Female Training, Nutrition and Health Protocols as we Age:
As we age, the demands of training and nutrition should adapt to compensate for changes in hormones, energy and metabolic variabilities. How we used to exercise and what we used to eat in our 20’s is very different to how we should be training and eating in our 50’s for example. The problem with a lot of societal narratives is that these modalities have been set around aesthetics for example and not necessarily what is optimal from a health and longevity perspective for the individual. As more and more research come’s to light on the topics of longevity, health and performance we are able to identify some specific protocols which will enhance our health and our life span.
How Should I be training and Eating in my 20-30’s:
The most important thing in your early 20’s and 30’s is to make your training “FUN”. We all know you are more likely to stick to something if you enjoy what you are doing rather than seeing it as a chore. Don’t run if you don’t like it. If you enjoy outdoor training for example rather than being in a gym then do lot’s of that.
During this period in your life you have room to get away with things that you can’t get away with when you are older. This is a time where you can be bedding down some good technique when it comes to resistance training. Mix up you’re training when it comes to resistance training it could be combination of Functional whole-body movements or more Compound Movements (multi-joint movements like squats, deadlifts, bench, chin-ups.). You should be looking at doing some type of resistance-based training 3-4 times per week. It doesn’t have to be for long periods of time it could be for 45-60 mins. At the end of one of these sessions you may want to add some sprint interval training (see below) or do 2 HIIT sessions on separate days. If you are training for something specific for example an endurance event you can take that high intensity work and put it into your program.
Start some type of High Intensity Interval Training as we all need that lactate production. This lactate production which is a by-product of this type of training has been known to reduce the plaque development associated with Alzheimers.
What does High Intensity Mean:
High intensity means – If you are a runner sets of 400m and 800m.
(1-4 mins of hard work at 80% effort with variable recoveries may take 1 minute off the next may be 3 mins off for 30mins).
In a Gym situation – It could be E.M.O.M, every minute on the minute for example:
10 reps of Deadlifts in 60 seconds then take 10 secs to move to the next exercise
8 x Thrusters (squat and press overhead) in 60 seconds/ 10 secs to move
15 x Kettlebell Swings in 60 Seconds / 10 secs to move
20 Calories on the Assault Bike / 10 secs to move
1 minute to recover
Repeat everything again
Sprint interval training – 30 secs or less as hard as you can go (max effort) rower, assault bike, battle ropes, treadmill. 2-3 minutes of recovery. Leave nothing in the tank.
How should I be training in my 30-40’s?:
In our 30-40’s we need to start looking at “How”- we are we doing our resistance training?
Hopefully we have bedded down some good lifting techniques and a focus of our training should be on Compound movements such as squats, deadlifts, bench press, shoulder press, chin ups etc. This is a time also when we need to be doing some heavier work, working on some periodisation in maybe a 6-week training block. With the goal of getting stronger and putting on some lean muscle mass. We want that base foundation when we get to 40+ so we can do some power base training.
Again, like in your 20’s you want to be combining these 3-4 heavy resistance days with 2 sessions of true high intensity work such as:
Heavy legs for 20 minutes combined with Assault bike for 30 secs going all out with 30 secs recovery (repeat that HIIT 4-5 times).
The goal here is to polarise your training to create adaptation, intrinsic changes on a hormonal level such as the reduction in cortisol, lean muscle tissue development and that lactate production.
How Should I be Training in my 40-50’s?:
If you are new to exercise, it is never too late to start. Give yourself 2 weeks to 4 months to learn how to move well. At this age women are more predisposed to soft tissue injuries due to a loss of estrogen that occurs around perimenopause so starting off slow and preparing your body properly is beneficial.
Again, you should be looking at a minimum of 3 resistance-based sessions per week which include compound movements. Combined with this we need to include 1 sprint interval or 2 sprint intervals and 1 HIIT session in one week. This may seem like a lot but if you have only a short amount of time to do your resistance-based session you may look at a split program or a total body program where you combine both upper and lower body exercises in one session.
The key when you are younger is working to failure, the key when you are older is working heavy. Working till failure encourages lean mass growth combined with strength. Developing this muscle mass in this decade is vitally important for quality of life and longevity as we start to lose 3-8% of lean muscle mass per decade after the age of 30.
When we are older because it is so difficult to put on lean muscle mass, we want to focus on the strength component as that becomes more important when we are talking about longevity. From a Central Nervous System (CNS) and strength point of view this feeds into better proprioception (how your body moves in space), and management of cognitive decline. This helps create more neural pathways which can help offset dementia and alzheimer’s.
Training in my 50’s and Beyond:
What is the most efficient way for a woman over 50 to train for the most health span and life span benefits?
At this period in our life the focus is on longevity and maintaining a good quality of life. We want to have independent living, good proprioception and good bones. During the onset of menopause women will lose a startling 1/3 or their bone mass. You can go from having normal healthy bones to being osteopenic (lower than normal bone mass or bone mineral density) during this time.
The training recommendation to help combat osteopenia is to include heavy resistance training to maintain lean muscle tissue (3-4 sessions per week), sprint interval training and some type of jump training (10 minutes a week).
This jump training such as skipping or jumping or trampolining has be proven to improve bone density particularly in the hip joint region.
Eating protein is very important. 1 to 1.1 grams per pound or 2-2.3 grams per kg per day. It doesn’t have to be all animal products, in fact studies have shown that plant based protein is also very effective.
Nutrition – 2 to 2.3 grams of protein per kg of bodyweight this protein is essential for longevity as you can’t build lean muscle without it. If you are having trouble hitting all of your protein requirements source a good quality protein powder from the health food shop these also come in vegan options.
What should I be Eating?:
In terms of carbohydrates eat plenty of fruit, veggies, starches such sweet potato, yams, sprouted bread, quinoa. Live by the 80/20 rule! 80% of the time your spot on with your nutrition and the other 20% is life.
Fats – plant-based stuff is better. Real butter, yoghurt, avocado’s nuts, seeds and olive oils.
Why am I putting on Mid-Section Weight and Why is High Intensity Work Important?
For women, during perimenopause and beyond we start to lose estrogen which is a significant anti-inflammatory agent for our bodies. This is why we start to see an increase in the visceral fat from the mid 40’s onwards. What is happening on an intrinsic level is an increase in free fatty acids in the body, the inability for the inflammation to come down so the muscle cell is going ‘I don’t know what to do with this’. This is circulated to the liver and the liver stores it as visceral fat. If you do the high intensity work, it creates that change within the muscle to understand ‘pull that in let’s use it’, let’s also bring in more carbohydrate and more glucose in and use that which helps use free fatty acids (Dr Stacy Sims). It also creates a significant anti-inflammatory response at the level of the mitochondria and the cell itself which is what estrogen used to do.
How Much Cardio Vascular Training Should Women do?
When we are looking at women who are trying to maximise longevity and body composition, they often default to cardio such as F45, and Orange Theory etc. This puts women in moderate intensity they are so used to leaving these classes feeling absolutely smashed as it leaves you in a state that drives cortisol up. It is not enough stress to invoke the post exercise growth hormone and testosterone responses that we want to dampen that cortisol. They shouldn’t do moderate intensity work but true high intensity work which is 1-4 minute of 80%, full gas for 30 seconds. Don’t do this type of work every, day this type of work will help drop cortisol.
Zone 2 is that long conversation type of training, great for mental health and being out in nature like a long endurance outdoor ride. But for optimal health we want to look at resistance training as your bedrock and true high intensity interval training to help with body composition change, metabolic control, insulin sensitivity, brain health and dropping that cortisol.
What Changes Should Women Make?
Everyone needs to understand their intrinsic selves and their bodies. We have been conditioned to exercise based around aesthetics but there is more to the picture of health than how we look for example what is happening with our hormones and what is going on inside of us. The key to longevity and good health is to follow the above training protocols 3+ s resistance based sessions per week with 2-3 high intensity inverval training sessions per week is ideal.
In the absence of a budget for a Personal Trainer, look at doing some bodyweight work to start, fill up a back pack do a hike, look up things on the internet, there are plenty of programs online. There are lots of ways to get help if you seek it, you just need to find the motivation and discipline factor to start.
For more great information on this topic check out: https://www.hubermanlab.com/podcast