What Exercise Should I Be Doing During Menopause? Walking, Strength Training, Yoga?
What if I told you there isn't one perfect menopause exercise?
Because if you've searched this question online, you have probably been given approximately 47 different answers:
Walk.
Lift weights.
Do Pilates.
Do yoga.
Do cardio.
Work on your bones.
Build muscle.
Stretch.
Do HIIT.
Don't do HIIT.
And somewhere in the middle of all this advice, you're thinking:
“Okay… but what am I actually supposed to do on Tuesday morning when I'm tired and my knees are complaining?”
That's the question I think is much more useful.
So, what exercise should you do during menopause?
The short answer is: a combination of different kinds of movement is useful, including aerobic activity, strength or resistance work and weight-bearing activity.
Current menopause guidance emphasises the importance of maintaining muscle mass and strength through physical activity, while NHS guidance recommends regular exercise, including weight-bearing and resistance exercise for bone and muscle health.
But that doesn't mean you need to do everything, every day.The trick is turning that information into something that fits your actual life.
Because knowing that exercise is good for you is one thing, and actually doing it when you're tired is another.
Is walking enough?
Walking is a very good place to start, as it's accessible, it doesn't require much equipment and you can fit it into ordinary life.
Walking to the shops.
Walking with a friend.
Walking while you're on holiday.
Walking because you have spent six hours sitting at a desk and your body is beginning to resemble the shape of the chair.
Although weight-bearing activities such as walking can also support bone health, walking doesn't do exactly the same job as resistance training.
That's why I wouldn't think about this as “walking versus strength training”.
Think:
walking + strength + other movement you enjoy.
Do I really need strength training?
This is one of the conversations I think women need to hear more clearly.
You don't need to become a bodybuilder, and you don't need to spend an hour in the gym.
But maintaining muscle strength becomes increasingly important as we move through midlife, which is why strength and resistance exercise are included in menopause guidance.
Strength training can be very simple.
Standing up from a chair.
Pushing against a wall.
Using resistance bands.
Using weights.
Carrying shopping.
Practising movements that challenge your legs, arms and trunk.
The important thing is that your muscles have a reason to work.
What about yoga?
Yoga can have a useful place too, especially if you enjoy it.
It can help you move your joints, practise balance, work on strength in certain positions, breathe and slow down. It can also be a way of paying attention to how you're feeling rather than simply trying to complete a workout.
But I wouldn't tell a woman that yoga is all she needs either as different types of movement do different jobs.
Your body doesn't need you to pick a team.
It needs variety.
But I'm exhausted.
This is where things get interesting.
In one study of 857 midlife women, feeling too tired and being too busy were the two most commonly reported barriers to physical activity. Having a structured exercise plan was the most frequently selected facilitator.
So when a woman says:
“I know I should exercise, but I'm exhausted.”
telling her to “just be more disciplined” isn't particularly useful.
Maybe the answer is not a harder workout.
Maybe it's a shorter one.
Maybe it's walking today and strength work tomorrow.
Maybe it's ten minutes instead of forty-five.
Maybe it's having a plan that tells you what to do instead of spending twenty minutes scrolling through exercise videos trying to decide which one looks least terrifying.
And sometimes, of course, persistent or significant fatigue deserves a conversation with your healthcare professional rather than simply being treated as an exercise problem.
What about joint pain and stiffness?
This is another reason the old “just push yourself harder” approach doesn't work for everyone.
Research with women going through menopause has found that joint pain, stiffness, tiredness, poor sleep and previous injuries can all interfere with being physically active. Women also described being cautious about doing too much because they were worried that they might feel fine during exercise and pay for it afterwards.
That is why I believe your movement plan needs some flexibility.
You should know what you are working towards, but you should also know how to adapt the movement when you haven't slept well, your joints are sore or your energy has disappeared somewhere between breakfast and lunch.
So what does a realistic menopause exercise routine look like?
It doesn't have to be complicated.
You might have:
Walking for cardiovascular health and everyday activity.
Strength work a couple of times a week to maintain and build strength.
Mobility and movement practice to keep your body moving through different ranges.
Balance work because staying capable isn't just about strength.
Something you actually enjoy, whether that's dancing, swimming, cycling, hiking or yoga.
And then there is the most underrated part:
doing it consistently enough for it to become part of your life.
Not perfectly.
Consistently.
You don't need to exercise like you did at 30
This may be the part I wish more women heard.
You don't have to prove that you can still exercise exactly as you did twenty years ago.
You don't have to punish yourself because your recovery is different, and you don't have to turn every workout into a test.
You don't have to give up because you're not as fit as you once were.
You can start from where you are now.
Then build.
Slowly enough that you can keep going.
And strongly enough that your body has a reason to adapt.
This is why I created the 4-Week Menopause Body Reset
I know that knowing all of this doesn't automatically make it easy to do, you can read about strength training and still have no idea what to do on Monday, save twenty exercise videos and never open any of them, promise yourself that you'll start next week.
And then next week gets busy.
That's one of the reasons I created my 4-Week Menopause Body Reset.
It's a small live online group for women who want some structure, guidance and support while they build a realistic movement routine.
We'll work with practical movement rather than trying to turn you into someone who suddenly loves exercising for an hour every day, because the goal isn't to become a fitness fanatic, is to stay strong and capable enough to keep doing the things that make your life yours.
Walking.
Travelling.
Dancing.
Gardening.
Getting up from the floor.
Carrying your shopping.
Playing with your grandchildren.
Or simply getting out of the car after a two-hour journey without needing a recovery period.
That sounds like a worthwhile goal to me.
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