I’m shaking with anxiety at the top of a Spanish mountain on a beautiful sunny day; however did I get here?
We need to talk about what changes as we age and the impact of menopause.
My Journey
Although I have always been active I hated PE in school. I wasn’t interested in playing netball or hockey and my PE teachers seemed only to be interested in the ‘sporty’ girls who wanted to play in the school teams. Fortunately this didn’t put me off sport for life and I kept fit throughout my 20s and 30s by doing whatever fad exercise was available; for me that started with callanetics and moved on to step aerobics! I certainly didn’t think of myself as sporty though.
Like many people, my thirties was a busy time of parenting and working with whatever little time was left dedicated to exercise. I started running in my early thirties and didn’t take up triathlon until my late thirties, so was somewhat of a late developer!
I love eating and so have always had to work hard to maintain a healthy weight and it can get a little wearing when people tell me how lucky I am to be ‘slim’ or ‘skinny’ because weight management doesn’t come easy. Most people have to work hard to maintain a healthy weight and what you eat is the key to this. I believe you can’t out run (or swim or bike) an unhealthy diet! Focusing on nutrition and body composition, rather than weight, has been the key to my performance improvements in my late 40s & early 50s. Having a progressive training plan was also important, and when you put these things together magic can happen! During this time I managed to swim, bike and run faster than before and even qualified to represent GB at the European Sprint Tri Championships.
Prior to this I did triathlon for the love of taking part with my friends and trying to beat my previous times and was never really competitive. Until recently, I’d always been mid-pack and it was exciting to finally be coming closer to the front than the back for a change! It seems even more remarkable to me because throughout this time I was going through perimenopause and was struggling with motivation, fatigue, anxiety, muscle aches and pains (the list goes on).
Early on in perimenopause I started to feel unlike myself, very flat and on occasion extremely anxious for no apparent reason. I found myself riding up a mountain, in beautiful countryside, suddenly becoming anxious, shaky and tearful. I remember descending in tears and not knowing why. Understanding that these emotions can come from a fluctuation in hormones really helps when something similar happens again. It’s also good to know that these symptoms are phases and will pass in time.
If I hadn’t already been active and managing my nutrition I wonder how much worse these symptoms might have been! I also focused more on strength training, eating more protein and definitely scheduled myself more recovery time. For me these changes to my routine helped me manage my symptoms better.
I’ve learnt that it’s vital to try and be active doing the things that you love, whilst mixing up social & solo training sessions; it makes it much easier to motivate yourself when you enjoy what you’re doing!
How we age
Whether you are an endurance athlete or like to keep active for general well-being, you probably want to feel healthy and strong. As the years advance it can feel increasingly difficult to maintain athletic performance, let alone improve on it. It feels like the world promotes looking young above all else and tries to push everyone to keep young at all costs. The harsh truth is that from the age of 30 things are changing, such as a loss in muscle mass of between 3-8% per decade, but don’t despair all is not lost! There are plenty of things we can do throughout our 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s & 80s to keep healthy & enjoy the things we love.
Both females & males see a decline in hormones as they age. Although we describe testosterone as a male hormone and oestrogen as a female hormone the truth is that everyone has some of each, but at different levels.
For males a decline in hormones happens gradually over time, where they can exhibit a steady reduction in muscle mass, bone density & physical function. Low testosterone can lead to increased belly fat, balance problems and contribute to chronic conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea, depression and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to name a few.
For females the decline is most noticeable during perimenopause and menopause when oestrogen levels can fall off a cliff. During the first year after menopause, women lose on average 80% of their oestrogens and have an accelerated decline in muscle mass and strength. Low oestrogen may lead to osteoporosis, heart disease and dementia.
Everyone experiences a decline, males more slowly and gradually over the decades and females more suddenly with a marked change.
Perimenopause & menopause
Until very recently, menopause was rarely discussed in public, something not to question or to try and understand. Certainly not something to be spoken about openly.
Fortunately, things are improving and wherever you look there are articles highlighting the effects of perimenopause & menopause on the lives of women and those around them & strategies to help with the transition.
It’s important for everyone (not just women) to understand the very real physical and mental changes they may have to endure.
Perimenopause happens in the years leading up to menopause; menopause is defined as a moment in time when a woman has stopped having periods for 12 months. The perimenopause & menopause usually happen between the ages of 45-55.
The years approaching menopause can be daunting, but armed with good information female athletes can work with the menopause instead of trying to fight it. To be able to work with the fluctuations in hormones it’s important to acknowledge the symptoms and plan strategies for dealing with them day to day. According to Dr Stacey Sims, a leading exercise physiologist & nutrition scientist, common symptoms in perimenopause which can be very disruptive for years are (1):
- hot flushes
- night sweats
- weight gain
- heavy periods
- incontinence
- vaginal pain
- fatigue
- brain fog
- anger and awful moods
- sleep disruption
- headache & migraine
- light headedness
- muscle pain
- anxiety
- dry skin
- tingling, pins and needles in the extremities
- low libido
- burning tongue
- heart palpitations
- hair loss
- cold flashes
- tinnitus
- the list goes on…
Interventions which might help
Hormone Replacement Therapy
Being active and eating a healthy diet should help ease the symptoms but women who are already active and eating well can still experience debilitating symptoms and HRT is becoming more and more popular. There is evidence emerging that taking HRT could help prevent a number of chronic health issues in later life and help maintain:
- bone health
- heart health
- metabolic health
- skin health
- brain health e.g. a 2021 study showed that women taking HRT for 6 years or more were 79% less likely to develop Alzheimers. (2)
Nutrition
Carbohydrates, proteins & fats
Current research suggests that as athletes we should be looking at eating approximately 40% carbohydrates, 30% proteins & 30% fats.
These proportions should help keep energy levels up for workouts and daily life as well as helping to aid recovery. It’s not quite as simple as ensuring you hit this 40/30/30 balance; how much you eat and when you eat it are key to maintaining a healthy weight & to optimise performance and recovery.
The amount you eat each day will depend on several factors, such as your weight, the duration & intensity of a workout and how active you are generally. For less active days the amount eaten should be reduced.
As you age it is vital to ensure you are eating enough protein to support the extra work you put in to maintain or build muscle mass.
Recovery Days
Taking more recovery days and allowing for shorter phases of training throughout training cycles can really make a big difference. Recovery is always a key to making performance gains and you could maybe swap to a 3 weekly training cycle as opposed to a 4 weekly cycle. So, 2 weeks on and 1 week of recovery.
Adapting to Change
So, if and when you are confronted with any of these issues, don’t despair, you are not alone!
By introducing some or all of the strategies described above it is possible to adapt to the inevitable changes taking place and even possible to make performance gains as you age.
About the Author
Tina Peck holds a VTCT Level 3 Award in Nutrition for Physical Activity, plus Nutrition & Weight Management (Accredited by AFN)
Tina is an Ironman Certified Triathlon Coach, Training Peaks Certified Coach and British Triathlon Federation Diploma Qualified Coach
