Exercise is an Excellent Option to Help with Muscle Loss Due to Loss of Female Hormones

Loss of Female Hormones Leads to Muscle Loss Tuesday, February 9, 2010 by Susan Lark Declines in muscle mass and physical strength are common effects of menopause. The drop in female hormones at menopause, particularly estrogen, doesn’t just increase body fat; it also diminishes the strength and size of muscles. This muscle loss boosts the risk for a separate set of conditions, including insulin resistance, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and traumatic injuries caused by loss of strength and athleticism. So, it’s incredibly important that menopausal women hold on to the muscle they have and, ideally, gain back the muscle they’ve already lost. To build muscle in your postmenopausal years, you must add weight training and/or resistance exercises to your natural weight loss plan and workout routine. But lifting weights is not your only option. Studies show that aquatic resistance training and using a whole-body vibration device are both excellent options. I wrote about these suggestions in great detail in the December 2009 issue of my newsletter, Women’s Wellness Today. For more information on this topic, you can subscribe and gain access to years of back issues, including this one.

• Published by connie on February 15th, 2010 in Health & Wellness.
• 2 Comments
• estrogen, exercise, hormones, menopause, muscle building, muscles, weight loss, weight training, whole body vibration