Exercise Tips for Women

Whether you are menopausal, pre or post, your exercise program should include cardiovascular, strength and flexibility segments that challenge and motivate you. Here are some exercise tips to keep in mind:

Cardiorespiratory Fitness. The goal of a cardiorespiratory fitness program is to improve your aerobic
conditioning and body composition. Choose a weight-bearing activity, such as walking (or running, hiking), to help protect bone density.

Resistance Training. Improvement in bone mineral density (BMD) is site- specific. Only those bones attached to the exercising muscles are affected, owing to specificity of stimulation. Therefore, choose exercises to strengthen the small and large muscle groups of the spine and hip, the most common sites of osteoporotic fractures. In addition, pick exercises that help with posture and realign the spine and pelvic girdle (e.g., upper-back and leg/hip exercises and core exercises).

Flexibility Training. Perform a static stretching routine that exercises all major muscle groups at least 2-3 (preferably 5-7) days per week, holding each stretch for 15-30 seconds to mild discomfort, with 2-4 repetitions per stretch (ACSM 2006).

If you need help with your program, contact a Certified Personal Trainer. Let's connect at info@gaiaadventures.com.

Catherine D'Aoust at GAIA Adventures, Personal Training/Kinesiologist, Workshops
www.gaiaadventures.com
Gift Certificates for Training and Adventures available
Snowshoe Seymour - introduction to snowshoeing for Women Saturday January 7

Exercise and Menopause

Here is what the latest research from ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) has to say about women, exercise and menopause.

Cardiorespiratory Research
Most cardiorespiratory research involving menopausal and postmenopausal women has focused on how aerobic activity affects body composition and abdominal fat distribution. Many studies have used walking as the primary mode of aerobic activity. In one such study, postmenopausal women (55-66 years) wore pedometers for 14 days to determine whether body composition variables differed across activity levels. Research determined that women who accumulated more steps per day (> 7,500) had more favorable body composition- including lower body fat percentage, trunk fat, body mass index (BMI), waist and hip circumferences and waist-hip ratio-than women who took fewer steps (Krumm et al. 2006).

Resistance Training Research
Numerous researchers have reported on the effects of resistance training for menopausal women. Positive outcomes have included improvements in strength, body composition and bone density. For example, strength improvements of approximately 30% in the lower body and 25% in the upper body occurred in postmenopausal women following a 6-month resistance training protocol consisting of 8 repetitions of 12 exercises at 80% of one-repetition maximum (Bemben et al. 2000).

Flexibility Training Research
Flexibility research targeting menopausal women is severely lacking. Much more research is needed in this area to determine the appropriate exercise design for menopausal women.

It is clear from the research that exercise can help your journey into menopause. In my next blog I will present some exercise tips to help you further.

To be continued

Let's connect at info@gaiaadventures.com.

Catherine D'Aoust at GAIA Adventures, Personal Training/Kinesiologist, Workshops
www.gaiaadventures.com
Gift Certificates for Training and Adventures available
Snowshoe Seymour - introduction to snowshoeing for Women Saturday January 7

It's that time of life

It happened to me in my late 40’s. I was drinking coffee in my favorite coffee shop and I started sweating profusely. Was it that hot in the coffee shop? What I really noticed was that even my hands were sweating – they never sweat when I am hiking the Grind. What was going on?

Of course I had warning signs: my period was only a few days long, I was having trouble sleeping at night, my energy levels were up and down and my waist was thickening. I felt in permanent PMS: yes, I was in pre-menopause.

If you're in the middle of menopause, you may be experiencing challenges such as weight gain, hot flashes or fatigue. Ugh! The good news is that exercise can make a positive difference.

“Although there is much more to learn about exercise research and menopause, what we do know supports physical activity as a means to help manage menopausal consequences and protect against heart disease and osteoporosis”, says Jan Schroeder, PhD, an associate professor of kinesiology at California State University, Long Beach. In my next blog I will present more about what research says and offers tips for designing a fitness program for this time of life.

To be continued

Let's connect at info@gaiaadventures.com.

Catherine D'Aoust at GAIA Adventures, Personal Training/Kinesiologist, Workshops
www.gaiaadventures.com
Gift Certificates for Training and Adventures available