From Girls to Grandmas: Why Exercise Matters for Women
Exercise is a foundational part of health and function for all people, but there are some important things to think about for women in particular. Exercise can be incredibly important throughout our lives, so let’s take a look at what to consider at different ages and stages.
Childhood
When we’re very young, exercise is really more about play and unstructured activity. Physical play and activities are a way to meet developmental milestones and and start to learn how to use your body. As we get into older childhood, girls might start participating in more organized sports or performance arts like dance. Through these activities we learn more specific physical skills, proprioception (knowing where your body is in space), and build confidence in our growing bodies. Boys may culturally be funneled towards more physical activities, but girls should also get the message that their bodies are strong and capable.
Adolescence
As we get older, the exercise we do as teenagers builds activity habits that can be a foundation for adulthood. Habits start young, and doing some sort of regular exercise or physical activity as a teenager can start to solidify that as part of your life. Doing consistent exercise can also be a source of confidence during the changes of puberty. All sexes and genders have it hard in puberty, but the sprouting in breasts/hips and the start of menstruation are very big bodily changes. Having something in your life that makes you feel strong and connected to your body can be like an anchor in the storm of puberty. Aside from physical capability, dedication to a sport or performative art can be a source of real life social connection. Girls in particular seem to be susceptible to the pressures of social media, so participating in a sport or activity that fosters connection in the real world can be so beneficial.
20’s
In our 20’s we are fully adult women, and this age sets the stage for a lot of things to come. This is the decade bone mass and muscle mass peaks, so we want to build it up as much as possible with resistance exercise. This is also an important decade for solidifying physical activity habits in adulthood. As we establish things like a job, a home, a social life, making regular exercise a part of the routine will help us keep that going as we get older. Regular exercise habits now are also setting up good physical health and strength for having a child, if desired. The stronger we are as we go into pregnancy and childbirth, the better we can handle the physical load.
30’s and 40’s
In these decades we are no longer naturally building bone density and muscle mass, and we can start to lose it more easily. Exercise is incredibly important for maintaining muscle mass/bone density and preserving cardiovascular function. We can’t change biology, but if we keep training our bodies they will have a reason to keep those systems as strong as possible. Ironically, this is also one of the hardest phases to maintain an exercise program. There are lots of things in these decades that can get in the way of regular exercise: pregnancy and childbirth (see tips on gettin back to exercise postpartum HERE), raising kids, increased work responsibility, managing a home, caring for aging parents, to name just a few. This is part of why establishing regular exercise habits in our younger years makes such a difference. It’s always easier to try to keep a habit vs start a new one. But hanging onto good physical habits now will be a big help in the next phase: perimenopause and menopause.
Menopause and beyond
Exercise is one of the best things we can do for our bodies as we go through perimenopause and menopause. Estrogen has receptors all over the body and its decline produces declines in bone density, muscle mass, heart health, metabolic health, and brain health. Bone and heart health in particular have some striking changes. Bone density has steep drop off after menopause, and risk of fracture increases. Before menopause, women tend to have a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease compared to men. After menopause, women’s risk of cardiovascular disease increases to the same level as men’s. Exercise is one way of improving health in all of these systems. We can maintain muscle mass and minimize bone density loss, as well as improve metabolic function and preserve brain health. The mix of exercise is particularly important, needing to include resistance training, some degree of weight-bearing exercise for bone density, and balance. Read more about perimenopause and menopause HERE and HERE.
At All Ages and Stages, Move your Body!
Any number of activities can be good exercise, but ideally have some mix of:
-strength training
-cardio
-flexibility
-balance/proprioception
But if in doubt, just do something you enjoy that moves your body. Something is always better than nothing, and no movement is too small to count. If you have pain or physical limitations, or just don’t know where to start, get in touch with a physical therapist like me!