Muscle Maintenance In Menopause

We've written about the importance of joint health in menopause; the drop in oestrogen levels means we are less able to deal with the inflammation that comes from daily wear and tear and this can lead to stiff and painful joints. 

Joint health and muscle health are firmly linked – without strong, toned muscles our joints aren't supported and this can cause more, easily avoidable, joint pain and in some cases, can speed up the degradation of cartilage and joint surfaces.  It's really important that we look after our muscles and our joints in tandem and happily there's a lot of overlap in the things we can do to help.

Proteins are the building blocks of muscles, so getting protein through our diets and supplementing this with the extra proteins in the MenoShake gives our bodies the ingredients to maintain and create new muscle.  Brown rice and pea protein powders are easily absorbed through our digestive systems and give us that much needed boost in maintaining muscle.

Magnesium is important in avoiding muscle cramps, so we included it to ensure that you can get the most out of your workout time without stopping through fatigue or pain.  Calcium and Vitamin D also help with normal muscle function and they're two of the building blocks of healthy bones, so we need all we can get.  A healthy balanced diet is important, but we don't always get the nutrients we need for this specific time of life.  Supplementing your food intake with the MenoShake is a tasty and sensible way of giving your body the best chance at combatting menopause symptoms.

We're not suggesting that everyone goes out and starts bulking up like bodybuilders – lifting heavy weights in the gym can be detrimental to our joint health in this stage of life, especially if it’s not something you’ve tried before.  Instead of aiming for a bulky, muscly physique we should be aiming for strength and tone.  Yoga, Pilates and balancing exercises are all ideal for building and sculpting this type of muscle.  If you want to try something different, aerial silks or pole fitness classes will give you that core strength, flexibility and overall muscle fitness that can make a huge difference in how you feel. 

Anything which requires balance and slow, controlled movements will build your core strength and improve your posture (and we all look slimmer and younger when we stand up straight!).  These types of exercise also promote a mindful relationship with our bodies.  When we do exercise like running, HIIT or spinning we're going ten to the dozen, while exercises that are done slowly help us focus more intently on how we feel and move.  Listening to our bodies helps us learn what we as individuals need to do for our best fitness and general health.  It's a skill we can develop that will serve us well into later life and keep us functioning as well as possible for as long as possible.

Gearing your exercise regime towards muscle and joint health often means changing your workout style more frequency and swapping out high impact activities for low impact ones.  And we would always recommend speaking to a professional to ensure that any plan you undertake is right for you and your individual health.

At a stage of life when we're faced with changes we haven't asked for, being in control of these changes to our lifestyle can put us back in the driving seat so take this as a positive, and treat yourself to a delicious post-workout MenoShake for maximum effect!