Menopause- Why GIngerfit can help!

HIIT is particularly good for women in the menopause transition. For one, it improves insulin sensitivity and lowers fasting blood sugar levels, which is good for your overall cardiovascular and metabolic health, especially during the menopause transition when blood sugar can be harder to manage.
It also strengthens and increases the amount of your energy-producing mitochondria; increases your stroke volume (how much your blood your heart pumps per beat), improves your fat-burning capacity, and helps manage visceral (deep belly) fat, which increases during menopause.

By putting a high demand on your muscles, HIIT sends a message to your brain that you need more human growth hormone (HGH) and increases testosterone, which helps menopausal women regain the muscle mass they need for producing more power for sport and for life.
HIIT workouts can burn some serious calories in a short space of time. While this number will vary depending on factors like your weight, and what type of HIIT you are doing, you can expect to burn around 150-400 calories in 20 minutes of HIIT. And that's without the extra calories burned throughout the day!
HIIT stimulates endorphin release , Adrenalin and Serotonin which gives you that all important lift and a feeling of wellbeing and happiness, elevating the symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety

During Menopause Insulin sensitivity decreases and results in increased belly fat making core work really important. Women are hard wired anyway to store fat round the middle to protect those vital organs but more so during menopause. 

Muscle strength is decreasing too as a result of oestrogen levels dropping, including the core muscles and that pesky pelvic floor. A strong core reduces the onset and elevation of unwanted leaks. 

Plyometrics is defined as the exercises that enable a muscle to reach maximum force in a short period of time. Plyometric training is a series of explosive body weight resistance exercises using the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) of the muscle fibre to enhance physical capacity such as speed, strength, and power.
Plyometric exercises are typically jumping exercises. The act of jumping in different directions and causing impact on the bones involved is also super beneficial for bone density and remodelling. 

The drop in oestrogen levels that occurs around the time of menopause results in increased bone loss. It is estimated that, on average, women lose up to 10 per cent of their bone mass in the first five years after menopause. Unaddressed this can lead to weak bones, fractures and Osteoporosis. 
One of the best ways to increase bone mineral density, especially in your joints, is jumping. Jumps create a micro bends in the bone, thus stimulating a series of physiological reactions to strengthen that bone in response.

It’s easy to assume that walking daily and staying active for years has staved off such conditions as Osteoporosis and Arthritis. However, the skeleton becomes accustomed to activities that remain within the same band of intensity and regularity. This is called Standard Stimulus and doesn’t create a bone remodelling response. We have to create something call Novelty Stimulus where the skeleton experiences a healthy increase in stimulus in a measured controlled way. This can be done through jumping exercises or sports such as Badminton, Squash, Tennis, Jogging, Boxing or other activities that provide multi-directional impact. 

All muscle are wrapped in a net of Proteins called the Myosin Sheath. It is the most abundant muscle protein comprising 25% of the total muscle protein. It  is responsible for force, movement and powerful muscle contraction when required. It’s what makes strength and muscle development possible. 

Oestrogen plays many roles in the body including the maintenance of healthy Myosin. As oestrogen disappears we begin the feel weaker and unable to perform in daily life tasks or in the gym in the same way we use to, climbing stairs, unloading shopping, lifting weights, running or even something as simple as unscrewing a stubborn jar lid. 

We can no longer rely on oestrogen to keep our muscles firing healthily so we have to take up that shortfall by lifting heavy. 

The explosive stimulus of lifting weights shocks the muscle into contracting the way we want it to thus initiating muscle growth and development. 

Higher weights, less reps.