Why Fitness Classes May Be Slowing Your Fat Loss During Perimenopause In this episode, Brooke Davis discusses why group fitness classes may not be effective for perimenopause weight loss, especially for women going through this stage. She highlights three main reasons: lack of personalization, misaligned training focus, and ignoring nutrition. Brooke provides strategies and tips for working around these issues and optimizing workouts for fat loss during perimenopause.
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Contents
Welcome to the Fitness Simplified podcast. I’m Brooke Davis, Women’s Functional Nutritionist and Fitness Specialist with Elysian Women’s Wellness, and I’m here to simplify your fitness. Hey everyone, welcome back to the Fitness Simplified podcast.
I’m Brooke Davis, Functional Nutritionist and Women’s Fitness Specialist with Elysian Women’s Wellness. Today’s episode is one that I think will really resonate, especially for women going through perimenopause weight loss. We’re going to talk about a topic that I know a lot of women struggle with. Why your group fitness class could actually be keeping you from losing fat.
I know, it’s very sad. I know many of you love your group workouts, whether that is Boot Camp, Orange Theory, Spin, Body Pump, or even something like CrossFit. If you’re struggling with fat loss, especially around the belly, it might be because these classes aren’t serving you, or your body in the way that it needs or even in the way that they used to.
As you enter perimenopause, if you’re going through it, you’re very familiar with it. Your body goes through some serious hormonal changes. These changes ultimately affect the way you burn fat, store fat, and recover from exercise. I’m going to break down the three reasons why your group class might be working against your fat loss goals.
And, of course, I’m going to give you some strategies, actionable tips, to make sure that you can work around that and get to be where your workouts are helping you, not hurting you, so that you can see the results that you want. Let’s dive in. The first issue with group fitness classes is that they target a broad audience and often fail to provide individualization or guidance on overall training structure beyond the class itself.
This can be tough for anyone who falls outside the norm in terms of ability to handle the of the class. So you go to class, you do your class, they make it as hard as they can for that hour, but they’re not asking you and they don’t know what you’re doing the other six days a week or what you’re even doing when you leave that class. This becomes a consideration, especially in perimenopause, because during this phase, your hormones, estrogen, and progesterone are starting to fluctuate.
And this can affect how your body responds to exercise and to stress in general. So, for example, as estrogen declines, the body tends to store more fat around the belly, which does impact your metabolism, causing it to slow down. And then at the same time, you are more sensitive to stress.
And a lot of that stress could come from these frequent, intense workouts, especially if your nutrition is not on point. So, the problem with these group classes is that they’re not looking at all of these aspects for each person, for you. So, you might be doing the same workout as the 25-year-old next to you, but what works for her may not work for you.
She might be able to handle going to that group class four or five days a week, where it might be better for you to only go to one or two. But of course, they want you there as much as possible, so they likely wouldn’t tell you that.
Your body needs a more individualized approach, one that considers your hormonal changes, energy, stress levels, as well as your recovery needs in this current phase of life. Unfortunately, along with all of this, these classes focus mostly on high intensity cardio, which can actually raise your cortisol levels. That’s not inherently bad, as long as they’re decreasing outside of that class, as long as they are re-regulating.
But here’s the kicker: when your cortisol is elevated for too long, it causes your body to hold on to fat, especially around the belly. And it’s even more problematic when you’re in perimenopause, because your body is already more sensitive to stress due to those hormonal fluctuations.
And because of the fluctuations in estrogen, you are more likely to be gaining that belly fat. So those are all just kind of insults to injury when it comes to the hormonal fluctuations already occurring, and then the extra stress on the body. So, this is not to say that you shouldn’t do high intensity cardio.
Cardio is great. It is good for you. You need it, even high intensity, as long as your body is in a place to handle it.
So again, very individual. But these group classes are designed to get your heart rate up and make you sweat, because they realize that this is what a lot of people think constitutes a good workout, which is not true. So along with that, that intense go-go-go mentality can often work against you.
I’m going to put a caveat here about CrossFit, because when you have a good coach and a well-designed program, it can be really beneficial, because it’s not all high intensity, low weight work. But even CrossFit for any more than 3 to 4 days per week will likely be too much, especially through perimenopause or for anyone struggling with hormonal irregularities or anyone struggling with cortisol dysregulation. So, what can you do? You love your group class; you don’t want to give it up. And maybe you’re really not even sure how to exercise. First of all, if the class is something you enjoy, then by all means, continue.
I know there’s a big social aspect to it, your friends are there, etc. It’s fun, but I wouldn’t suggest that anyone go to a group bootcamp class, cardio classes like Orange Theory, F45, we have a local Ace Force, more than three times a week. Two is good for most people, but in extreme cases, your body might be really burnt out and you might need to just say goodbye to it for a little bit, which you know can be hard to do.
Secondly, listen to your body. If you are completely gassed after each class, you wake up exhausted, you want to take a nap in the middle of the day, your belly fat is increasing despite your efforts, you likely shouldn’t be doing more than one to two high intensity classes per week, if any. It sounds like your adrenals could probably use more support and you could use more nourishment and less stress in your life versus a bunch of those high intensity activities.
If you’re not sure what else to do for your training, start with the machines at the gym, two to three days a week. Every gym has someone who can show you how to work them if you’re not familiar with them. Go for 30 minutes, lift each machine, do a full body for two to three sets, eight to 10 reps, as heavy as you can with good form.
If you don’t have a membership, start with bodyweight strength circuits, things like pushups, lunges, squats are a great start. I have a free beginner strength guide that I will link in the show notes with a plan for gym and home in it. But the beauty of strength training work is that it doesn’t have to be complicated, it doesn’t have to be long.
There are a few things you want to make sure and implement, which we’re going to get into for number two. But during perimenopause especially, strength training becomes incredibly important because it helps you build muscle, of course, which in turn supports your metabolism and improves your bone density, improves your mood. Ultimately, it sets you up for a longer, higher quality of life.
The old misconception of “fat is crying” is completely inaccurate. You don’t need to kill yourself to see fat loss. You need to be in a caloric deficit and support your body for optimal hormones.
But most of those group classes focus more on cardio than on strength, leaving you without the muscle-building benefits that are so essential for fat loss at this stage of life. So, you need to find something that is not designed to just get your heart rate up if you are not willing, able to invest the money for a personalized plan.
We do have a lower tier online training plan that I don’t generally market publicly because it’s not honestly what most people need. But if I can toot my own horn here for a minute, the programming is great, and there are multiple options that we can help you tailor to your needs. So, if you’re interested in learning more about that, I will put a link in the show notes.
Yoga and traditional Pilates are okay. Again, in this case, potentially better than your cardio class if you are struggling with that hormone dysregulation, feeling exhausted and not getting enough recovery. But they really miss the mark when it comes to strength training.
You’re not going to get the same benefits. Reformer Pilates is a better option if you have access to it. But again, it doesn’t quite check all the boxes.
So outside of that, of course, you can hire a coach who has experience working with women in perimenopause to help you build a plan completely tailored to you, which is what we specialize in. Moving on to reason number two. When I ask women if they’re strength training, they’ll say, “yeah, I go to this class” and I immediately make this face like David off of Schitt’s Creek, which if you’re watching the video, you know.
So let me clarify. Simply because weights are involved does not make it strength training. I am going to have a full podcast coming out on program design specifically, but I do currently have one on the best kinds of exercise for women over 40, which you can go listen to.
That being said, strength training can consist of a few things, but specifically for muscle building and promoting metabolic upregulation, getting the bone density benefits and improving your longevity and quality of life, we’re looking at low reps and high weight or heavy for you. There was a study done and the greatest benefits were seen with weight of 75% or more of the participant’s one rep max for 6 to 10 reps with compound movements over the course of the study. So, a one rep max, again, that is found based on your capacity of how much weight you can move and then you take percentages of that.
I was getting really into the nitty gritty, but basically, make it hard. Using exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench press, pull ups, rows, those are going to be the most bang for your buck exercises to implement with heavier weights. The other most important concept, this is really what number two is, that needs to be applied to make strength training effective is progressive overload.
This is the increasing of weight reps or time under tension, basically a systematic increase in stress that the body can adapt to. This is what your group class is missing, which means you adapt to the weights you grab week after week, the same ones. So, while you may see an initial increase in muscle mass, you’ll be sore, that can also be attributed to what’s called “newbie gains” or the fact that it’s actually easier for beginner lifters to build muscle purely based on neurological adaptations.
But unless you are aware of progressive overload and intentionally trying to lift heavier, that system is not in place in that group. Often even in CrossFit, participants aren’t keeping track of the weights they’re using for various lifts and thus don’t really see progress with them. The other issue with CrossFit and the like is that exercises are kind of random.
You might do a lift one week and not see it again for another four weeks, which makes it really difficult to improve on and progress and use progressive overload. This can slow if not stall your results completely and limit the success you see in your attempts at body recomposition, so if you insist on using your group class as strength training, try to slow it down.
Take some rests in between your sets and really work to use heavier weights at least every few weeks. If you can keep track of it, bonus points. Now on to number three, which is most important.
The third reason your group class might be keeping you from losing fat is that it doesn’t address the key component of fat loss, which is nutrition. And this becomes even more important during perimenopause. You’ve probably heard this, but you cannot outwork a bad diet.
And that becomes even more true after 40. During perimenopause, due to the reduction of estrogen in the body, you actually become more insulin resistant, meaning you don’t handle carbs as efficiently as you once did. So you might find that after your hard workout, you’re super hungry and you’re going for those quick carbs or snacks that are really easy to overeat, but are also then going to cause a blood sugar spike that your body cannot necessarily handle.
This can cause a real roller coaster of cravings, energy, and even your mood, which then can impact what you reach for next. Another problem is that a lot of people actually overestimate how many calories they burn in a class or they’re paying attention to their watches, and they end up eating more than their body needs, which can also stop fat loss in its tracks. In addition to that, you are also likely not tracking your food, getting enough protein or fiber, and you’re probably trying to be good by not eating carbs of any kind, which puts you not eating enough and adding to that stress on your body that we talked about earlier.
It’s really the perfect storm for a weight loss plateau. If you haven’t listened to my last podcast on why low carb makes menopause worse, that will be your next stop. Menopausal nutrition does require a lot more attention to detail than when you were young.
You have less margin for error as your body is already working so hard to get back to homeostasis with those hormonal fluctuations that it really can’t handle much more. We need to give it enough of the right things to support your hormone production and your activity, but not too much that it hangs on to the extra. Baseline, you want to focus on nutrient-dense whole foods, lots of vegetables, proteins, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates.
Four food rules that I think are always really great to keep in mind are one, protein at every meal, two, half your plate in veggies or fruit, three, don’t eat naked carbs. Whatever kind of carbs you eat, I absolutely eat carbs, but make sure that they’re paired with a fat and a fiber. Ideally, this is where the appetizer salad came in.
While it does occupy you while you wait for your meal, there’s actually some science behind it. When you eat that fiber and that fat prior to your meal, it slows the digestion of the pasta that you eat after that. Italians really did know what they were doing when it came to that, and that is partially why that culture can eat pasta and still have the health markers that they do.
Then number four is to go on a short walk after every meal. You can just stand up, walk around for a few minutes. Squats are also another beneficial thing to do after eating, but this will help you regulate your blood sugar and help you get your steps in.
I also have a whole podcast on really specific strategies for nutrition and menopause if you feel like that’s your biggest struggle and you want to dive into that more, but those few things are kind of some, again, general rules to keep in mind as you are navigating nutrition.
To recap, three main reasons why your group class might actually be keeping you from losing fat, especially if you’re going through perimenopause. Number one is the lack of personalization.
It’s not designed for the hormonal changes that you’re going through, the stress that’s on your body. You might need a more tailored approach or to just kind of take your own route. Number two, misaligned training focus.
So, too much cardio and not enough emphasis on progressive overload with strength training. That just means that I don’t want to say you’re wasting your time because any exercise is great, but you’re definitely not optimizing your time and you’re definitely not strength training. Then number three, ignoring nutrition.
Without the right nutrition approach, your workouts are not going to give you the fat loss results that you’re looking for. I know this is a tough pill to swallow for a lot of women, but I can tell you I’ve had many, many clients who come to me as bootcamp class diehards. When they start working with us and training the way that their body needs, fueling the way that their body needs, it’s actually fascinating how quickly they see the changes they want, the improvements in their hormones, in their blood labs, and honestly, with a lot less effort.
Remember, it’s not about working harder, it’s about working smarter and ultimately aligning your fitness routine with the changes happening in your body. Group classes can be fun, but you need to balance them with a plan that fits your needs. If you want to learn more about how to create a workout and a nutrition plan that actually works with your body in perimenopause, we’re here to help.
Reach out and we can talk about how you can build a sustainable fat loss plan for you. I will drop the link to a no-pressure discovery call in the show notes. And remember, you deserve a fitness routine that makes you feel strong, healthy, and confident at every stage of life.
If you have any questions, suggestions for future topics, or just want to chat, feel free to reach out to us on Instagram at Brooke underscore Elysian and Facebook linked in the show notes or via our website ElysianWomensWellness.com. And if you enjoyed what you heard today, we’d be thrilled if you could take a half second to leave us a five-star review. Not only will you be helping others find our show, but you’ll also be entered into our monthly $100 giveaway for no reviews. New episodes drop every Monday, so make sure to hit that subscribe button and stay tuned for more.
Thanks for listening. See you soon!
Coach Brooke Davis Links:
Website: bdavistraining.com
LinkedIn: Brooke Davis – Owner – Davis Fitness
Facebook: Brooke Davis, CPT
Instagram: Brooke Davis (@brooke_elysian)
Free Community: Women’s Fitness Simplified: Lean down, tone up, build confidence!
Strength 101 Guide: https://elysianwomen.myflodesk.com/i0q61klkdb
Learn more about my Level Up Program: https://scheduler.zoom.us/brooke-davis-mjzn71/discovery-call
Book a Discovery Call: https://scheduler.zoom.us/brooke-davis-mjzn71/discovery-call
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