Personal trainer Lindsay Duggan from YOUR Personal Training explains how functional strength training reduces joint stiffness
Strength training boasts big benefits for menopausal women. Science shows that it can help offset decreasing oestrogen levels to maintain bone health through loading the spine with resistance. Further studies have linked strength training to improved weight management, better sleep and mental health among menopausal women, and even reduced the frequency of hot flushes.
There is, however, one type of strength training that reigns supreme, and that is functional resistance work. ‘Functional strength training combines resistance and balance work to enhance mobility, co-ordination and bone strength,’ explains personal trainer Lindsay Duggan from YOUR Personal Training. ‘For perimenopausal women, this can improve everyday movement patterns, reduce injury risk, and alleviate symptoms such as joint stiffness.’
It’s fortunate, then, that Duggan has put together this workout for perimenopausal and menopausal women. It alternates between lower- and upper-body exercises to promote blood flow and recovery. Perform the exercises one after another in a circuit format, completing 3-4 rounds and taking 1-2 minutes of rest between circuits. Let’s go!
Goblet squats
Reps: 10
Strengthens the lower body and core, encouraging hip and spine stability
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold a kettlebell in both hands in front of your chest, elbows pointing toward the floor.
- Bend your knees and push your hips back to lower into a squat.
- Stand back up and repeat.
Barbell Shoulder Press
Reps: 10
Builds upper-body strength and improves bone density in the shoulders and arms
- Place a barbell in the rack at chest height. Hold with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, then unrack it with hands near or resting on your front shoulders and elbows down.
- Standing tall, engage your abs and squeeze your thighs and glutes to keep the rest of your body stable.
- Press the barbell from your shoulders until your arms are straight, squeeze your thighs and glutes to keep the rest of your body stable.
- Slowly lower the weight back to the starting point, then repeat.
Give high-intensity functional training a go
Single-Leg Deadlifts (with or without weights)
Reps: 8 (per leg)
Improves balance and strengthens the hips, hamstrings and lower back
- Hold a pair of kettlebells or dumbbells with an overhand grip at arm’s length to the sides of your thighs, feet shoulder-width apart and knees unlocked.
- Raise your left leg behind you as you hinge forward from the hips until your torso is parallel to the floor.
- Pause, then squeeze your glutes and thrust your hips forward to return to standing. Repeat, then switch sides.
Chest press (on a bench or floor)
Reps: 8-10
Encourages upper-body strength and supports bone health in the arms and chest
- Lie on a bench or on your back with knees bent. Hold a dumbbell horizontally in each hand and bend your elbows at 90 degrees, keeping them in line with your shoulders. Your forearms are vertical to the floor with your knuckles pointing upwards.
- Push the weights into the air until arms are straight.
- Lower slowly and repeat.
Plank with Shoulder Taps
Reps: 10-12 taps (per side)
Builds core strength and improves wrist stability, which supports bone health
- Start at the top of a push-up position with hands slightly-wider than shoulder-width apart and your body in a straight line.
- Brace your abs, squeeze your glutes and push through your left hand as you raise the right hand to tap the left shoulder.
- Return to high plank, then perform the same move on the other side (right hand to left shoulder). Continue alternating.
Cool down!
Do five minutes of gentle stretching, focusing on the hips, hamstrings, shoulders and back. Try the standing forward fold stretch to release hamstring tightness, while the thread the needle stretch will provide a great ‘reset’ for the shoulder muscles and spine.
Meet the expert
Lindsay Duggan is a personal trainer with a passion for building women’s strength and its benefits on physical/mental health. She has been helping clients build strength, confidence and wellbeing since 2018. She works as a freelance instructor and health facilitator. Her philosophy ‘strong body, strong mind’ drives her approach to fitness, emphasising strength, posture, mobility and mood.
