Strength Training Before and After Menopause

The mean age for menopause is 50, but some women enter perimenopause at 40 or even earlier. 

What do the hormonal changes of menopause mean for your strength training results, muscle mass, body fat levels, and quality of life?

In this episode, we discuss a major new study comparing strength training outcomes before and after menopause, and give you our recommendations for how to strength train when affected by menopause.

After that, we dive headfirst into your topic-related questions, including one about strength training through the different stages of the menstrual cycle!

Timestamps:

• 00:00 - Today's topic: Strength training before and after menopause.
• 18:30 - Question 1: According to my own study (myself vs guys I meet at the gym), I'm clearly stronger on reps than my 1RM suggests, while all guys I meet seem to be stronger on singles than reps. Is it just me being stubborn as a donkey and a coward when it gets heavy, or is it a real male/female difference?
• 21:45 - Question 2: I wonder what the science says about sex differences when it comes to relative progress? For the bench press, guys who started later than I did are progressing much faster, while I stay stuck at 2.5 kg plates. I understand that there are tons of individual factors at play, but it feels like a pattern, and I'm getting frustrated.
• 24:45 - Question 3: Is it true that higher reps and lower weights become less effective after menopause, compared to lower reps with heavier weights?
• 28:00 - Question 4: Not a question about menopause, but what about pregnancy: can you strength train pretty much like usual if you feel alright?
• 31:00 - Question 5: What about women who lift really heavy weights and pee themselves? Why does it happen, and is it more common than people think?
• 37:30 - Question 6: What does recent research say about strength training and strength levels during the different phases of the menstrual cycle? And how do female sex hormones affect strength and recovery?

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