Armor Up with Lorayne Michaels

Why Lifting Is Non‑Negotiable For Perimenopause And Menopause

• Lorayne • Season 1 • Episode 2

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Feeling unlike yourself as hormones change? Let’s get specific about what actually helps. We explore how strength training becomes a steady anchor during perimenopause and menopause—lifting mood, protecting metabolism, improving sleep, and restoring confidence—without relying on endless HIIT or willpower alone.

We start with the chemistry behind mood swings and emotional volatility: declining estrogen and progesterone tug at serotonin, dopamine, and GABA. Resistance training reliably boosts those neurotransmitters and lowers cortisol over time, easing anxiety and irritability. From there, we connect muscle to metabolism. As natural muscle loss accelerates, lifting turns on protein synthesis, preserves lean mass, and keeps resting metabolic rate higher. We also unpack mitochondrial efficiency to explain why strength work reduces fatigue and brain fog and why sedentary ruts make energy feel scarce.

Stress, sleep, and recovery get a hard reset too. When life is already intense, stacking daily HIIT can keep your nervous system stuck in fight-or-flight. We lay out a smarter plan: two to four weekly sessions centered on compound lifts—squats, hinges, pushes, pulls, and carries—plus real recovery and breath-led practices. You will hear how strength improves glucose uptake, smooths insulin spikes that can worsen hot flashes, and may enhance estrogen receptor sensitivity. We tie it together with nutrition basics—adequate protein, minerals like magnesium, and blood sugar balance—to support consistent training and better nights.

If brain fog is stealing your focus, we highlight the role of BDNF in cognitive health and why feeling physically strong often sparks emotional resilience. The goal is simple and powerful: a training approach that behaves like a form of hormone support—steadier mood, stronger muscles, faster metabolism, deeper sleep, and a clearer sense of self. Ready to trade burnout for progress? Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review with one change you’ll make this week.

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SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to the Armor Up Podcast. I'm your host, Lorraine Michaels, certified personal trainer and health and wellness coach. And today I want to talk to you about lifting. Lifting and menopause and perimenopause. I recently was doing a question and answer on my Instagram, and I got quite a few questions in regards to lifting, lifting heavy and perimenopause and menopause and when you should, if you should, all these things. A lot of questions revolve, were revolve. My words aren't wording. I got a lot of questions around this topic. And because I predominantly work with women 30 and above, this is a hot topic, especially because we are going through the change, approaching the change, and we are realizing that things aren't the same. What used to work for us is no longer working for us and is possibly having adverse effects. So I want to talk about why lifting is a non-negotiable for women. So first and foremost, number one, it has a direct impact on mood swings and emotional health. So during perimenopause and menopause, our hormones are fluctuating. They always are throughout our entire life, right? Because we have menstrual cycles. But during this season of life, perimenopause and menopause, there is a decline in estrogen and progesterone. And it affects the neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine and GABA, which play a huge role in mood stability. So serotonin and dopamine are happy hormones. And those are what are released during exercise, specifically during weight training. Those are our happy hormones. So that dramatically affects how we feel and why it's imperative to lift weights when we as we get older. And GABA, that is more of a how would I explain it? Calming, a calming hormone. So it it brings regularity. It's just it helps. I know I take that specifically every evening because it helps quiet my mind. It helps relax my body. So those three neurotransmitters are huge during this time. So why resistance training helps and how it helps? Increasing serotonin and dopamine signaling improves moods by reducing anxiety and irritability. So, like I was saying, those three are a calming effect. So by when you lift weights, it releases those. Thus, it improves anxiety and irritability. Lowering cortisol over time. So improving stress resilience, chronic stress worsens mood swings and hormonal symptoms. We know that. And so by lifting weights and doing resistance training, it lowers the cortisol levels. Lifting also improves insulin sensitivity, which stabilizes blood sugar and is often overlooked as being a trigger for mood swings and emotional volatility. So think about when your children have a bunch of sugar and they're acting crazy, it's because their insulin in their blood sugar is instable and that instability causes mood swings and emotional outbursts. So research shows that women who engage in regular strength training report a lower depressive symptoms and improved emotional well-being, especially during menopause. And it's compared to that, the that research is compared to sedentary women. So women who are strength training and working out versus women who just are sedentary. The women that are working out report lower symptoms of depression and just overall improved emotional stability. I know when I don't work out, I become cranky because I am dependent on that serotonin and dopamine release. That's what um that's what lifting weight does for me. That's how I learned. I've talked about this before. If you listened, I was on the Stephen Scoggins podcast recently build. If you haven't listened to that or follow him, go follow him. He brings in amazing people. But that's one of the things that I was talking about on his podcast was how working out and fitness saved my life, aside from Jesus. There was a point in time where I was so depressed and I was so heavily dependent on other negative coping mechanisms to numb the pain. I finally fell into fitness and that changed the game for me. And it started regulating my hormones, and I didn't know it at the time. So, you know, fast forward years later, when I became a personal trainer and I got all this education, I was like, makes sense. So lift weights, lift your mood. All right, number two, it's preventing muscle loss, also known as sarcopenia, which is the degeneration of your muscles and metabolic slowdown. So what this means, women begin losing muscle as they age, right? And when we come into when we start changing, uh, when we start going into this premenopause or sorry, perimenopause and menopausal, women begin losing muscle mass as early as their late. But this accelerates, especially during menopause, due to the decline in estrogen. Estrogen plays a protective role in muscle protein synthesis and mitochondrial function. So lifting weights stimulates protein synthesis. So it's counteracting menopause-related muscle loss. Lifting weights also preserves lean mass, which keeps your resting metabolic rate higher. I talk about this all the time because when women come to me and they want to lose fat, lose weight, they want to drop however many pounds and their focus on losing the weight and losing fat, I have to explain to them that muscle is metabolically more active than fat. So the more muscle you have, the more your body, the more your metabolism is burning and working. So if you have more fat, less muscle, your metabolism is slower. If you have more muscle, your metabolism starts to pick up because your body is burning when you are doing nothing because you have that muscle. Lifting weights also improves mitochondrial efficiency, helping reduce fatigue and brain fog. So I don't know if you remember way back in school when we had science and biology and chemistry and all those things, we talk about mitochondria is the life of the cell where um ATP and energy is produced. And that is exactly it. The mitochondrial efficiency, because when you have that energy and your cells are healthy, it's gonna help reduce the brain fog. It's gonna give you more energy. That's why you hear um when people are working out, they're like, oh, I have so much energy. That's also why when you talk to people who don't work out and who are just sedentary, you know, it's a lot of it is I just don't have the energy to do it. I don't have the motivation to do it. And and that is why, because they're not moving their body. That mitochondrial efficiency is low and inactive. And so they do not have the energy to work out. So that's why we need to start doing resistance training. Without resistance training, women can lose up to one to two percent of muscle mass per year. And then during and after menopause, that starts to increase, contributing to weight gain, weakness, insulin resistance. So by you not working out, you're losing muscle, you're losing energy, and obviously you're gaining weight. And then if you're becoming insulin resistant, you're gonna be diabetic, you're gonna become diabetic, and then that's gonna start to lead into and bleed into other comorbidity comorbidities. So other things, high cholesterol, diabetes, like I mentioned, high uh blood pressure. So all these other things start to, it's like a weed. And because you don't do one thing, it's gonna start to creep out into other things and it's going to affect all of your systems. Speaking of systems, number three, weight training and nervous system regulation, as well as sleep quality. Strength training acts as a positive stressor that improves your nervous system balance when dosed appropriately. So I've talked about this before how there is good stress and bad stress. Our brain doesn't know the difference when we are in a constant state of stress, then our body is producing cortisol. So when you are stressed, cortisol is released. And whether that is good stress or bad stress, cortisol is released. And if our body has a constant elevated state of cortisol, our body is our nervous system is going to be on overdrive. And you'll see things like inability to sleep, you'll see things like a lower HRV, which is your heart rate variability, that your heart rate variability is directly correlated with your nervous system and how well or unwell your body responds to stress, how it recovers from stress. And so, with strength training, how it acts as a positive stressor, it is going to improve your nervous system and it's going to keep you balanced. So it enhances GABA activity, promoting calmness and better sleep. So I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I just recently started taking GABA because my HRV was tanked. It was low. It was continuously low. And granted, I do uh, I do did, I don't know. I mean, I think life, life, if you're living, if you're alive, it's stressful, right? So there was a season where my stress, my life stress was continuously elevated. And then I'm working out. I have a business, you know, wife, mom, all the things, right? So I'm in this constant state of stress. And I felt like my, I felt like the cortisol was high. And so I started taking GABA at night, along with I have two other supplements that are natural supplements that I take from doTERRA. One is called Serenity. It's a pill that helps bring calmness, and the other is copaiba. Copaiba is on the same receptors as CBD, so it brings that natural state of calmness and it reacts on certain neurotransmitters and certain receptors that help with calming and reducing anxiety and promoting better sleep. Weight training reduces the sympathetic fight or flight dominance. So we're on the topic of nervous system regulation and sleep quality. And so I'm referring to weight training as being a positive stressor. So it's really important to be self-aware. Know in your life, do you have a high stress job? Do you have, is there certain dynamics in your family that cause high stress? And then what is your workout routine like? Are you doing um HIT exercises, high-intensity interval training? Are you doing those types of exercises? Are you a part of like, what is it, burn, boot camp, ISI, orange theory, those type of exercises where you are constantly going and you're out of breath and you're pushing yourself to the max. That's gonna also increase your cortisol. So my recommendation as a personal trainer is to if you have all of these things that are increasing your stress, somewhere you have to start managing your stress and eliminating certain things. And the easiest thing is when you can't necessarily change your job or your family. So the easiest thing is reducing the amount of high-intensity training or eliminating it and start strength training only and reducing the cardio and the HIIT training. So that would be my recommendation. And then also start practicing stress-relieving techniques like grounding, journaling, breath work. That is definitely gonna help regulate your nervous system. Well, I was gonna say homeopathic, but it is essential oils. So doTERRA or young living, having these essential oils that are gonna help you bring yourself back to homeostasis. So, and that is also going to help with your sleep. And better sleep alone can dramatically reduce mood swings, anxiety, and irritability. How do you know if you're getting good sleep or not? Well, women should be getting six to eight hours of sleep. And some of you might be like, oh my gosh, yeah, that would be nice. That's another thing while we're going through perimenopause and menopausal changes, our sleep is horrible. And that is because estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, those are all over the place. So having that hormone replacement therapy, adding in that testosterone and that progesterone is going to help so much with sleep, which leads me into hormonal and inflammatory benefits. So, from a functional nutrition standpoint, chronic inflammation worsen, worsens menopausal symptoms. So resistance training lowers the systemic inflammation. That I want to be careful. I'm not gonna dive too much into that because I don't want to get into labs. And although I have some knowledge in that, I don't want to speak to that directly because that is not my lane. So making sure you are getting lab work done first to see where you are at hormonally and also checking your inflammation markers. So your CRP, your my gosh, I just drew a blank just because I said I had the knowledge and now it had left my brain. But, anyways, talk to a functional medicine practitioner and getting your hormone levels checked as well as your inflammation markers checked. So resistance training improves estrogen receptor sensitivity, meaning the body uses available estrogen more effectively. Weight training enhances glucose uptake in muscle, reducing the insulin spikes that aggravate hot flashes and mood changes. So, I mean, you really can't go wrong with weight training and resistance training. I'm not saying, obviously, I am saying like working out is only beneficial. Yes, absolutely. But what I am focusing on here is weight training, lifting weights, not your HIT workout. I'm talking about weight training and lifting weights and how this is going to positively affect you, aging, and menopause symptoms and perimenopause symptoms. Weight training is going to build confidence. It's going to improve cognition and identity shifts. There's also powerful psychological components to weight training. Strength training increases BDNF, which is your brain-derived neurotropic factor, which is directly correlated to cognitive health. And it's gonna be, it's gonna reduce menopause-related brain fog. That is such a huge thing that I keep hearing about women 30 and above, 35 and above, is this brain fog. And it has everything to do with our hormones and our neurotransmitters. And so resistance training is a huge positive effect in that, in the BDNF factor. Feeling physically strong often translates into emotional resilience and confidence during this season of change. So, what are the practical takeaways here? I'm glad you asked. For perimenopausal and menopausal women, lifting weights isn't optional. It's foundational. Your ideal starting point would be two to four times a week to focus on compound movements, to moderate heavy loads with good recovery. So if you are new to strength training, I would strongly recommend getting a personal trainer. I do virtual and in person, and I strategically create a program that is for you, your age, what your goal is. And I am educated in how to get you to where you need to be based off of where you're currently at, what you're experiencing, your symptoms, and what your goals are. And I know how to get you there. Pair that with adequate protein, minerals, and blood sugar support. When done correctly, resistance training becomes a form of hormone therapy right there. That is that that's mic drop right there. It's helping you stabilize your mood, preserve your muscle, protect your metabolism, and support long-term vitality. So, my friend, if you are a woman and you are hearing this and you are perimenopausal, mermenopausal, and you are wondering, am I ever gonna feel normal again? Yes, you will. And is there anyone out there that can help me? Yes, I can. So reach out to me. You can email me at Lorraine at armoruplc.net. Again, that's Lorraine L-O-R-A-Y-N-E at armoruplc.net. I will do a free discovery call with you. We'll talk about what your goals are, what your symptoms are, what you want to achieve, and I can help you. I can help you point you in the right direction. If we are not a good fit, I'm okay with that. I know that I am not for everyone and everyone is not for me. I will tell you, um, I will hold your butt to the fire. If you tell me you have this goal, I will do everything I possibly can to get you to that goal. I can lead you to the water, but I can't get you to drink it. That is gonna be up to you. So if you are ready to have the best body that you will ever have as you are aging beautifully and gracefully, then email me. Let's get on a call, and I will get you on the right road. to feeling amazing, looking amazing, and showing up as the best you you could be. As always, guys, you were divinely created for a divine purpose. And thank you for joining me on the Armor Up podcast.