Working out in perimenopause
The year is 2019. I was looking at my schedule for the week, trying to figure out what workout class I would go to on which day. I was having a hard time deciding because no matter which one I did there was always some sort of repercussion I would experience. Yoga was hard on my joints, fast vinyasa flows had my shoulders screaming and my back creaky. And Orange theory HIIT workouts would cause me to crash so hard I felt utterly depleted. It would sometimes require an adjustment from the chiro to get me back on track. I loved dance class but on some days, the constant cardio was exhausting. There just didn't seem to be that perfect workout out there. However, moving my body was so important to me that even though there were some challenges attached to them I persevered. Being physically active was a part of my life and I had just accepted there were some downsides. But, once I entered my 40’s I was fed up with the hardships that came with my changing body. The drive I had in my 30s to “seize the day (and the workout)” wasn’t as imperative as it used to be. But instead of considering another way to treat my body, I called myself lazy and forced myself to override my lack of motivation.
For the past 20 years, I have been a student of the body. My health issues, brain fog, weight gain, leaky gut, and many more, set me on a quest to understand what my body needed and what it was trying to tell me. It was a comfort, maybe even a relief to learn women enter midlife, there are quite a few things regarding movement and exercise that should shift. We are taught in our 20s and 30s that working out for 1 hour and then some is necessary to stay healthy and happy and to maintain a certain weight. But when you are up against hormone fluctuation, adrenal fatigue, and burnout it becomes something unattainable. Women in their 40s and 50s have complicated lives that can involve children, elderly parents, intense jobs, and all kinds of unexpected life and relational shifts. Recognizing this and adapting is necessary for feeling your best. Switching to shorter workouts with weights, resistance bands, and more gentle movements like alignment-based yoga and walking without burnout. But this involves letting go of a rigid mindset. In other words, letting go of something I always thought I had to do to keep my body in a particular shape.
We’ve been told that we have to work hard for big results, but trust me when I say taking your foot off the gas pedal has been a game changer for me. By depleting myself over and over I was just increasing inflammation in my body and creating more complicated hormonal issues. As Estrogen declines in the body, weight sticks around in places it never used to. Getting out of the mindset that we need to work longer and harder is essential, it will just make things worse by raising your cortisol levels and preventing fat loss.
Fast forward to 2020 when we were all sequestered inside and there wasn't any hope of entering a workout studio shortly. I had been invited to try a new workout online called PVolve. The live classes were hosted on the Zoom platform. There were about 4-10 women who regularly showed up for them. The classes required some equipment but could also be replaced with household items. Washcloths were used in place of gliders and wine bottles were used in place of hand weights. I quickly started to see a difference in my body and my mood. I also noticed that even though the workouts were NOT easy, they did not alter my energy levels. They got my mind engaged and my body primed for the day. I was hooked.
PVolve is a functional fitness method dedicated to supporting women in every transition of their lives. I fall into the perimenopause category in which they had many answers and solutions to women like me who were getting burnt out on traditional workouts.
Peri-menopause brings brain fog, lack of sleep, bone and muscle mass loss, and weight gain with more stubborn belly fat. There are so many ways menopause and perimenopause can impact your body and mind. Pvolve workouts helped me offset some symptoms that come up during this natural stage of life.
Staying active is the answer to preventing chronic disease and lowering blood pressure. It also improves your mood and helps you stay positive. The truth is hormones affect our lives more than we realize, we are taught that so many things around this topic are black and white. And that certainly is not the case in midlife. I felt a big loss when I couldn't do the workouts I used to. It has taken me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I am not the same woman I was even a couple of years ago, and I need to give myself grace for this body that is rapidly approaching menopause, by shifting my perspective on movement.
Pvolve has been one of the catalysts to help me do this. Today, post-Covid I love going to their studio in the W Loop of Chicago for their signature class Strength and Sculpt, but because life is busy I also enjoy a lot of Virtual live classes on Zoom during the week and a large library of on-demand classes I can access anytime. I also love walking my dog and checking in with my first love, the yoga studio, as much as possible. Taking a beat, and listening to my body and what it needs today is the hardest thing I’ve ever done and is still a work in progress.