How to Get Fit After Menopause

Nothing can derail a healthy lifestyle faster than experiencing menopause symptoms. Hot flashes, night sweats, and bloating are enough to make you give up your fitness routine. When you get out of the groove of working out regularly, it can be difficult to get back to it.

While this can be frustrating, the trick is to meet yourself where you are and ease back into your routine. Trying to pick up where you left off will only cause frustration at best, and injury at worst.

Here are a few ways to help you stay fit during perimenopause so you can start feeling like yourself again.

1. Re-establish Routines: Fitness before and after menopause may seem daunting. However, creating a new routine vs. trying to stick to an old one, may be the way to go. Find a new time that works for you, commit to it, and stick with it. Establishing a new routine may take a little time, but it will become a good habit again before you know it.
2. Modify Your Moves:  If your Flying Crow pose is flying a little low in yoga class, or if you’re trading in your 20-pound dumbbells for something on the lighter side, that’s also okay. In fact, it’s better than okay! It means you are listening to your body and making the necessary adjustments. Modifications are never a sign of weakness, they are a sign of strength, because as tempting as it might be to just “push through,” it takes a lot more discipline to swallow your pride and take it down a notch until you are feeling stronger.
3. Manage Your Expectations: There is no such thing as a quick fix when it comes to fitness – especially if you’ve been experiencing menopause symptoms. Does menopause change your body shape? It might, especially if you have fallen out of your fitness routine. Any extra pounds that you’ve put on or any muscle tone you’ve lost is not going to disappear or reappear overnight. But do your best to not get stuck in the mindset of what was, rather try focusing  on what can be. When you set realistic goals based on where you are rather than where you were, you may just find that you come back even stronger than before.
4. Cut Yourself Some Slack: Although it may feel like it, you are not alone. Almost everyone has experienced a change in fitness level during menopause (or at another point in their lives) and finding that motivation to get back at it again can be daunting. Do your best to be patient with yourself and celebrate your accomplishments, regardless of how small they may seem. Muscle memory is a beautiful thing, so take it easy, trust the process and, more importantly, trust yourself. You’ll be back to your fit, fierce, fabulous self in no time.