or push through your hands on your thighs.

• Harder: fold your arms across your chest.

Wall Press-Up

Stand an arm's length from a wall, hands flat on it at chest height and slightly wider than your shoulders.

Keeping your body in one straight line from head to heels, bend your elbows and bring your chest towards the wall. Pause, then push back to the start.

Eight to twelve repetitions.

• Easier: stand closer to the wall.

• Harder: step your feet further back, so you press at more of an angle.

Worktop Row

Hold the edge of your kitchen worktop with both hands, shoulder-width apart. Walk your feet back and lean away until your arms are straight and your body angled backwards, heels down.

Pull your chest towards the worktop, drawing your shoulder blades together. Lower slowly.

Eight to twelve repetitions. This balances the wall press-up by working the upper back muscles that hold you upright.

Hip Hinge

Stand with your feet hip-width apart and knees softly bent, both hands flat on the front of your thighs.

Push your hips backwards, sliding your hands down towards your knees, keeping your back long and your chest facing the floor rather than curling. Go as far as feels comfortable, then squeeze your buttocks to stand tall again.

Ten repetitions. This is the movement you use to lift a watering can or a bag of compost, and practising it unloaded makes it safer when it is loaded.

Supported Split Squat

Hold the back of a chair or the worktop with one hand. Step one foot back about half a stride, heel lifted.

Bend both knees and lower straight down rather than forward, only a few inches. Push back up through the front foot.

Six to eight repetitions on each leg.

• Easier: keep the range small and hold on with both hands.

• Harder: lower a little further, or hold the bottom position for two seconds.

How to Make It Harder

After three or four weeks these will start to feel manageable, which is the signal to change something.

Progressive overload means asking a little more of the body over time. It is the principle behind every strength programme. Change one thing at a time:

• Add repetitions: eight becomes ten, ten becomes twelve.

• Slow the lowering phase: three seconds becomes four.

• Reduce the support: two hands on the worktop become one.

• Add a pause at the hardest point of the movement.

• Add a third session to your week.

What to Expect Afterwards

Some soreness after new work is normal and settles within a few days as your body adapts. It usually:

• Comes on a day or so later rather than immediately.

• Feels dull and reasonably even across both sides.

• Eases as you move about.

Other things are worth having looked at rather than working through:

• Sharp pain, or pain in one specific joint.

• Pain that wakes you at night.

• Anything that leaves you limping.

Adaptation happens between sessions rather than during them, so recovery matters. Sleep is often disrupted at this stage of life, and we covered why that matters in What Actually Happens to Your Body While You Sleep.

For how strength and flexibility fit together, Why You Need Both Strength and Mobility is a useful companion piece.

Apollo Insight

The most common mistake we see is not doing too little. It is doing a great deal for a fortnight and then stopping. Two steady sessions a week over six weeks achieve more than a short burst followed by a month off.

The lowering phase of each exercise also does more work than most people realise. Sitting down slowly is the half of a sit-to-stand that produces much of the benefit.

If an exercise feels wrong, reduce the range rather than the frequency.

This Week's Movement Tip

Marching on the spot. Two minutes a day, standing, with your body weight going through your legs.

Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and your fingertips resting on a worktop for balance. March slowly on the spot, lifting each knee to a comfortable height and letting each foot land firmly, heel first. Keep it unhurried, the aim is a definite footfall each time rather than speed.

Thirty seconds is a reasonable start, building towards two minutes as it becomes easy. Bone responds to being loaded, and a short daily habit does more for it than an occasional long session.

Before starting any new exercise programme, please consult your healthcare professional if you have any medical conditions, concerns or existing injuries. If you experience pain or worsening symptoms whilst exercising, stop and seek appropriate medical advice.

How Can Apollo Help You Start Strength Work Safely?

Our Clinical Exercise & Rehabilitation team will assess how you move and build a programme around your joints, your history and the time you have. Reformer Pilates suits people who want controlled, supported strength work in a small group.

See the full range on our services page, or get in touch and we will talk through where to start.

How Apollo Health Collective Supports Healthy Ageing

Healthy ageing is about understanding your body, looking after it well and having the right support when you need it.

At Apollo Health Collective, we help people stay active, capable and independent through personalised, evidence-informed care. Our integrated approach brings together different areas of expertise to support movement, recovery and long-term wellbeing.

Our Sheringham clinic offers Osteopathy, Sports Therapy, Sports Massage, Clinical Exercise & Rehabilitation, Reformer Pilates, Podiatry, Biomechanics, and Lifestyle & Wellbeing services. We also offer Osteopathy appointments in Norwich and Coltishall.

Whether you are recovering from an injury, managing ongoing concerns, looking to improve your movement or simply investing in your future health, our team is here to support you.