My post menopause workout has been working, and let me say that upfront. I’m as lean as I comfortably want to be, and my muscle mass remains high. I’m not losing it. In fact, I’ve gained more in the last two years by increasing both intensity and recovery in my routine. This has meant more volume in my workouts and also more recovery time between sessions. It’s about being as smart with rest as it is with pushing through each workout.
Recovery time between strength sessions, by the way, isn’t just lazy couch time. Instead, it’s active recovery. I incorporate sprint intervals, agility drills, mobility work, and plenty of walking or hiking. These activities help me stay conditioned, maintain my metabolism, and ensure that my body remains strong.
While doing this, I’ve noticed my readiness score soar, meaning I’m consistently prepared for high-quality workouts. Now, I’m primed for intense sessions, which ultimately leads to better results over time.
Along the way, I’ve discovered a few things that make me question if what I thought worked best for me is truly optimal.
So here I am, using these last 90 days of 2024 to test, experiment, and share everything with you.
Questions We Answer In this Episode:
- How it started. [12:25]
- What I’m trying. [13:35]
- Why I’m personally testing. [21:15]
- What are the results – any difference in muscle, fat, mindset, sleep etc. [22:35]
I’ll update you on my progress via social media – most often in short stories on Instagram. For a longer video, I’ll summarize it on the podcast. So if you prefer audio you have it and if you want to see a little more demonstration of exercises to help illustrate the video, you’ll have it in the YouTube video which will be short. And we’ll do a cheat sheet for you.
My Post Menopause Workout: Total Body
- Walking or 10 minutes of brief interval walk/run
- Walking lunges, lunge matrix, spyders, light core engagement
- 3 sets each wall sit and single leg Squat
- 5 sets of leg press in a monster/drop set
- 5 super sets of chest,
- 5 sets bent over row with a dynamic balance exercise
- 5 sets of triceps
- 3 sets of biceps
- 4 sets of lat pull downs
- 5 sets of ham curls
- 3 sets of limited ROM leg extensions
Total of 38 sets
Notes:
- You may bump from 5 to 6 sets or from 3 or 4 to 5 reaching 40 and changing it up.
- Some days, I might do less lower body and focus more on upper body work, but it’s always a total body workout.
- Never do squats without doing a hamstring-specific exercise. Most people, both men and women, tend to be quad-dominant, and only doing squats can make this imbalance worse.
- Fire up that rear kinetic chain – —this means incorporating movements like hip thrusts, deadlifts (within your safe range of motion), or ham curls to really target the hamstrings and glutes.
- Switching to only UPPER or LOWER during workouts is really hard.
First, it ties me to the gym. which I’m not a huge fan of. I love my flexible schedule and need it.
So for the first two weeks here’s how I did the FLIP. In baby steps.
I took a gradual approach, starting with one total body workout, similar to the plan I’ve outlined. After that, I introduced one upper body-only workout and one lower body-only workout each week. This change bumped up my total workout time by about 1.5 hours per week, which allowed me to add more sets and volume to each session. Each of the upper and lower body workouts required additional time because to ensure I was doing enough sets for each muscle group, I had to expand the time spent on both.
So here’s what each day looked like.
My Post Menopause Workout: Split Routine
Leg Day looked like this: (not including warm up because that stayed relatively the same)
- 6 sets Leg press monster
- 5 sets hamstring curls
- 5 sets limited ROM leg extension
- 5 sets Side lunges
- 5 sets single leg squats
- 3 sets of seated calf raises
- 5 sets hip thrusts
Total of 34 sets
Upper Body Day looked like this:
- 2 sets of Chest Fly and push up
- 5 sets Chest Press superset with
- 5 sets Bent Over row
- 5 sets Lat pulldown with
- 5 sets biceps curls
- 5 sets of triceps supersets (a super set)
- 4 sets shoulder exercises (a super set)
- 3 sets Cable row alternate with
- 3 sets 1 minute hang
Total of 37 sets
During Month Two, I will switch things up considerably.
Instead of one total body day and a mix of upper and lower, I’ll be doing two leg days and two upper body days each week. I can tell you right now that this will be hard. This shift is going to be tough, and I already know it. The challenge won’t just be physical—it’s also about finding the time and energy. I have a busy schedule, so the commitment to consistently hit these sessions will be a challenge.
Balancing workouts with work and personal life is tricky. Being tied to having to go to the gym or even just getting a workout at home is hard. Since I work at home, I try to get out unless I’m shooting videos or tight on time.
The other challenge is timing. My days start early and sometimes can stretch into the evening, go late and I don’t do high intensity work late in the day. But, if you’re someone who prefers evening workouts or if that’s the only time you have, go for it! Make your schedule work for you. The only thing to keep in mind is that evening workouts can shoot your adrenaline up, which might make falling asleep a little bit harder.
5 Menopause Workout Tips from Recent Exercise Studies: https://www.flippingfifty.com/menopause-workout-tips/
Your Perimenopause Workout vs Your Post Menopause Workout: https://www.flippingfifty.com/post-menopause-workout/
What They Don’t Teach Women About Strength Training and should: https://www.flippingfifty.com/teach-women-about-strength-training/
Resources:
Discovery Call: https://www.flippingfifty.com/wellness-coaching-for-life/
Ultimate Assessment: https://www.flippingfifty.com/store/coaching-programs/private-coaching-90-min/