Healthy and Happy Hormones

A little while ago, Maggie and I sat down with Cambridge Radio to have the kind of conversation we wish someone had had with us years ago: what exercise actually helps during perimenopause and menopause, and what we've been getting wrong.

If you've ever thought "I used to run, so I'll just run more" or been told by a doctor to simply "exercise more" without any real guidance, this one's for you.

It starts earlier than you think

I was diagnosed with premature menopause at 36, which was a shock, but it also pushed me into strength training and kettlebells far earlier than most women get the chance to. And that's really the headline message: the exercise we should be doing for our hormonal health isn't something to save for our fifties. Ideally, we're building strength from our twenties and thirties, because we hit our peak bone mass around age 30-35. The higher you can get your bone density before menopause, the less far you have to fall.

At menopause, the drop in oestrogen brings with it a roughly 20% drop in bone density. It sounds alarming, and to be fair, it is worth taking seriously - but it isn't a life sentence. My own bone density actually increased over three years of regular kettlebell training, enough that my doctor moved me from annual DEXA scans to one every five years. It genuinely can be reversed, or at least significantly slowed.

Why running alone won't cut it

Running is brilliant for stress relief and cardiovascular health, but because it's a linear movement, it doesn't stimulate bone growth the way strength training does. Bone density increases when muscle contracts and pulls on the bone through traction - so squats, lunges, kettlebells, and other resistance work do something running simply can't.

Exercise is a stress on the body - a good stress, when it's managed well - but push past around 45 minutes of cardio and cortisol starts to climb. Raised cortisol breaks down bone and muscle, and it's also part of why some women exercise hard and still can't shift weight. If running is your sanity-saver (and for a lot of women, it really is), we're not saying give it up. Keep it under 45 minutes, don't do it every single day, and bring in strength training alongside it - ideally at least twice a week, with proper rest between sessions.

Muscle isn't just about strength - it's about your brain

After menopause, we can lose around 8% of muscle mass per decade. That matters for strength and balance, obviously, but there's a less well-known link too: studies suggest leg and glute strength correlates with brain neural stem cell health. In other words, working your legs isn't just about how you look or move - it may be protecting your brain as well.

The small stuff really does add up

Not everyone has time for structured training every day, and that's fine - daily movement matters just as much. Standing on one leg while you brush your teeth, doing a few squats while the kettle boils, taking the stairs five separate times instead of carrying everything in one trip. Studies show that this kind of regular movement can improve insulin sensitivity by up to 17%, which matters enormously during perimenopause and menopause, when declining oestrogen makes us more insulin resistant and more prone to storing fat. Little and often genuinely counts.

It's never too late to start

Whether you're in your twenties or your eighties, strength training still makes a difference. The earlier you start, the more bone density you can bank - but if you're only thinking about this now in your sixties or seventies, that's absolutely still worth doing. Building strength, working on balance, and simply moving more all help, at any age.

Rest, stress, and the "rushing women" trap

Menopause tends to land right when life is at its busiest - teenagers, career pressures, ageing parents, all while your hormones are doing their own thing and you're less resilient to stress than you used to be. So alongside the exercise, we talked about the importance of genuinely restful activities: yoga, mindfulness, a walk in nature, or even something as simple as spending time with an animal. Petting a pet or a proper twenty-second hug releases oxytocin, which supports the production of other key hormones, oestrogen included. It sounds small, but it isn't.

How menopause gets talked about

We also touched on something that matters to us both: while it's wonderful that menopause is finally being talked about openly, there's a flip side. It's become a trend, even a marketing tool - "menopause approved" chocolate, unproven supplements, glossy magazine covers setting an impossible standard of what a menopausal woman should look like. We'd love to see the conversation stay focused on genuine, evidence-based health rather than another ideal to live up to.

Perimenopause, menopause, postmenopause - what's the difference?

One thing that often catches people out: menopause itself is technically a single day, marked a year after your last period. Perimenopause is the transition beforehand, where hormones fluctuate wildly and most of the classic symptoms - hot flushes, night sweats, brain fog - show up. That transition can last two to five years, and it's a time to be especially nurturing towards your body through nutrition, rest, and stress management. On the other side, things do tend to settle onto a much more even keel.

Want more?

We shared a free downloadable PDF during the interview with a full weekly exercise plan - cardio kept to 45 minutes, strength training built in, and mobility work like yoga or walking. 

You can listen to the full interview with Cambridge Radio by clicking on the link below.