Menopause and the months and even years preceding it poses a physical and psychological challenge to many women. The physiological changes characterizing menopause--most of them the result of decreased estrogen levels--include lower bone density, an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and myalgias and arthralgias, i.e. muscle and joint pain. These symptoms can all be opposed through specific and well-tested types of exercise.
Weight-Bearing Exercise
One of the most common debilitating conditions postmenopausal women face is osteoporosis, a weakening of the bones that predisposes women to both compression--that is stress--and traumatic fractures. Weight-bearing exercise undertaken before menopause begins in earnest can help stave off bone density loss and forestall the effects of osteoporosis.
Dancing, aerobics, tennis, jumping rope, jumping jacks, stair climbing and descending, and jogging are all good options; walking while an excellent form of exercise in general, it does not significantly strengthen bones because its impact stresses are not great enough.
Strength Training
While high-impact forms of exercise are renowned for their influence on bone density, strength training is an important intervention for other reasons. A study published in the September 2007 issue of the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" examined 164 overweight and obese premenopausal women who were prescribed twice-weekly strength training. Researchers found that after two years, this group lost significantly more body and intra-abdominal fat than a control group advised to undertake aerobic exercise alone. Maintaining a healthy body weight is especially important after menopause owing to the increased risk of cardiovascular disease in this peer group.
Exercises for Flexibility
Women on the cusp of menopause typically report an increase in muscle and joint aches and pains throughout the body. Therefore, actively increasing range of motion in various joints can be very valuable for reducing these symptoms. Simply flexing and extending--and where possible, rotating--limbs and extremities about their joints ten times in a sitting can go a long way. Focus on the toes, ankles, knees, hips, fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, spine and wrist, preferably in that order.
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