Movement Snacks: Do women really need to exercise differently as we age?
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Hey Reader, Should women train differently as they age? There are a lot of people in the health and fitness space trying to answer this question and many of them say, "yes! Women do need to workout differently as they age!" Here's one thing you should know about this kind of message: A lot of health and fitness language is marketing. It's designed to get your attention and ideally to get you to consider working with the person sharing it. And sometimes people need to see something geared toward them in order to feel like they can take action. The problem is that some of these fitness pros lean into the language too hard and don't clarify that it's largely marketing. But here's the truth: No. Women do not need to train differently as they age. But women should still be moving their bodies regularly and strength training is a super important part of that in order to mitigate the impacts of aging in our bodies. This leads me to my movement snack for the week. I created a poll on my YouTube channel not too long ago, asking folks what they wanted to see more of and the top result was "Movement practices geared toward perimenopause and menopause." (You can see the full poll results here) I get why this is the result. Women want to see practices that appear to be created for them, particularly at a stage in life in which we are largely ignored, dismissed, and quite honestly, mocked. So I created the first in a series I'm calling Midlife Muscles -- workouts for women in perimenopause and beyond. The truth is, it's not different from what I would share with a woman in her 20's or 30's. It's a simple workout with 2 compound exercises: deadlifts and a kneeling overhead press. The goal is to build strength, so you repeat each exercise 3x. And ideally, this would be a great, quick practice (it takes 12 minutes total) to add to what is likely an already pretty packed schedule. You can watch it here: Now I know I said that stuff like this primarily marketing and I meant it. In fact, I address this very thing within the first 30 seconds of the video. Sometimes we need the right language to make people feel like they're in the right place so we can give them the support they need -- even if it's not different than what we'd do with someone else. All that said, if you want to do more practices like this, there are 2 ways to do that. The first is to join me in my online studio, MOVE with Naomi. The intention of my studio is to make movement, but strength training in particular, more accessible for women. And my particular focus is on working with women in perimenopause because that's where I am in life and consistent movement is one of the very best things I can do to keep my aging body healthy. If you want to join me in MOVE, there are 3 options for membership: MOVE15, which focuses on classes less than 20 minutes long, including 2 live classes each week that are quick movement breaks (just 15 minutes long). MOVE, which offers a monthly calendar to follow along with, as well as live 30 minutes classes and everything else you have access to in MOVE 15 (and an archive of 30 minute classes). MOVE Plus, which focuses on more individualized support. I create a personalized movement program every month for you, based on your needs. I also offer a higher level of accountability -- you can text me when you've completed a practice or do weekly check-ins. Read a little more about MOVE and get started here. As a bonus, in March we're doing a guided daily movement program, so if you like getting daily support and accountability to keep you moving more consistently, join today! That's it from me for now. Thanks for being a part of my community this year. I am so grateful for you. Warmly, Naomi Want to stay in touch during the week? Here are a 2 easy ways: Follow me on Instagram, where I share movement inspiration 3x a week as acts of resistance, connection, and strength. Follow me on substack, where I write about the intersection of movement, motherhood, and the culture that we are all moving through. Or better yet, subscribe so you have immediate access to regular essays, including my most recent substack. I wrote about how Kid Rock is a fitness influencer now. Which is really weird. You can read that here. There are many ways to support my writing on substack, which focuses on women's health and motherhood during perimenopause through an anti-diet and pro-science lens: 😍 Become a free subscriber I also had an article published on the Fit Bottomed Girls platform about how my relationship with my body and with food changed as a result of lifting heavy weights. You can read it here. |