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Women's Fitness. Should it change with age?

Generally speaking, the basic primal blueprint for fitness and physical activity applies

equally to men and women of all ages. Lifting heavy things works in everyone.

Sprinting is a fantastic way for anyone who's able to compress workouts and improve training efficiency. Improving one's aerobic capacity through

easy cardio doesn't discriminate between the sexes. And everyone should walk, hike, garden,

and perform as much low-level physical activity as possible.

These basic foundations, the 30,000-foot view of fitness, don't really change across age or sex, but the details do, especially for women.

You see, women are in a unique position. As men age, the hormonal environment

degenerates. They still make the same basic hormones in the same proportions, only the absolute

numbers decline. As women age, hormonal environments shift dramatically.

The menopausal ovaries no longer produce enough follicle-stimulating hormone,

f-sh, and lutenizing hormone, LH, to regulate estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone, causing the latter hormones to fluctuate in novel ways.

What kind of hormonal changes in physiological developments occur in aging women that might affect how to best train?

Atrophied muscle and reduced strength.

As estrogen drops, so does muscle function.

More of a male body fat distribution. Postmenopausal women tend to gain more belly fat.

Reduced bone mass. The menopausal hormonal environment leads to a reduction in vitamin D synthesis and absorption, lower calcium levels, and reduced bone mass.

Vascular changes.

After menopause arteries become stiffer, hypertension becomes more likely.

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