If you’ve been crushing your workouts but still feel bloated, burned out, or stuck at the same weight—there’s a reason. During perimenopause, the exercise routines that used to energize or lean you out may actually be working against your body.
It’s not that movement stops being important—it becomes more important than ever. But how you move has to change if you want to feel strong, stable, and hormonally supported in this new chapter.
Let’s talk about how to reframe exercise in perimenopause so it supports your energy.
The Hormone-Exercise Connection
During perimenopause, key hormones like estrogen and progesterone decline. This creates a ripple effect in your metabolism, insulin sensitivity, and stress response. One of the biggest shifts is a rise in insulin resistance, which means your body is less effective at processing carbs—and more likely to store them as fat, especially around the midsection.
Layer on high cortisol (your stress hormone), and it becomes harder to burn fat and easier to feel tired, inflamed, and frustrated—especially if you’re pushing your body with long moderate-intensity cardio workouts that spike stress even more.
Why Over-Exercising Can Backfire
We’ve been taught that if the scale isn’t moving, we need to work out more. But in perimenopause, more is not always better—especially when it comes to stress.
Too much moderate or high-intensity cardio, too many HIIT sessions, or long endurance workouts can:
- Raise cortisol levels
- Decrease muscle mass
- Impair recovery
- Disrupt sleep
- Trigger inflammation
If your workouts leave you feeling depleted instead of energized, or if you’re gaining fat despite your efforts, your body might be in a state of survival—not thriving.
This is why exercise in perimenopause must shift from stress-inducing to strength-building.
Strength, Not Stress: How to Exercise in Perimenopause
Midlife movement should focus less on calorie burn and more on hormonal harmony and muscle building. Your body is changing, and your workouts need to evolve with it.
Here’s what that looks like in action:
✅ Prioritize Strength Training
Lifting weights or doing resistance work helps you:
- Build and preserve lean muscle
- Boost your resting metabolism
- Improve insulin sensitivity
- Strengthen bones
Aim for 3–4 strength sessions per week. You don’t need to become a bodybuilder—you just need consistent resistance (with challenging weights) to create strength and stability.
✅ Embrace Low-Impact Movement
Gentle workouts like walking, Pilates, mobility flows, or yoga help regulate cortisol while still keeping you active and connected to your body.
Walking especially is underrated magic for hormone balance. It supports cardiovascular health, lymph flow, immunity, digestion, mental clarity, and recovery—without taxing your system.
✅ Rethink Cardio
Cardio isn’t bad—but how you do it matters. Long, steady-state cardio like running on a treadmill for an hour can be a stressor in midlife. Instead, consider:
- Short bursts of cardio (like a 20-minute interval walk)
- Cycling in lower-intensity days between lifting sessions
- Listening to your energy levels instead of a rigid schedule
Signs Your Workouts Are Working Against You
It’s time to pay attention to how your body responds, not just how many calories you’re burning.
If you’re noticing any of these signs, it may be time to change your approach:
- Constant fatigue or burnout after workouts
- Trouble sleeping or recovering
- Increased belly fat or bloating
- Midday energy crashes
- Mood swings or increased irritability
- No progress despite “doing everything right”
These are signals—not failures. They’re your body’s way of saying, “I need a different kind of support.”
Creating a Weekly Workout Flow That Works With Your Hormones
Your body in midlife thrives on consistency. Choose progress over perfection! The goal is to move in ways that support your energy, protect your muscle mass, increase bone density, and give your hormones the steady rhythm they need.
A great place to start is with 10 to 30 minutes of walking daily. Walking may sound simple, but it’s incredibly effective. Think of it as your foundation — your daily anchor for movement.
From there, here’s how you can build out a well-rounded weekly routine that works with your body:
- Lower Body Strength Day – Focus on building strong glutes, hamstrings, and quads with moves like squats, lunges, and glute bridges. This helps maintain lower body strength and supports metabolism.
- Upper Body Strength Day – Incorporate push-ups, rows, presses, and arm circuits to maintain muscle in your arms, shoulders, and back — crucial for posture and daily strength.
- Full Body Strength Day – This day combines compound movements that engage multiple muscle groups (think: deadlifts, kettlebell swings, or dumbbell circuits) to challenge the entire body in a balanced way.
- HIIT Training Day – A short, high-intensity session can improve cardiovascular fitness and boost insulin sensitivity. Keep it under 30 minutes, and only if your energy and stress levels feel stable.
- Gentle Movement or Rest Days – Fill in the remaining days with recovery-based activities like yoga, stretching, or mobility work. These lower-impact days are vital for reducing inflammation and preventing burnout.
Your weekly flow doesn’t have to be rigid or perfect. It just needs to feel manageable and supportive. Some weeks, you’ll have more energy and want to push a bit harder. Other weeks, your body may ask for more rest. Both are valid.
And if you’re looking for guidance and structure, we love two YouTube workout channels that make showing up easy and effective:
👉 Sydney Cummings Houdyshell – She offers approachable yet empowering strength and HIIT workouts with a warm, motivating energy that feels like having a personal coach.
👉 Caroline Girvan – Her strength-focused programs are beautifully structured and great for building muscle safely at home. She lets the workouts speak for themselves with minimal dialogue during the sesh.
Whether you’re just starting or looking to refine your routine, the key is tuning in — not burning out. With this kind of thoughtful approach to movement, you’ll feel stronger, more stable, and better supported through all the changes that midlife brings.
Focus on Progress, Not Punishment
One of the biggest mindset shifts in midlife is learning to move from a place of support, not punishment. Your worth isn’t tied to how hard you push or how many calories you burn.
Instead of chasing soreness or exhaustion, chase:
- Energy
- Strength
- Better sleep
- Fewer cravings
- Mental clarity
- Physical confidence
That’s the real magic of movement in midlife.
Final Thoughts
If what used to work for your body now feels like it’s working against you, you’re not alone—and you haven’t done anything wrong. The solution isn’t to push harder, it’s to move smarter.
Exercise in perimenopause is about tuning in, building strength, and regulating stress—not just burning calories. When you approach fitness from this angle, your body feels better, your mind feels clearer, and your results finally start to align with your efforts.
You deserve to feel strong and steady—not stressed out by your workouts.
Workout Products We Love
💪 Looking for gear to support your workouts?
We’ve rounded up our favorite workout tools and products — from at-home weights to yoga mats and recovery essentials — in our Amazon storefront. These products and tools will make midlife movement feel strong, supportive, and sustainable.
