Exercise for Weight Loss Over 40
/With a lot of health changes occurring as a woman over 40, here are ways to exercise for weight loss in menopause or perimenopause.
Sadly, as women over 40, losing weight, or even maintaining weight can be an uphill battle.
There are several factors working against us but that doesn’t mean we can’t lose weight and stay healthy as we get older.
Diet, stress reduction, and proper sleep can all go a long way in maintaining our energy, and our waistline, but there’s one other big factor to consider, and that’s exercise.
Today we’ll cover how to exercise for weight loss in menopause or perimenopause.
Health Changes for Women Over 40
There are a few reasons we can gain weight as women over 40.
In peri or post-menopause, our hormone levels drop, our metabolism slows down and we lose muscle mass. That’s not the trifecta we’re looking for to stay in shape.
These factors can all lead to increased weight and not feeling as healthy.
How to Exercise for Weight Loss Over 40
While we can’t do much to change the age we are, we can do something about the number on the scale.
One way to battle weight loss over 40 is through exercise.
Having a good workout plan can help counterbalance dropping metabolism and muscle mass.
Lift Heavy Things
One sure-fire way to fight losing muscle is to do some heavy lifting – quite literally.
Lifting weights can help build the muscle tone that you’re losing in midlife.
For women in perimenopause, strength training is something you really want to get on the calendar due to its many benefits.
Pick as heavy of a weight as you can. You should be challenged to lift it up to 12 consecutive times. If you can easily lift the weight for 15-20 repetitions, you should grab a heavier weight.
Aim to do some form of resistance training 2-4 times each week. You can mix heavy and lighter weights, resistance bands, kettlebells, and using your own bodyweight like with push-ups and pull-ups. You just want to make sure that you’re lifting to fatigue.
With more muscle and improved fitness from exercise, you’ll get a lot of benefits like lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, reducing the risk of getting adult-onset diabetes, and helping to prevent osteoporosis.
Then there are the weight loss opportunities. Muscle isn’t a passive thing that just sits on your body. It requires energy. In fact, it uses more than 45 calories to maintain each pound of muscle. A pound of fat only requires two calories.
Having more muscle than fat will benefit you even when you’re just sitting around due to the extra calories it burns.
High Intensity Interval Training
You may have heard of HIIT training seeing as it’s one of the latest buzzy exercise trends. But there’s a buzz for a reason. HIIT has been proven to be very helpful for a variety of conditions.
Improves insulin resistance
Builds cardiovascular strength
Burns calories
Fat burner
Helps reduce visceral belly fat
Builds lean muscle mass
Reduces inflammation
The premise behind HIIT is that you work out in extreme bursts of activities for specific intervals of time. You might do as many burpees as you can in 30 seconds, recover for 15, and then repeat the cycle 2-3 more times.
You work hard until you’re breathless, then recover.
While HIIT exercise can be a more intense form of exercise, it’s a shorter workout, often only 15-20 minutes, making it an efficient option to slip in for time-strapped ladies.
Ideally, women over 40 get 45 minutes of HIIT in each week. You can break that up over 2 or 3 non-consecutive days.
Mornings have been shown to be a good time for HIIT or other cardio-based workouts. Your cortisol should be higher in the am so take advantage of the added energy and put it to use in your workout.
Overweight, postmenopausal women were shown to have not only lost visceral fat with HIIT exercise but also reduced inflammation in the body.
If your body is extremely inflamed or you feel over-tired after exercising, talk to your doctor, which is always a good idea to do before starting any new workout. You may need to begin with more gentle movement before trying something like HIIT.
Mixing strength training with vigorous exercise as well as moderate cardio will all help with menopause weight gain and has even been shown to help with hot flashes.
Take a Rest and Stretch
Amping up your exercise in menopause will provide many health benefits including weight loss, but you also need to make sure you’re not going too hard in back-to-back intense workouts all week.
You need to give your body a chance to recover between workouts.
This is a perfect time to take a walk or stroll with loved ones and enjoy some time outside.
On these recovery days, it’s also a good idea to stretch your muscles.
Women over 40 do well with yoga, pilates, and other lower impact exercise that focus on elongating your muscles.
Flexibility and core strength can wane as we get older but staying balanced will help avoid injury with everyday movements.
It will also help avoid muscle tightness which can cause imbalances in other parts of your body.
Reap the Rewards
Not only will a good exercise routine help you feel better in your body, it’ll also help you feel better in your mind.
Exercise is a great stress reducer. It helps you burn off some of the angst from the day or week.
Your stress hormone cortisol is reduced when you work out, so you can improve your mood. Exercise has been shown to decrease anxiety and depression.
Linking your breath to your movement can also help you feel more centered and grounded and less scattered.
Studies have also shown that menopause symptoms are worse for women who lead sedentary lives versus active women. Active women tend to have less hot flashes, insomnia, and mood swings.
Exercise can boost your immune system, build happy endorphin hormones, and it can even help you sleep better.
So what are you waiting for? Get out there and move your beautiful body!
