Part 1.
If you’re reading this, no doubt you have realised that there’s a HUGE lack of reliable, evidence-based information and guidance out there to help women during, beyond and about to begin the transition to menopause.
Questions like: What is menopause? What is perimenopause? How do you know if you’re “in menopause’? What age does perimenopause start? What is the difference between menopause and perimenopause? Can you still get pregnant when you’re going through menopause?” Are very common, and no doubt you have asked them at some point.
Not only that, mainstream menopause advice is misleading active women including mountain bikers! Research shows that women live longer than men… BUT in poorer health and have more illness throughout life, especially late in life. This is because estrogen and progesterone affect every system in the body, and when they begin their big decline, our health can be seriously affected.
So, since we’re talking about menopause, let’s begin with defining the terms associated with menopause.
- The Late Reproductive stage (LRS) marks the beginning of this transition and is defined by a regular monthly period, (e.g ovulation), however, you are experiencing symptoms associated with peri-menopause such as brain fog, fatigue, shorter cycles, lighter or heavier bleeding and mood swings. The common age for this to begin is around 35years old, however it can be as early as 27yrs old. I.E You have noticed things are changing!
- The transition period is termed PERIMENOPAUSE. The associated symptoms mentioned above intensify or become more regular. Hot flashes, urinary symptoms, weight gain, GI issues, breast tenderness, anxiety, and sleep disruption may also begin to rear their heads. You skip a period here and there or for months at a time. Symptoms can affect some women for up to 20 years, however the normal range is 5-10 years. Some women start experiencing perimenopause as early as their late thirties and as late as 50yrs old. The most common age bracket is between 42-48 years old. This is the time when women might say things like “I am going through menopause”.
- Menopause is confirmed in a single day and is diagnosed 12 MONTHS AFTER your last period. Menopause can signify a drop in symptoms, and women often feel better than they did during the peri years, but many women may have post menopause symptoms that linger into their sixties, such as hot flashes. This signifies the end of the reproductive stage.
- Post menopause is also confirmed in a single day, and is diagnosed 24 MONTHS AFTER your last period. The ovaries are no longer producing estrogen or progesterone, and there is no ovulation.
How Menopause affects Women
Menopause can have a pretty big impact on your quality of life. As you read on the previous page, Menopause isn’t just irregular periods and hot flashes. Menopause affects pretty much all body systems, from our brains to our boobs to our bones and beyond. This is because estrogen and progesterone are essential for the health and function of every system in our body!
As already mentioned, it can involve symptoms like weight gain, sleep disruptions, mood swings, and pelvic health concerns like leaking urine. It also can lead to cognitive problems, joint pain, memory loss, chronic inflammation, migraines, increased risk of cancer and heart disease, higher risk of pelvic organ prolapse, sexual dysfunction or loss of libido. In addition to these problems, the reduction in estrogen can cause bone density loss, resulting in osteoporosis.
It’s not all doom and gloom though. The more we learn about menopause, the more we are empowered with knowledge to make some small lifestyle and nutrition adjustments that have the potential to transform your menopause experience and help you to thrive during this chapter of your life, whether that is racing mountain bikes, riding your bike well into your 70’s – or simply getting a good night’s sleep!
In this post I am going to share with you one of the top 5 tools for transforming your menopause experience and staying strong and active on your bike. I am also sharing two valuble resources in helping your awareness of your current symptoms and where to find the best treatment in Australia.
1. Prioritise strength and Power training.
After age 30, women may lose about 3–8 percent of their muscle each decade. The older you are, the faster that muscle goes.
The hormonal decline during perimenopause accelerates age-related muscle and bone density loss and can lead to osteoporosis. Which, as mountain bikers, we really really want to avoid.
So How can we Combat and even Reverse This?
Studies have shown progressive strength and POWER training is beneficial for improving menopausal symptoms that affect muscle performance.
- Increases bone mineral density
- Positively affects hormonal and metabolic responses such as heart rate, blood pressure and hot flashes and body composition
- Increase muscle strength
- Improves motor control, balance and muscle coordination
- Reduces the risk of falls (both ON AND OFF the bike)
- and improves the quality of life.
A smart, progressive strength training program — combined with power training — and eating enough protein for muscle protein synthesis can help not only slow the age-related loss of muscle but actually reverse it in some cases!
To be clear, power is different from strength. Power includes speed; it’s the force you can generate in a short amount of time. Both are important. But, Dr Stacy Sims highlights that power is key, as power fades more rapidly than strength as we age.
The thing about strength training in this chapter however is that muscle is harder to build and harder to maintain during perimenopause and after menopause. This is because estrogen is anabolic, meaning, estrogen improves muscle mass and strength, and increases the collagen content of connective tissues.
When estrogen and progesterone decline during menopause, muscle cells need more stimulation to maintain muscle mass. Muscle cell studies show that when researchers take estrogen away from animals, their ability to regenerate muscle stem cells can drop 30 to 60 percent.
Have you heard the saying, how healthy you are in your 40’s impacts how healthy you are in your 70s? This is because how hard we work to maintain muscle mass, our exercise routine, our nutrition and our stress levels is critical in the menopausal transition to reduce the negative body composition and health changes that happen in the years after menopause.
Experts (like Dr. Stacy Sims) recommend strength & power training at least three times a week. If you already strength train, that’s awesome. Add power training to your strength training days and include recovery days between sessions. Women need more recovery than men so she suggests 2 to 3 days on and 1 to 2 days off.
But even if you’ve never lifted a weight in your life, it’s never too late to start lifting heavy and adding sprints or plyometrics to improve your strength, power, body composition, metabolism, and performance both ON and OFF the bike!
Don’t know where to start? Consider hiring a personal trainer who specialises in training women in this life chapter.
2. My two favourite resources at the moment are Women Living Better and the Austrtalian Menopause Centre.
Women Living Better are helping women Be informed, Take charge, and Live better by helping women Understand how hormonal patterns change in the lead up to menopause and Investigate your symptoms and explore options during this transitional time. https://womenlivingbetter.org/
Austrailan Menopause centre is based in Sydney and we specialise in treating women all over Australia by video, telephonic or Face to Face consultations. These are bulk billed consultations and all doctors are specially trained in menopause. They are advocates for bio-identical HRT. https://www.menopausecentre.com.au/?source=Google&device=c&campaign=18795446135&adgroup&keyword&matchtype&placement&adposition&location=9071791&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3vO3BhCqARIsAEWblcAVgtkJQmjDVmbMm5KFJPF3I8nNF2F8ZHGf1Fp-gC5CyK9if2Y-OvQaAnkrEALw_wcB
.
Want to know my other 4 Tools for navigating menopause and feeling your best? Pre-order the Menopause + MTB guide today which contains powerful strategies to help improve energy, strength, body composition, sleep and recovery, and overall health and well-being! These strategies can help manage or even prevent certain menopause symptoms, and take control over your menopause experience, helping you to enjoy this chapter of your life and get the most out of your biking! We also will discuss the important Do’s and Don’ts of this chapter of life for athletic women e.g like fasting and low carb diets.
Sign up here! https://mountainbikemamas.wpcomstaging.com/product/private-mtb-coaching-personal-training-package-copy
You got this,
Ali xx
References
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9864448/#B9-jcm-12-00548
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9864448/#B9-jcm-12-00548
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4849483/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35231009/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6341375/
- Sims ST, Kerksick CM, Smith-Ryan AE, Janse de Jonge XAK, Hirsch KR, Arent SM, et al.International society of sports nutrition position stand: nutritional concerns of the female athlete.
- https://www.bicycling.com/news/a27115129/e-bikes-boost-well-being/
- https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(24)00053-7/fulltext