Pivoting Your Fitness Strategy for the Change

Menopause Moves: Summary

In this episode on Menopause Moves, Detective Ev speaks with Debra Atkinson, a fitness expert specializing in helping women navigate menopause with effective exercise strategies. They first discuss Debra’s background and her innovative approach to exercise for women in menopause, challenging traditional fitness ideas. 

They cover issues such as the mindset and societal narratives around aging and fitness, the importance of adjusting exercise type and timing, especially during and post-menopause, and the impact of hormones on fitness and overall well-being. Debra discusses how she guides women to rethink exercise, specifically focusing on shorter, less intense workouts and emphasizing rest and recovery. 

They delve into the challenges women face accepting the aging process, societal expectations, and the need for continued advocacy for strength training. Detective Ev and Debra highlight the important role sleep plays in fitness and overall health, with Debra advising strenuous exercise to be done early in the day to foster better sleep habits.

They discuss a client success story, where a woman, Jennifer, managed to lose weight and drastically improve her health by adopting Debra’s approach of eating more while exercising less. They noted how such changes required a shift in mindset as well as behavior. The podcast ends with Debra’s adamant recommendation for everyone to integrate strength training into their fitness routine.

Menopause Moves: Topics

– Disrupting the fitness industry’s traditional approach to fitness with focus on hormone balancing and fitness tailored specifically for women in menopause

– Focusing on the effects of exercise during midlife and menopause 

– The importance of having a personal health story and being inspired by others’ health journeys

– Teaching marketing and sales strategies to fitness professionals

– “Restore before more”: focusing on recovering properly and optimizing energy levels before increasing intensity or volume of workouts

– Higher intensity workouts: moving to earlier in the day to align more with natural circadian rhythms

– Fitness Priority: not calories burned but rather type and timing of exercise impacting hormones, in turn determining fat storage or fat burning

– Changing mindsets around aging, weight, fitness, and health 

– Using lab testing to ensure data-driven approaches 

– Strength training:  an important aspect of fitness no matter the age of the individual

– Success story: losing a significant amount of weight and improving overall health 

Where to Find Debra Atkinson

More About FDN

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