Getting strong – or stronger
Your weekly roundup of hopefully helpful things
The biggest menopause fitness story this week came from Pvolve, the resistance-based fitness plan Jennifer Aniston partnered with (endorsed? invested in?) in 2023. Pvolve then worked with the University of Exeter on a study that examined the plan’s impact on hip strength, dynamic balance, flexibility, and lean body mass in women aged 40–60.
Published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the group was small – just 72 already healthy and active women. We don’t really know what “partnered with” means, either: is it funded? Advised? Influenced? Or none or all of these? Either way, I imagine in these situations researchers aren’t really able to say “Sorry brand we are working with… we didn’t find anything!” But also, of course they are going to find something. This is a well-thought-out strength-training system.
The reported gains over three months, with 150 minutes of whole-body, low-impact Pvolve workouts per week, were a 19 percent increase in hip function and lower-body strength, 21 percent increase in full-body flexibility, and 10 percent increase in dynamic balance, mobility, and stability.
The PR push was intense on both sides of the ocean, leading to an array of breathlessly enthusiastic headlines, most with the same message:
(See how good PR works? I’d love to know what happening to Pvolve’s bottom line right now.)
Now 55, and talking about menopause – something I would have only dreamed she would do even two years ago – Aniston says Pvolve has “transformed” her body: “I just want more people to know about it because I think it's so good”.
According to People magazine, one study participant said adding the practice to her three-times a week running regimen has made a big difference, too: “I’ve always had aches and niggles after I run, but I no longer get that now that my strength and flexibility has improved.”
The takeaway is something we already know from the evidence: it’s possible to get stronger after menopause – if you just work at it.
In her typically lovely way Libby Stevenson, who lives in the UK and teaches menopause-specific yoga, posted about this in light of the Pvolve news this week.
“I applaude any celebrity who uses their platform to promote fitness and well-being for women in midlife,” she wrote. “With her massive reach, Jennifer Aniston can undoubtedly inspire more women to prioritize their health than I ever could. While signing up to her platform might be an option for some, it’s certainly not the only path.”
Pvolve comes with a lot of pricey bits and pieces (the full set of gear alone would cost me almost $900 to get over here in Abu Dhabi) and monthly subscription ($14.99 a month if billed annually). If you want to do it or you already do, I’d love to hear from you.
For most of my life though, I thought I needed big fresh starts and “something major” to do to get fit. I’m not a fitness professional, but there is something this journalist knows for sure now: it only matters that you find something you like, can work into your schedule, and actually do.
For more on midlife fitness:
🎙️ Listen to my interview with Hotflash Inc expert panel member Dr. Maria Luque (PhD in menopause fitness) – 7 exclusive tips
💪 Libby Stevenson teaches through Kate Rowe-Ham’s Owning Your Menopause app and online through Sam Palmer’s Midlife Makeover platform. Both offer other forms of strength-training too.
🎙️ Listen to my interview with Australian entrepreneur and pro-metabolic proponent Kitty Blomfield – From diet struggles to metabolic success
🎙️ Listen to both parts of my interview with Buff Bones founder Rebekah Rotstein – Part 1: Navigating menopause and bone health & Part 2: How to keep your bones, muscles, and tendons strong
💪 Check out Dinah Sliman, who is a menopause pilates specialist in Britain. She has written a book on her method for practitioners and has an online studio.
It’s complicated…
…where we track all the things that make perimenopause worse.
POLLUTION – Particulate matter and nitrogen oxides released from arsenic on high-traffic roads the US – where one-quarter of the population lives in close proximity to – has a well-documented impact on mental and physical health. A new study published in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society of North America, traffic-related air pollution, or TRAP, looked at 700 healthy, reproductive aged women involved in the Ovarian Aging Study. It built on previous research that found an association between TRAP and depression, finding this happens regardless of socioeconomic, ethnic and health demographics. (I know it seems weird, like why wouldn’t it? But this is the slow, incremental way science works) The study builds on previous research suggesting that women are more vulnerable to TRAP-related mental health issues than men, and confirmed that the closer the traffic, the greater the depressive symptoms – regardless of long or short-term exposure. TRAP is also correlated to body composition changes, increased risk for type 2 diabetes, and been linked to a number of other adverse outcomes, including an earlier age of puberty, menstrual cycle irregularity, reduced fertility and negative birth outcomes.
Treat yo’self
Naomi Watts – actress and menopause advocate – is partnering with The Spa by Equinox Hotels for Pause + Renew, a 2.5-hour spa experience featuring Stripes Beauty products, a Hydration & Sculpt Therapy session with Icoone Roboderm, and a 90-minute Dr. Lara Devgan Dermal Renewal Facial with scalp massage. I’d like the NutriDrip CoQ10 Booster Shot that promises to enhance “energy levels, reduces the severity of hot flashes and mood swings, and combats cognitive decline through its antioxidant-rich support for mitochondrial function”, according to American Spa.
Quote of the week
"Hormones work together in an intricate dance, and it’s not just about having ‘enough’ estrogen – it’s about having the right balance with other hormones like progesterone and thyroid hormones, which regulate estrogen’s effects”
— Dr Leigh Erin Connelly, author of The Cancer Revolution, reacting on Instagram to the news that more young women are being diagnosed with breast cancer – and it’s linked to higher estrogen exposure.
🎧 Check out episode 116 – Let's optimize our hormones and not get cancer with Dr Leigh Erin Connealy – on the Hotflash inc podcast
HF inc coming soon
The Midlife Morning Show with Maryann Jacobsen from Midlife Strong – a new live, off-the-cuff half-hour show for us right here on Substack. I think we are going to give it a dry run on Monday, so I’ll send it out if we do and let you know how to tune in the next time.
Read, click, watch, listen, learn + follow
📌 Keep those shoulders moving! Yahoo and Self both take a closer look at frozen shoulder. Don’t forget my deep dive on the topic. You can find it here: Part 1 & Part 2.
📌 Me too, babe, me too. Help! I'm Perimenopausal and My Instagram Feed Won't Stop Selling Me Solutions via Boston Magazine.
📌 Bravo to The Skimm: Why You Need To Be Thinking About Menopause Early
📌 I wonder if the incontinence partnership Drew Barrymore passed on was the Poise ad Katherine Heigl did the “giggle dribble” joke in? incontinence regret via MSN – “I Laughed And Piddle Came Out”
📌 Magnesium: The ultimate powerhouse mineral for perimenopause – Lara Briden explains
📌 You are not broken. But when you feel like you are, why not fix something that is?
📌 You still get very pregnant in perimenopause – The Conversation reports
📌 Menopause research is underfunded – it’s time to change that. Nature weighs in
Editor’s note
Six days off refined sugar.
Two weeks of 4x a week strength workouts and daily walking.
Two sports massages + daily Pain-Free Method (by Pete Egoscue) alignment sessions)
» Body and hip pain down by 3/4.
» Also: brain clear, mood stable and positive, sleep good.
Damn I miss cookies but it’s worth it.
AMx
🛍️ If you order any of these items, Hotflash Inc receives a commission.
⚠️ Hotflash inc is for educational purposes only and not to be considered medical advice.
This is so good. I love your reference to finding something you like, can work into your schedule, and actually do. This sums up how I have managed to build muscle, maintain sub 19% body fat and defined abs while juggling career, kids and pre menopause - and not live in the gym!
The level of claims that companies make are out of control. I’d love to see the science behind the claim that a shot can “increase energy levels, reduces the severity of hot flashes and mood swings, and combats cognitive decline through its antioxidant-rich support for mitochondrial function”. All in one shot? 🙄
On a more positive note, I’m happy that celebrities are using their platform to inspire women to strength train but I always like to remind women that there isn’t one magic program that is the solution. It’s consistency that does the trick. You have to engage in strength training at least 2-3 x week regularly so find what works for you and what you will enjoy because those two things will keep you consistent.