Making Muscle in Menopause
It’s Hard to Make Muscle
Let’s be truthful, it’s hard to make muscle, especially as you age and going through the stages of menopause.
Women in menopause and beyond can develop sarcopenia (muscle wasting) earlier than men because many women have less muscles than men to begin with.
And the truth is, we are not small men.
We are strong, powerful women with hormones that are adjusting, making our bodies feel and look different than they once were.
As your estrogen/progesterone and other hormones adjust, so does your muscle mass, and if your cortisol is in excess, it can also breakdown muscle mass (among other things).
Muscle gives you strength, function and the ability to move with ease and safety.
Muscles support your bones and frames for stability, helping reduce the chances of osteopenia and they help prevent falls.
Muscle is a major source for burning calories. If you don’t have lots of muscle and still eat the same amount of calories as in your younger years it can be set you up to to gain weight, especially with the imbalance of your changing hormones!
Muscle loss can be linked to insulin resistance. This is when the body has trouble responding properly to insulin causing the body to make more insulin, leaning to hunger and weight gain. Too much insulin and too much cortisol combined can equal belly, visceral (around the organs), back and face fat deposits.
What You Can Do About It!
Exercise is what you can do about it!
In the words of the 1990’s band Technotronic...
“Baby, let me show you how to do this
You gotta move this, you're doin' fine
Ain't nothin' to it, you gotta move it
Come on and groove it
Shake that body for me”
Exercise is a Protector and Preserver
Exercise is a protector and a preserver of muscles! Exercise is the trigger that helps your muscles repair and restore themselves through your hard effort.
What Kind of Exercise Makes Muscle in Menopause?
So, what kind of exercise makes muscle in menopause? Resistance training. Picking up heavy things and putting them down. And, doing it consistently!
As the 1990’s Saturday Night Live characters Hanz and Franz say, “We’re gonna pump you up!”
But don't worry- you'll NEVER look like them. You don't have the hormones to get super huge. But I bet you want the positive effects of tighter, stronger muscles....
Your Purse is Heavier than That!
I see many pictures of women lifting tiny, little weights. While that is a beginning, and you have to work your way up to heavier weights... I'd like to remind you that your purse is heavier than that! Lol
You're not frail, or too delicate. You’ve got to move your muscles to fatigue, in short, intense blasts, and do this consistently over time to see a difference in your strong and magical body.
You are NOT a small man. Women are distinctly different than men (duh).
Annnd, you will not bulk up with too much muscle, women’s bodies are not made like that, and we don’t have enough testosterone to bulk up like say, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or that guy you see at your local gym. Instead with consistency and practice... you'll gain more benefits than just looking good.
Short, Intense, Full Body Training Sessions
Short, intense, full body training sessions, that fatigue your muscles, twice a week.
Get adequate recovery (that means rest) in between training sessions, so your muscles can repair and rebuild themselves. And focus on getting enough restorative sleep too, because that is where you make human growth hormone, which helps build muscles.
Eat Enough Essential Amino Acids
Eat protein- the recommended amount for women in menopause is 30 grams within 60-120 minutes after your training session. And eat protein throughout the day to help you build and maintain muscles.
Guidelines recommend that women over 50 eat 0.45–0.55 grams of protein per pound (1–1.2 grams per kg) of body weight daily — or 20–25 grams of high-quality protein per meal.
In the US, the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.36 grams per pound (0.8 grams per kg) of body weight for all adults over age 18, which represents the minimum needed for health.
It’s important to understand that as you age, you must eat adequate amounts of essential amino acids to maintain muscle, especially because as you age your body does not metabolize protein as effectively as when you were young (er).
Another good place to make sure you are eating protein is at every meal, yes, and especially at breakfast- as this is a meal that is carbohydrate heavy- think cereals, oatmeal, breads etc.
The combination of enough protein with resistance training will help delay muscle wasting making YOU and your body strong, ward off frailty, and help you maintain bad-a$$ status!
Muscle rocks! Let’s make more of it.
Not sure where to begin? Start with some menopause health coaching, so you really understand your desires, dreams and goals and can put them into action!
Nicole Vienneau MSN, RN, NC-BC is a former ICU nurse turned holistic wellbeing advocate, with 25+ years in nursing and 30 years in fitness and health coaching.
A retired Reebok-sponsored athlete and national presenter, Nicole is the founder of Tucson’s Restoration Room, where she empowers mid-life women to reclaim their joy, confidence, and ease through holistic menopause and lifestyle strategies.
Her personal journey from burnout to peace fuels her integrative approach, blending integrative health coaching, fitness, Reiki, and sound healing. Nicole is also an author, speaker, and host of the Integrative Nurse Coaches in ACTION! podcast.
