The REAL Reason Running Feels Tough After Menopause (And How to Fix It)

4 CRITICAL Things Female Runners Are NEVER Told

I found a fantastic online masterclass for women runners like us - "The Running Through Menopause Masterclass." It's real, honest advice to improve your running without pushing too hard. Let's join together and learn! 🚀💪 Click here to save your seat: https://joinnow.live/s/8fKtxe?via=tatiani

Running Through Menopause: How Perimenopause and Post Menopause Affects ...

Running To Lose Weight After Menopause Doesn’t Work, Do THIS Instead

Weight Management for Female Runners Over 40

The hormones in perimenopause and menopause go all over the place, but still weight management is possible, explains Shona Hendricks, sport scientist from Coach Parry Team. 
"The Running Through Menopause Masterclass" is a must-attend event. It's not about training harder, but training smarter and avoiding injury.
Save your seat here: https://joinnow.live/s/8fKtxe?via=tatiani

Strong bones, mobility and fitness after 45

Dr Vonda Wright is an orthopaedic sports medicine surgeon and expert on active aging and mobility. She is the author of 44 research publications and of books such as, ‘Fitness After 40: Your Strong Body at 40, 50, 60, and Beyond’.

Don't forget: want to run faster & avoid injury? I tried Coach Parry's FREE Mobility Flow which works wonders! No catch - just 20 minutes to improve your running. You'll love it! ​
https://blog.coachparry.com/importance-mobility-flow?via=tatiani

Shona Hendricks and Nicky Freedman from Coach Parry have another mindblowing episode on bone health and women

In this powerful episode, Shona Hendricks and Nicky Freedman dive deep into the reality of bone loss for female runners. They unpack why your bone density starts dropping as early as your late 20s, the truth about stress fractures and under fueling, and what every woman over 45 must do to protect her long-term health and running future. From nutrition and strength training to essential supplements, this is the episode your bones need you to hear.

Also, a must read: "The musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause" by Dr. Vonda Wright et.al. Free download at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/13697137.2024.2380363?needAccess=true

Are Your Running Heart Rate Zones Wrong?

In this Q&A episode of the She Runs Strong podcast powered by Coach Parry, we tackle:

⌚ How to calculate your heart rate zones (with or without fancy gear)
🥱 Why you might still feel fatigued—even with easy runs & proper fueling
😴 Can you trust what your watch says about sleep?
🍝 Should you cut carbs during your marathon taper?
🌞 How to train smart in the summer heat (and why it's okay to slow down)

Quick, practical tips for runners over 45 navigating performance, recovery & menopause.

🎙️ Hit play and join us for expert advice you can actually use!

How to Run Faster After Menopause (Even If You Feel Slow Right Now)

If you're a female runner over 45 and feel like you're slowing down, you're not alone—but it doesn’t have to be that way. In this video, we’ll show you how to adapt your training, nutrition, strength, recovery, and mindset to run faster and stronger through menopause and beyond.

You’ll learn:
✅ How hormonal changes impact your running—and how to work with them
✅ The strength training moves that improve speed and prevent injury
✅ Why recovery and mental health are more important than ever
✅ What to eat (and supplement) to support endurance, energy, and bone health
✅ Why consistency—not perfection—is the real key to success

Whether you're postmenopausal or navigating the transition, these tips will help you feel stronger, recover better, and fall in love with running all over again.

Why 80% of Autoimmune Diseases Happen to Women & Solutions

An amazing episode from Mel Robbins podcast explaining why 80% of autoimmune diseases happen to women. In a geast: it is not only hormons and genetics but also environmental and socio-cultural reasons that contribute to the flear up of autoimmune diseases to women. As Dr. Sara Szal states, the best solutions have to do with :

1. Changing one's diet (aka following an elimination diet and cutting sugar, gluten and dairy and ultra processed products)

2. Changing one's mind set (aka healing trauma, managing stress and not being at war with oneself)

3. Feeling safe (aka feeling safe in a psychological way creating bonds and relationship of love, acceptance and support, and feeling safe in ones body, which means taking care of one's body, nurishing it, exercising, moving etc.)

Dr. Sarah Szal, a Harvard- and MIT-trained MD with over 25 years of clinical experience.

The Truth About Creatine & Exercise! 30% Of People Will Die From This! T...

High Functioning Depression & Anxiety in Perimenopause & Actionable Solu...

Depression & anxiety, especially during perimenopause & menopause can be very difficult. There are some steps that can be taken to mitigate the symptoms such as informing yourselves, having the right diet, exercise, and quality sleep. But there is more! so tune in and join the conversation. 

The Science of Sex-Specific Nutrition and Biohacking with Stacy Sims

Tonal Talk | Member Q+A with Dr. Stacy Sims

The Best Exercise For Women In All Life Stages with Dr Stacy Sims

In this episode of the Anxiety Reset podcast, Georgie speaks to nutrition scientist, exercise physiologist and author Dr Stacy Sims. She provides valuable insights on exercise physiology, nutrition, and the unique needs of women's health. She shares a wealth of knowledge on: - Understanding why women's health research is so far behind men's - Why women have very different physiological needs to men - How easy, time-efficient exercise can help you glide through perimenopause - How to exercise with your menstrual cycle for high performance If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to exercise with your cycle, this episode is for you! Dr Stacy Sims, MSC, PhD, is a forward-thinking international exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist who aims to revolutionize exercise nutrition and performance for women. Check out her TED talk Women Are Not Small Men™ and her books are available here. You can find out more about her work on her website www.drstacysims.com and on Instagram @drstacysims .

Training and Nutrition Considerations for Menopause Written by Justin Lind

Source: https://breakingmuscle.com/training-and-nutrition-considerations-for-menopause/ 

There are few things women like to talk about less than menopause. But to optimize your health and fitness results during this critical time, you need to think, and yes, talk about it. Your body is going through many drastic changes that, among other things, will have an effect on your ability to train and the results you can expect from that training.

There are few things women like to talk about less than menopause. But to optimize your health and fitness results during this critical time, you need to think, and yes, talk about it. Your body is going through many drastic changes that, among other things, will have an effect on your ability to train and the results you can expect from that training.

As a man, I have never and will never go through menopause. However, my experience with numerous clients experiencing menopause has given me insight into what to expect from your training. While I cannot speak to the daily realities of navigating menopause, I offer guidance for understanding how these changes affect your fitness and weight-loss journey.

Regardless of your age or gender, the quickest way to derail your training motivation is to compare yourself to others. Comparison leads nowhere but to discouragement or false pride, depending on who you choose to compare and how you each perform on a given day. Both options are meaningless. If you are approaching or experiencing menopause, you have probably discovered the futility of comparing yourself to the younger women in class, let alone the men. However, it is easy to fall into the trap of comparing yourself to your direct peers, especially close friends at a similar stage in life.

Know that menopause is like puberty; it is simply a broad term that we use to describe a whole set of physiological changes. Everyone will experience these changes at different times, in different ways, and to drastically varying degrees. We find several universals, but menopause is much more defined by the immense differences and unpredictability than by the similarities.

All women begin menopause at different ages, and the symptoms and severity vary widely. Your personal genetic makeup and reproductive history play key roles. For instance, women who have many children tend to enter menopause younger, and women of Asian descent tend to experience less frequent and less severe hot flashes (although many studies credit this to dietary factors; more on that to come). Your lifestyle and diet also play critical roles in how and when you experience menopause. This article aims to offer guidance for understanding how you can adjust your habits and practices to optimize your health and happiness as you navigate this transitional period.

Menopause: Insulin Sensitivity and Carbohydrate Tolerance

Many women experience significant and seemingly unexplained weight gain during menopause, while others do not. Many factors could explain this, but decreased insulin sensitivity is a likely culprit. This is a complex process but essentially, insulin is the hormone that instructs your body what to do with blood glucose. Our bodies produce insulin to communicate to our cells to take up blood glucose to use as fuel or store as glycogen.

Decreased insulin sensitivity (also referred to as insulin resistance) means that your body is less sensitive to the effects of insulin. This means that your cells will not take up blood glucose as effectively, leaving higher amounts of glucose in circulation eventually to be stored as fat. While this occurs naturally with aging (in men also), it seems to become especially noticeable during and after menopause. Your relationship with food becomes ever more important as you move into this period of your life.

Related to your insulin sensitivity, carbohydrate tolerance describes your body’s ability to utilize carbohydrates. Carbohydrate tolerance describes roughly how many carbohydrates you need in a day, at one time, and at which times throughout the day.

Your carbohydrate tolerance and insulin sensitivity vary with the hormonal environment in your body. In addition to during and post-menopause, you become much more susceptible to storing body fat and feeling low energy from stresses such as alcohol, insufficient sleep, and a stressful lifestyle.

If you have an established nutritional plan but notice that your body is responding differently as you move into menopause, you probably need to re-examine your carbohydrate intake. Avoid high carbohydrate meals at all times except post-exercise. Prioritize non-starchy vegetables and proteins for these meals.

Use the following guideline as a starting point for how to fill your plate:

• Fill more than half your plate with vegetables. Seek a wide variety, but avoid starchy vegetables such as potatoes, yams, etc.
• Fill about a quarter of your plate with a protein source: red meat, chicken, eggs, or seafood from humane and natural sources, or a vegetarian source such as beans/legumes.
• Use healthy fats to reach satiety. Fill the rest of your plate with healthy fat sources; as much as you need to feel satisfied but not full. Seek roughly an even one-third split between monounsaturated (most nuts, olive oil, avocado), polyunsaturated (fish oil and most seeds like flax, hemp, and chia), and saturated fats (coconut oil, palm oil, and animal sources).

For post-exercise meals, make a few tweaks:

• Up your protein portion to roughly half of your plate.
• Make an allowance for starchy vegetables and grains.

These guidelines will help you to mitigate the fat-storing effects of decreased insulin sensitivity and ensure that you get sufficient dietary fat. Do not be afraid of dietary fat; your body requires it for many key functions, especially during menopause. Saturated fat will aid in the manufacture and balance of your hormones. Dietary fat also helps absorb and transport fat soluble vitamins, many of which aid in mineral allocation. This is a key function for building and maintaining bone density, perhaps the more prominent physical effect of menopause.

During menopause, deepen your relationship with your body and increase your commitment to health and wellness. [Photo credit: J Perez Imagery]

Menopause: Nutrition for Bone Density

You will likely lose bone density during menopause. This is perhaps the most universal symptom of menopause. Fortunately, you can mitigate or forestall this effect with some adjustments to your nutrition and training.

Peri- and post-menopausal women lose bone density because their calcium absorption drops drastically during this time: as much as 50% from when they were an adolescent. Before you run out and buy calcium supplements, understand the root cause. Quite often the shortage of calcium is a problem of absorption and allocation rather than of insufficient intake. It is possible that you are not consuming sufficient calcium, but it is far most likely that the calcium you do eat fails to reach your bones.

To ensure optimal calcium absorption and usage, prioritize vitamin D. Natural, unfiltered sunlight remains the absolute best source of vitamin D. To produce vitamin D, we need UVB rays to directly contact our skin. Note that glass and sunscreen can block as much as 99% of UVB, rendering the sunlight you absorb through these media virtually useless for vitamin D production. Get outside and soak up those rays! As little as 20 minutes of unfiltered sunlight can provide sufficient vitamin D each day (this depends on your skin tone, time of year, and location on the Earth).

Vitamin D supplements (both D2 and D3) prove effective for those who cannot produce enough naturally. The recommended amounts vary significantly by individual and supplementing in excess can have ill effects. For accurate dosing consult your doctor.

Now that you have ensured optimal vitamin D, we can talk about calcium itself. As with vitamin D and every other nutrient, the Earth-grown forms are best. Seek foods naturally high in calcium such as leafy greens, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Perfect, these are already on your plate from moderating your carbohydrate intake! Calcium supplements can help those with very low absorption but most everyone can fill their calcium need through natural sources.

The final and most critical method to maintain your bone density comes through avoiding a net-acidic diet. Meats and grains have a net acidic effect as we break them down, while fruits and vegetables have a net basic or alkaline (the opposite of acidic) effect. Your body has an amazing ability to balance the acidity of your nutritional intake to create the level it requires. Unfortunately, to balance acidity your body uses its stores of minerals, the most abundant of which is your bones. Your body will actually draw calcium and other minerals from your bones to use in neutralizing an acid diet. Prioritize significant portions of fruits and vegetables to balance the acid/base ratio so your body does not need to use minerals to do it for you. Also, avoid large quantities of pro-acidic foods like meats and grains.

Menopause: Exercise for Bone Density

Many women nearing menopausal age have an established regimen of yoga and cardio-focused classes. I would never advise removing classes or exercises that you enjoy. However, if you fall into the category of women who do not incorporate any resistance training into their program, you are doing nothing to mitigate the almost certain loss of lean mass and bone density. Sorry, those 5lb dumbbells and 10lb kettlebells from your cardio classes do not provide enough resistance or loading.

You need heavy resistance training to maintain and improve your bone density. Understand heavy as heavy relative to your size and strength. Know that you do not need to lift tons of weights or bulk up. You simply need to test the limits of your physical strength. Use movements like the following to safely apply heavy loading to your system. Prioritize using the heaviest load you can handle safely. These movements are all about full engagement and time under tension.

• Deadlifts: If you feel comfortable and confident, use the barbell deadlift. For a safer option try suitcase deadlifts with a heavy kettlebell or dumbbell (or bag of groceries or jug of milk) in each hand. You can make these safer still by starting with the weights elevated on a small box. Move slowly and even add a long pause at the top to increase your time under tension.
• Farmer’s Carries: Pick up a heavy weight in each hand (suitcase deadlift) and carry them. This will add stability challenges to your heavy loading.
• Yoke Holds or Walks: Stand or walk with a barbell or yoke on your shoulders. As with the farmer’s carries, walking provides a great challenge to your balance, focus, and stability. For safer loading, skip the walk and just bear the weight and stand. Focus on your posture and position. Simply being under heavy load will stimulate increases in connective tissue strength and bone density.
• Sleds: Push or pull a heavy sled. You can do this fast or slow as long as the primary focus remains on work capacity.

Your body might naturally be losing bone density, but you do not need to accept this as a sentence of osteoporosis or frailty. With a few adjustments to your habits, you can maintain strong bone health late into life.

Menopause: Maintain and Build Lean Mass

Like bone density, most women begin to experience losses in lean muscle mass as they enter menopause. Also as with bone density, this does not have to mean an automatic sentence. Maintaining a strong (not to mean huge or bulky) amount of lean mass helps optimize health for everyone regardless of age or gender. Mid-life and menopause both typically lead to significant loses in lean mass. Maintaining and building lean mass is now more important than ever.

Muscle mass is not only important to maintain your strength and vitality. Muscle tissue demands fuel and will take up blood glucose when instructed to. Building and maintaining lean mass are great ways to stave off the effects of decrease insulin sensitivity. This in turn supports a healthy level of body fat.

Incorporate heavy resistance into functional movements to get the greatest benefit in building and maintaining your muscle mass. Favor movements that support your everyday activities. Some of the best options are:

• Weighted Lunges: Walking lunges provide the best challenge to your stability. Scale with stationary lunges (split squats) to progress toward walking lunges.
• Push Ups: Full range of motion push ups with chest to the floor. Scale these by elevating your hands on a box or wall or performing them from your knees, rather than shortening range of motion.
• Ring or TRX Rows: These offer an infinitely adjustable scale for pull ups. You can walk your feet forward and back to adjust the difficulty. Add a static hold at the top and a slow decent to increase the muscle-building benefit.

With a few tweaks or additions to your exercise program, you can maintain and even increase your lean muscle mass during menopause.

Menopause: The Final Piece – Stress

Controlling stress will help mitigate the other emotional and physiological symptoms like insomnia, irritability, and hot flashes. It is more important than ever to eliminate (or at least moderate) the stressors in your life. Avoid high amounts of caffeine and alcohol. Avoid foods that cause inflammation like sugar, grains, and dairy. Get plenty of sleep, and take up stress relieving activities like walking, meditation, or yoga.

Menopause: Layered Strategies for Compounding Effects

Remember that your experience of menopause will be entirely unique. Understand what types of symptoms you can expect, and the patterns you can change or introduce to mitigate them.

Most of the recommendations herein are interrelated. For example, if you adjust for increased insulin resistance by eliminating starches, sugars, and grains and prioritizing vegetables, these habits will also help to maintain bone density by providing more dietary calcium and reducing the net acidity of your diet. Taking a walk outside is both stress-relieving and an opportunity to catch some rays to up your vitamin D production.

Menopause means many big changes for your body. But menopause also offers the opportunity to deepen your relationship with your body and bring your commitment to health and wellness to an all-time high.

You don’t have to be along for the ride:

Menopause Is Not a Weight-Gain Sentence