You’re not broken. You’re not fragile. You’re evolving—and your training should too.
Let’s Get Real About Menopause and Running
I didn’t read about menopause in a textbook—I lived it. Surgical menopause at 38. No runway. No soft landing. Just bam, welcome to your new body. As a coach and athlete, I had to figure it out without the roadmap. And you know what I found?
The default advice is either wildly outdated, overly cutesy, or completely dismissive.
“Just keep moving.”
“Exercise helps!”
“Walk more.”
...while you're standing there with night sweats, plummeting pace, a resting heart rate that suddenly lives in the 80s, and a recovery curve that feels like it aged 30 years overnight.
Let me be blunt: most of what’s out there for menopausal athletes is condescending, incomplete, or straight-up irrelevant.
The Truth: Your Body is Changing. So Should Your Training.
You’re not imagining it.
Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone—those hormonal shifts hit everything:
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Muscle loss (hello, noodle arms)
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Higher injury risk (especially tendons)
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Mood swings and sleep disruption
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Slower recovery and higher perceived effort
It’s not that your body betrayed you. It’s that the system wasn’t designed to support athletes in this phase.
So we disrupt the damn system.
Here's the New Playbook for the Disruptor Athlete
1. Easy Runs Aren’t Weak—They’re Strategic
If you were conditioned to think every run needs to be “hard to count,” toss that nonsense in the garbage. Your nervous system doesn’t care about your ego. In perimenopause and beyond, easy runs help regulate cortisol, preserve muscle, and support recovery. This isn’t backing off. This is high-level programming.
2. Strength Training Isn’t Optional Anymore
I’ll say it louder for the people in the back: If you’re not lifting, you’re losing.
We don’t build strength with vibes—we build it with progressive overload.
Two to three sessions a week. Push, pull, hinge, squat. Not the 5lb pink dumbbells. Real lifts. And yes, you can still run while building strength.
3. Hills and Plyos = Your Fountain of Youth
Think your speed days are behind you? Nah. Your fast-twitch muscle fibers just need a reason to show up again. Short hill sprints. Bounding. Plyo. You don’t have to go full CrossFit Games, but these movements keep your stride snappy and your insulin sensitivity sharp. And they build resilience—not fragility.
4. Fuel Like You Give a Damn
You’re not a calorie bank—you’re a recovery machine.
This is not the season to under-eat carbs or skip protein. You want strong bones, muscle, energy, and mood? That starts in the kitchen. Most of you need more protein than you think. And if you’re still underfeeding because of some “clean eating” baggage or diet culture whisper, we need to talk.
5. Mobility is Maintenance, Not a Side Quest
Mobility is where your joints cash the checks your training writes. As estrogen declines, joint support weakens. Mobility work isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s a damn pillar. Hips, shoulders, spine—do the work now, or pay for it later.
6. You’re Allowed to Rest
Rest isn’t a reward for good behavior. It’s part of the plan. The hustle isn’t the flex—longevity is. Your ability to recover will determine your ability to keep performing. One run doesn’t define you. One missed workout isn’t failure. You are not here to grind yourself into dust to prove worthiness.
What This Actually Looks Like Week to Week
Here's a sample framework I often build off when coaching Masters and menopausal athletes:
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| Monday | Short easy run (zone 2 focus) |
| Tuesday | Speed (Can stack Strength here too) |
| Wednesday | Full body strength training |
| Thursday | Moderate length run + strides |
| Friday | Rest day |
| Saturday | Long run or Long Run Workout |
| Sunday | Full body strength training |
Notice the themes: intensity is dosed with precision, recovery is built in, and variety supports adaptation—not burnout.
The Mental Side No One Talks About
Let’s call this out too:
Menopause messes with your confidence.
It whispers, You’re too slow now.
It compares your body to its “younger” self.
It dares you to feel guilty when training doesn’t look “perfect.”
You’re not lazy. You’re not falling behind. You’re in a whole new training era.
Most of the medical world? Doesn’t get that.
The average physician isn’t trained to support high-performing menopausal athletes.
So when they say “maybe back off running” or “just rest,” what they really mean is “I don’t have the tools to support you.”
But I do. And you do, too.
Final Thoughts from a Coach Who’s Lived It
I’m not here to hand you fluff. I’m here to hand you a mirror.
Your body is not in decline—it’s just in transition. And transitions require better tools, not fewer goals.
If you’ve ever wondered, “Am I the only one struggling with this?”
You’re not.
And if you’ve ever thought, “Maybe I just need to try harder,”
No—you need to train smarter.
Menopause doesn’t end your athletic story.
It gives you the opportunity to rewrite the rules. And I’m here for that plot twist.
Ready to Train Smarter, Not Smaller?
If you're tired of vague advice and one-size-fits-all "solutions," it's time to grab a guide made for you—the athlete navigating menopause with purpose.
My Mastering Menopause Guide breaks down the key shifts in your physiology, training strategies that actually work, and what to eat, lift, and recover like when you're no longer playing by the old rules.
You’ll walk away with:
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Science-backed training and fueling strategies
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A realistic approach to strength, mobility, and recovery
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Tools to help you stay consistent—even when your body feels unpredictable
This isn’t about shrinking. It’s about leveling up.
Download the Mastering Menopause Guide now and start training with the knowledge your younger self never needed—but your current self deserves.