The key points we must consider when looking at health, fitness, exercise and the middle aged spread in women, is the hormonal changes that we go through as we pass through the decades. I like to think of our female bodies as passing through 4 phases working in 15-year cycles. These are puberty in our late teens and early 20s, pregnancy during our 30s, peri menopausal during our 40s and then menopausal in our 50s.
As children, we females are born with more fat cells than the males: 9 billion more! These fat cells are not activated until we reach puberty, when oestrogen floods our body with sex hormones and the fat cells are activated. We clearly see the physical changes occurring in the female body and this fat gain is essential for fertility reasons. The fat tends to be stored around the hips and a healthy level of fat on the female body is 12-15%. Body composition is maintained at its peak, as long as we maintain a healthy eating and exercise routine. At 18 years old, our bone density sits at 80-90%. At 35 years, we stop adding to our bone density through diet and simply maintain it at this level. It is at this time that weight-bearing exercise is crucial in maintaining bone health.
Secondly, we must consider metabolism through the decades. Metabolism is the chemical transformation that occurs at a cellular level allowing an organism to grow and reproduce, to maintain structures and respond to the environment in which it moves. We can divide metabolism into anabolism and catabolism. Anabolic reactions are the building up of cells and body growth. This is maintained by eating good carbohydrates balanced with clean proteins and keeping energy levels up to maintain the correct building blocks. Catabolic reactions are where cells are broken down, muscle tissue wastes away. Catabolic hormones, or catecholamines include dopamine, glycogen and adrenaline. All produced during stressful or panicked times. Who, reading this article has experienced stress in the passed few months? To remain anabolic, we need to eat correctly, balance exercise with rest and maintain metabolism at a premium.
Through the decades, our changing hormones challenge our metabolism. It reduces with age, dropping by 2-3 % every decade. By the time we reach 40, our metabolism has reduced significantly, resulting in a considerable change in the way our body responds to food processing, particularly sugars and fat storage. In our fertility years we store on our hips ready to maintain pregnancy, but beyond 40, we tend to store across the abdomen. Yes, the middle aged spread!
We can indeed increase our metabolism by eating lean protein, seasonal fruit and vegetables. Metabolic boosting foods include oats, almonds, eggs, beans, spinach, salmon, sardines and green teas. We should eat an amount that satisfies us in a healthy manner. Avoid any eating plan that tends to leave us with a feeling of hunger and therefore causing us to overeat later in the day. Fatty foods will reduce our metabolism, as would alcohol.
Let us look at the decades more specifically.
Age: 20s:
1. What’s happening to your body in your 20s?
We have moved through puberty here, where our dormant female fat cells have been activated by the release of oestrogen, leaving us with at least a healthy 12-15% body fat. This is located more so around our hips to assist with fertility. Anabolism is working to develop thicker and stronger adult muscles and soft tissues. Our bone density is developing and working towards its peak. The good calcium rich foods and plenty of Vitamin D are essential right now to develop this.
2. What things should you avoid now?
Since our body is developing its fat cells, it is vital through this decade that we create a good, healthy diet of clean, fresh non-genetically modified foods. This allows us to develop the appropriate amount of good fat cells and avoid excessive fat cell maturity. The latter will simply become a hindrance later in life!
As we are now preparing developing bodies for healthy adult life, I believe that it is important that we now address our core stability. Working on the deep abdominals, diaphragm and pelvic floor muscle groups, ensuring that they work in sequence and act as a foundation of control around our skeleton in preparation for a lifetime of safe exercise execution. In our teens and sometimes our early 20s we move through some growth spurts in terms of lengthening bones. Our bone cells are laid down at a slightly faster rate than the muscle cells during this time leading to temporary periods of tightening of the long muscle groups. At these times, I encourage stretching but gently. We do not want to overstretch growing muscles vigorously, for fear of causing small micro tears that may present as a problem later in life.
To optimise our bone density, we want to eat calcium and vitamin d rich food such as broccoli, spinach, tofu, oranges, peas, salmon and sardines.
3. How to do it – what should you add/do as well as your regular fitness programme?
– 4-6 moderate aerobic sessions per week.
– 1-2 strength sessions per week. We want to work at 15 repetitions at a weight where one must work hard to achieve 12-15 reps.
4. Mistakes not to make at this age and why they work against you.
Exercise is necessary to create healthy fitness regimes that can be maintained through the decades. Set these correct movement strategies. Always make sure that you allow for appropriate rest between exercises. We really should not exercise sore muscles as this will lead to catabolism. Ensure that your core stability is efficient enough to support your skeleton through the more demanding global exercise methods.
Higher impact exercise is allowed but good shock absorbing footwear is necessary and appropriate flooring for exercise.
5. What physical checks can you do to make sure your health/weight is on track for your age?
– Molecular cell health scan by a registered exercise physiologist.
– Skin fold test.
– Complete blood test for hormonal balance assessment.
– Pap smear.
Age 30s:
1. What’s happening to your body in your 30s?
We are commonly reaching the pregnancy years at this time. Therefore there are a whole number of physiological and hormone based changes that occur through pregnancy. Our metabolism starts to slow a little. We naturally burn 100 calories less per day compared to our 20s. Priorities change as we need to focus on caring for children. We are perhaps a little more tired and have less time for ourselves. Tiredness and some stress may set in causing an increase in cortisol levels, which in turn creates increases in insulin levels and therefore sugar storage.
2. What things you should prevent now?
We start to lose muscle mass in this decade so we need to introduce weight training. We need to increase our muscle bulk, as this will also allow greater fat burning when we do exercise. We want to prevent the incidence of incontinence so let’s get onto those pelvic floor exercises girls. Be sure to be doing them often and correctly.
3. How to do it – what should you add to/do as well as your regular fitness.
– Pelvic floor muscle exercises.
– Attend specific pre and post-natal exercise classes.
– Post-natal deep abdominal work performed correctly – stability work.
– 2-3 days of interval training.
– 2-3 days of moderate to heavy weight training. This will help to increase muscle mass, which in turn allows for more efficient fat burning when you do exercise. It is also important for the maintenance of bone density.
4. Mistakes not to make at this age and why they work against you.
– You are time poor in this decade and stresses can increase. It is an important decade for you to allow some time to focus on your own health and fitness. Our body is starting to change. We are no longer the naturally fit, agile 20 something. Set the grounds for a beautiful and healthy body to continue over the next few decades, as nature works to further lower our metabolism and gravity takes hold!
– Watch your fatigue when you exercise. We do not want to push through niggles that may present as problems later on.
– Running is fine, but ensure good shoes. If you have any concerns with technique or leg or foot alignment get an assessment with a registered allied health practitioner.
– Eat breakfast – you get it ready for the children. Calorie count. Don’t keep eating their leftovers!
5. What physical checks can you do to make sure your health/weight is on track for your age?
– Pelvic floor assessment.
– Pap smear.
– Real time ultrasound assessment of the deep abdominal muscles.
– Exercise physiologist assessment (molecular cell health test, skin fold test, cardiovascular fitness, exercise program development).
Age 40s:
1. What’s happening to your body in your 40s?
The peri menopausal phase is where our oestrogen levels start to drop again. Fat storage begins to settle in the belly and therefore sits around our vital organs. We need to watch our cardiovascular health. There is a tendency for dehydration, so water intake must be kept up. Metabolism has lowered another 2-3%, so keep up with exercise and those metabolic foods. Bone density is now being drawn on through changes in our hormone levels. Some may develop the precursor to osteoporosis – osteopenia.
2. What things you should prevent now?
– Prevent osteopenia/osteoporosis – work on weight bearing exercise for bone density.
– Continue pelvic floor muscle exercises – they must never be forgotten, even if you do not feel that they are a problem. The hormone changes are coming!
– Maintain mobility and flexibility. Move it or lose it.
3. How to do it – what should you add/do as well as your regular fitness programme.
– 3-5 times per week moderate paced aerobics to work on cardiovascular fitness, reduce stress, improve sleep and reduce weight.
– 3 x per week weight bearing work, especially the large muscle groups to increase muscle- mass, which in turn results in increased fat burning.
– Strength work is important for strength and bone density.
4. Mistakes not to make at this age and why they work against you.
– The children are a little more independent. You now have some more time. Maintain the hard work that you have devoted to your body over the decades. We are never too old to exercise and feel fit and healthy.
– Continue your clean eating and water intake.
– Continue you pelvic floor work.
5. What physical checks can you do to make sure your health/weight is on track for your age?
– Breast cancer screening.
– Pap smear.
– Pelvic floor assessment.
– Bone density scans.
Age 50s:
1. What’s happening to your body in your 50s?
The menopausal phase. The pregnancy hormones have now left our body. Progesterone levels are greater than oestrogen, meaning that we may get moody and our metabolism reduces further. It also causes dehydration of all mucosal linings in our body. Bone density and muscle mass reduce further as catabolism becomes more marked. Current statistics indicates that 50% of the over 50s are osteopenic.
2. What things you should prevent now.
– Osteoporosis – weight bearing and resistance training especially into extension is important.
– Pelvic floor muscle dysfunction due to the dehydration effects of the muscles.
– Core stability work to assist with balance and coordination and to prevent falls.
– Weight gain – as metabolism and muscle mass is reduced.
3. How to do it – what should you add to/do as well as your regular fitness programme.
– Pilates for stability and mobility.
– Yoga for stretching.
– Weight bearing exercises.
– Swimming/aqua-aerobics.
– 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise per day (swim, walk, bike).
4. Mistakes not to make at this age and why they work against you.
– Respect your body and the changes that it is going through.
– Work within your limits.
– It is not an age where we stop exercising.
– Maintain good nutrition.
– We need to maintain fitness to look after our grandchildren and enjoy retired life, which may be just around the corner.
5. What physical checks can you do to make sure your health/weight is on track for your age?
– Breast cancer screening.
– Pap smears.
– Bone density scans.
– Pelvic floor assessment.
– Full blood test for nutritional/vitamin
Jen Guest
PAA Secretary
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