Health, Fitness & Lifestyle

You showed up. You pressed play on the workout or walked into the gym. You moved your body for 30 minutes. That should count, right?

Yes—and no.

Movement is always worth celebrating. Especially as a woman navigating the changes that come after 50—joint stiffness, fatigue, slower recovery, maybe even a little internal resistance that wasn’t there before.

As women navigate menopause and midlife, many new challenges and changes are happening. One particular struggle many women have is managing their weight. Due to hormonal and lifestyle changes, gaining weight after menopause is incredibly common and challenging to navigate. One essential part of losing weight after 50 is having an effective workout plan tailored to your body in postmenopause.

Navigating postmenopause can be a unique experience filled with both uncertainty and newfound insights into your body. As you step into this final stage of menopause, it's essential to recognize that this phase extends throughout the rest of your life. Despite its singular label, postmenopause isn't always straightforward, and understanding what to expect can be a challenge.

​​Picture this, you head to the gym looking forward to your workout. You know how great you’re going to feel afterward. Working out has always helped you feel grounded, strong, energized, and ready to take on the day!

​Healthy hips are so important if you want to stay pain free and active! Hip pain, immobility and sciatica are some of the most common challenges people face.

​When did everything start hurting so much? Remember when you could move around without pain? Getting older brings on a certain set of challenges. Aches and pains start happening during simple, everyday activities like walking or climbing stairs. Even just squatting down to pick something up can be tough on the knees as you get older.

​When you first search for a weight loss solution, balance is probably not the first thing on your mind. Even so, balance training is something any worthwhile health coach or weight loss program will incorporate. This is especially important as you age.

​A foam roller is a piece of hard-celled foam in the shape of a cylinder, or ball.  It comes in different levels of densities from soft to hard, which allow different levels of pressure to be applied to your muscles.  You can get them in 1’ or 3’ lengths or 6” – 8” posture balls. They could be smooth, ridged or …… and some even vibrate. You could even use a tennis ball to get at some hard to reach areas like behind the shoulder blades. 
 
Foam rolling is also called myofascial release and is done to work out the “knots” in your muscles, much like therapeutic massage or self-massage. The knots are myofascial adhesions that develop in our muscles through stress, overuse, movement imbalances or just everyday training.

​Like many professional women, whether an entrepreneur, executive, or administrator, you probably spend the majority of your workday sitting at your desk.  I’m also willing to bet you don’t just work 9 – 5.  I think those days ended back in the 80’s. 
 
Sitting for long periods of time has such a damaging impact on your health it is now being referred to as the new “smoking” Check out my article The Dangers of Sitting for more information.