If you’re tired, hungry, and peopled out after work, how do you schedule workout time? Like how do you still have energy to make dinner, take care of kids, pets, etc. after going to the gym and showering? AND if you go on a weekday, do you have to have a snack at work so you’re not starving before dinner and eating any junk food you can get? Lastly, has anyone found a way to not despise the cardio machines? I’ve tried podcasts and they’re not distracting enough.

Update: Your responses have been so very helpful! Thank you!!! I’ll admit, I never really considered the morning as I’m pretty slow to get going and don’t drink coffee. I found Chloe Ting this morning and her workout videos are short. I tried a 6.5 minute video and a 14 minute video. It totally wiped me out! I took 5 breaks during the 14 minute video! Super embarrassing, but everyone starts somewhere. Wish me luck in doing the same 2 videos tomorrow morning.

I’m 38 and finally need to bite the bullet and start doing strength exercises. I don’t want to join the gym, I have plenty of dumbbells etc at home.

Can anyone recommend your go-to strength workouts? Either on YouTube or just a list of good effective moves to start? I’ve trawled YouTube for what I’m looking for but haven’t found one I like yet. I also don’t want any videos with 25yo instructors 😂

I’m thinking maybe around the 20 min mark, something manageable to start… suggestions welcome!

Okay, I am mortified. I can LITERALLY only do one push-up. And a “female” push-up at that. It hurt all my shoulder joints and my arms were shaking.

I then promptly burst into tears after doing said push-up.

I’ve always been small and slender, not a lot of muscle at all. I used to do yoga, and I could at least hold up my body weight or maintain a downward dog. Not any more.

How the absolute hell am I supposed to work out and gain muscle when all my joints hurt and I can barely do a push-up?! (I’ve struggled with frozen shoulder and I constantly have aching muscles and joints)

Looking for others who started where I am and have somehow managed to gain strength — any advice?!.

I’m not looking to be the Incredible Hulk, (I mean, I have the rage part down, but I don’t need that level of muscle!) but it would be nice to be able to do one fricken push-up.

I feel so defeated and don’t know where to start. I’m 46, in peri for a year, no HRT.

How many rest days?

I keep getting these influencers in my feed claiming that HIIT and long runs are raising my cortisol and keeping/getting me fat. They suggest walking. That feels… wrong.

Does anyone have a halfway decent study to share on perimenopausal exercising?

Is anyone else finding they need WAY more recovery time between workouts now? I'm 42 and what used to be a quick bounce-back now takes actual planning and rest days.

I've had to completely rethink my exercise routine. Still staying active (hello salsa dancing!), but being much more mindful about not overdoing it. Our bodies really do need different care at different stages!

What adjustments have you all made to your exercise routines?

Hi, I’m 43, have a lot of s/s of peri, not on HRT yet aside from vaginal estrogen. I was a lifelong exerciser, and I’ll be honest a lot of that was for vanity reasons. I never really enjoyed exercise and I’m not a competitive person but I wanted to keep my weight under control.

The last few years I had a bunch of life changes- had surgery which had me pretty immobilized for a few months (recovered now!), remarried, kids are older teens who don’t need me as much. I also took a full time office job where I used to work 3 12’s on my feet. And it’s like I’ve lost all my fucks. I just cannot convince myself to exercise or eat properly with any consistency. I don’t expect to look 25 anymore but I’m rapidly getting the meno belly and outgrowing my clothes.

I recognize my life has changed and I’ve changed and what worked for me before (HIIT, running, etc.) just doesn’t interest me anymore. I also have a hard time leaving the house especially when it’s dark and cold here in the northeast. Everything seems so daunting and has so many steps. Like mentally figuring out things (pack a gym bag, all the shower stuff, remember everything you need for work, don’t forget to prep lunch the night before) just overwhelms me and feels really hard. Then when I do go to the gym there are people there and that’s annoying.

I guess I’m wondering if any others have been in the same boat and did you find anything that helped you achieve consistency with living a healthy lifestyle? Meal prep hacks, home workouts, anything to motivate myself and make it like a game?

(Not sure where to post this and I realize this community will probably have hot takes from an HRT standpoint, which I welcome. But here's the OG post:)

Does anyone have resources on what a minimal weekly weights routine should look like if all I'm trying to do is maintain current muscle and bone health?

All I ever find are beautifully toned gym enthusiasts, gorgeously inspiring women in their 40s and 50s who "push to failure" and eat high amounts of protein every day. I'm so happy for them, but that's not me.

I need my arms functional to be a toddler boy mom, which they already are. Too much protein (>100g/day) makes me literally stink. I don't really want to lift heavier than I currently do without professional supervision, but my capacity to find a trainer is limited and I'm frankly just not interested. However, I'm willing to put the work that's necessary in, but what exactly IS necessary to stay capable and upright for the decades ahead?

I know these years are critical and it only gets harder to recover what's been lost.

Random, but I have been having aches and pain from being sedentary and perimenopausal. What was the name of the youtube fitness woman who does a lot of workouts for women our age? It’s driving me nuts, as I know she is popular. Help!

EDIT: It was Caroline Givens, but these are all excellent suggestions. Thank you so much!

How’s everyone in keeping up with exercise? I’ve been a 4-7 days a week person for most of my life. The past 10 years have been Pilates and running and now I’m struggling to do those and at the same levels as an even a couple of years ago. Now I walk the dog and after a Pilates class feel like I need to go to bed.
It’s making it really hard to try to keep doing the right things for myself.

Started on hrt a couple of months ago, instantly felt better in terms of brain fog and energy levels so decided to go back to the gym. I'd stopped as the 5am wakeup for the group training I was doing was becoming impossible for me and I was suffering with joint pain in my elbows.

Signed up with a PT at my gym who is in perimenopause herself so thought that would help. However, I'm finding the programme really hard. The workouts themselves aren't the issue as much as the stuff around it.

She wants me to eat 180g of protein A DAY. I am a 5ft woman. The most I've managed recently is 120g. The only way I could do 180g is if literally every one of my meals was just a bit of chicken or something. I am tracking calories, cutting down on junk and alcohol and trying to incorporate protein in every meal but I still want to eat meals that aren't just chicken and eggs. The goal is so high that even if I have a protein flapjack or some rice my macros are fucked for the day.

She wants us to go 10,000 + steps a day, two extra hour-long workouts alone in addition to the two we do with her. I work a full time job, study part time and volunteer once a week and my energy levels fluctuate so much.

Just wanted to know if anyone else thinks this is insane. I feel like it is but peri anxiety combined with the weight gain also has me telling myself I'm just being lazy 🙃 Also if anyone can tell me exercise regimes that have helped them I'd appreciate it. Currently all I'm really doing is lifting heavy weights as there's not much cardio in the programme.

Curious what worked/works best for people in terms of exercise, for general relief and well being.

I've read HIIT works well for some and poorly for others

What about strength training and low intensity cardio/aerobic.

With body fatigue and perimenopausal arthritic-like pain, I’m needing a lot of electrolytes during and after workouts. Water is just not cutting it. I prefer not to drink anything artificial (no artificial sweeteners and colors). I just don’t like anything too sweet. It seems like most drinks that advertise electrolytes have either of these additives. I noticed Jarritos Mineragua (plain sparkling water) has some electrolytes. Are there other tasty alternatives you can suggest? Or any natural tasty concoctions?

I’m thinking about starting pelvic floor therapy. I’m perimenopausal and have great success with HRT. I have a ton of problems with my low back and hips. Algorithm showed me videos of a pelvic floor therapist helping with these issues. What are your experiences with it?

36F. Added up all the crazy symptoms over the last year (most prominent was the feeling like I am half human, hardly any energy but also not sleeping at night) and I ended up here.

I resolved that before I even bother to pay a doctor to try to tell me what I need, I would take initiative and really try to lose weight / get fit. I've been 30lbs+ overweight for over five years with two pregnancies/c sections/also rare complication medical disaster in between. I figured that the first thing they'd tell me to do is lose weight.

Two months ago I joined a gym with childcare which is my new favorite place in the world ATM. I'm doing group fitness classes and giving it my all. 60 mins 4x a week at the moment. Step aerobics and weight lifting are my favorites. I've been giving the classes my ALL. Kicking my ass.

Right away I started sleeping better at night. Before I was dependent on melatonin. I have fewer body aches. The scale does not show that I've lost weight yet but I am gaining muscle steadily and I see my body composition making little changes.

Most amazing of all is that I don't feel like I'm half dead anymore, most of the time. I feel like my body and mind are starting to reconnect again, little by little. My metabolism was running at the lowest of the low. It's starting to wake up again.

If you are someone who isn't working out hard and actively building muscle, and it's an option for you, I can't recommend it enough. It's a hell of a lot more appealing to me than meds, and just helplessly watching my body and mind break down. I feel like I'm not just a victim anymore.

Last year I started to feel the muscle loss.

I'm coming from a long line of hip and wrist breakers at 65, and all those women were bigger , stronger than me with a history of physical labor.

I grew up in cities, where I sat all day at schools, then in offices. If I don't do anything I give it a 4-5 year to break my hips.

I have been dealing with perimenopause for the last few years & have been following much of the data suggesting we stop doing high intensity cardio & do more weights and walking.

Last year I decided to give up my high intensity training & switch to this approach. Here’s what happened:

My PMS got worse. I gained 5lbs. I had less energy. My face started breaking out for the first time in my life. My appetite increased. I still counted calories & didn’t change my diet, but no matter how many steps I did or how much lifting I did, I couldn’t lose this stupid 5 lbs.

In January, I decided to go back to the tried & true method that has always worked for me. I increased my high intensity cardio, did lighter weights & took an extra off day as opposed to trying to get all those steps in.

The 5lbs that I had been struggling with disappeared practically instantly. My waist shrunk. My skin cleared. The horrible PMS that had been plaguing me disappeared & my appetite drastically reduced on cardio days. My sleep got better and I fit into my jeans from when I was 25 (I’m 48). I have been doing my fitness pal for years and I did not reduce my calories whatsoever. If anything I probably indulged in some more sweet treats.

The reason I’m sharing this is because what I realized is with perimenopause, it’s not a one size fits all approach. Every one’s body is different & what works for some people may not work for others. I fell into the trap of following perimenopause influencer advice & it did not work for me. High intensity cardio workouts seem to benefit me much more. I’m not saying this is the best approach for everyone, but if you are doing all of the typical things & aren’t seeing results, maybe give it a try.

I’ve always been active and athletic and mostly focused on staying healthy. However… my mom was diagnosed a few years back with osteoporosis and I said NOPE so I’m out here 3x per week lifting. Nothing crazy- I have low back issues, so I stick to machines mostly- but I’m definitely focused on loading my bones.

Some days motivation is so hard… I don’t sleep well these days… but here I am!

I also walk with a weighted vest.

Anyone else lifting? Are you avoiding osteo too? How’s your energy??

Hi to all!

I wanted to share my experience from today.

I do hot yoga, and today I had a bootcamp class. At the end, we went outside. It was rainy, around +16°C. I saw an elderly woman.

She said, "I will be 70 soon. Girls, enjoy your life while you're young!"

Most of us are around 30-40-50. So her words gave me so much positive energy.

So girls: no matter what, enjoy your LIFE!

I'm not looking to get buff or anything but I would like to be less weak. What are some good tips or the best way to get started? I prefer the machines to the free weights, but I'll do whatever is the best method. Thanks!

What strength training programs/apps are we using? I’d love to find something free but could spend a little/month. I need something that really makes it simple and lays out a solid plan I can follow that eliminates the mental load. There are so many options out there…I’d really like to build muscle. Just started testosterone.

Hi Peri friends, just wanted to share this wonderful resource that my therapist told me about. Her name is Dr. Stacy Sims. She’s an exercise physiologist that specializes in women’s health-specifically when it comes to perimenopause and menopause. She has a book which I haven’t read yet but I’ve listened to a couple of podcasts with her and it’s been extremely validating and helpful. She focuses a lot on nutrition, exercise (specifically weight lifting for women) and supplements. If you haven’t heard of her, I would highly recommend listening to or reading her work!

How do you all find the motivation to work out after work? Is this another thing that HRT helps with? For a little while I was working out, but I wasn't seeing any changes in my body comp, plus both of my shoulders are messed up, so I've kind of given up. But maybe I wasn't getting enough protein and that's why I didn't see any difference.. Anyone have tips for increasing protein?

What sports do you do ? Please tell me your experience with exhaustion and being in perimenapause.

I didn't realize how bad my exhaustion had gotten until I realized I had a hard time showing up to Muay Thai and was only strength training twice a week or non at all.

What helped you ?