Don't Rattle them Bones!

To many women, the thought of putting time aside during the day to exercise, in addition to everything else they need to do in twenty-four hours, is just not something they want to devote precious time to. Unfortunately, with the onset of menopause, exercise may play a key role in a woman’s mental and physical health and happiness. And it just may help her get through this transition time with a lot less stress and aggravation.

There is an overabundance of research for reasons why women should exercise in general, much less when they are going through menopause. This time of a woman’s life, though, highlights areas of concerns that aren’t seen much in the earlier years.

OSTEOPORSIS is med-speak for the thinning of bones in your body. Bones naturally weaken as we age, but women tend to lose more bone mass and density then men because of menopausal changes in the body’s chemistry, and therefore the strength of their bones is at risk. This can lead to easy fractures.  Calcium is, of course, necessary to bone health and strength, but a menopausal woman needs more than just her daily does of calcium and vitamin D. Weight bearing exercises and strength training will help keep healthy bones strong and vital and prevent the fractures and calcium leeching seen in older woman.  You don’t have to join a gym to achieve strength. Using hand and/or leg free weights is an effective way to develop bone and muscle strength. Let’s face it, you’re not trying to turn yourself into a competing body builder. You just want to strengthen what you’ve got, and using free weights every other day can help achieve and maintain that strength without making you look like a female version of The Hulk.  Stretch or exercise bands also aid in strengthening arms and leg muscles.

Brisk walking three to five times a week is beneficial in strengthening the long bones of the legs. It also aids in helping to keep the hip and pelvic bones strong, especially if you’re a hill walker.  If you’re not an outdoors walker – which I’m not – treadmills are a gift. You can regulate the speed, intensity and height of your walk to whatever you’d like it to be. Bike riding, whether outdoors or stationary, is another great way to help keep those leg and hip bones and muscles in strong, working order.

Many older women I know do water aerobics at our local YMCA. These women are passionate about it. It serves several purposes at once for them: it gets them into a non-stressful workout, and by non-stressful I mean no harmful effects on their joints, muscles, and bones; it limbers their bodies in a calming way, and it provides great camaraderie. It allows them to exercise in a fun and beneficial way, while still helping keep their bones and joints strong and agile.

Now it stands to reason that if you were a faithful exerciser before menopause, you are already a step ahead of many women. Just keep doing what you’re already doing, or even change it up, trying something new and fun. As look as you know your body, know what it can stand, and don’t overdue it, anything that helps keeps those bones, muscles, and joints, in strong working order is a good thing. They key is to exercise regularly, and keep building on the tone and strength you have, or are, achieving. Our grandmothers were right when they said, “Exercise does a body good.”