I am 49 and just entering menopause and have noticed that my muscle mass is depleting( and unfortunately slowly being replace by fat cells). I swim about 15000 ( 3000 5 days per week) meters a week and lift weights 2-3 days per week. My last meet was horrible and wonder if my poor performance is linked to this loss of muscle. I am not taking hormone replacement therapy because I don't have the other nasty symptoms of night sweats and hot flashes. My only other complaint is not sleeping well. (awake at 2 a.m. and have trouble returning to sleep).
My question to you women who have already come out the other side is really this- menopause is here to stay, no way around that. But does that mean I have to swim so poorly?? Obviously there are still 45-55 year old women who are still quite fast. Would horomone replacement therapy help me there? When lifting weights, should I do more weight and less repetition? Should I cut my yardage some so that I have more rest?
I know there was an article on this in Swim magazine, but it didn't address these specific questions. Thanks for any input.
Originally posted by iswim41
It's nice to see all the different ways of this. I'm 46 and guessing I'm in the peri phase (does anyone know if headaches are a sympton?). I suffer from sleeplessness, but I attribute that to my schedule more than anything (I work until 1 a.m. and have to get up at 7:30 to get my son to school). As far as swimming goes, I got back into actual training last summer and I found my times dropping dramatically. Prior to this I was just getting in and swimming a 1500 four to five times a week. But sometimes I am just wasted for the rest of the day. Is that a muscle fatigue thing? If I could I'd swim later at night on my days off and take advantage of that exhaustion, but there isn't daycare at the club then. I don't think I'm experiening a muscle loss, though, but maybe I am.
I know you can't help it, but to me your fatigue is from lack of sleep. Is there anyway to add a nap after your son goes to school. The headaches are also a sign of lack of sleep.
And a note to Rebecca's note about studies not being done on active women before. That is because I don't think there were many athletes before our generation. We are the generation that the studies will be done on, because women's sports first started becoming strong with us.
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I am 49 and just entering menopause and have noticed that my muscle mass is depleting( and unfortunately slowly being replace by fat cells). I swim about 15000 ( 3000 5 days per week) meters a week and lift weights 2-3 days per week. My last meet was horrible and wonder if my poor performance is linked to this loss of muscle. I am not taking hormone replacement therapy because I don't have the other nasty symptoms of night sweats and hot flashes. My only other complaint is not sleeping well. (awake at 2 a.m. and have trouble returning to sleep).
My question to you women who have already come out the other side is really this- menopause is here to stay, no way around that. But does that mean I have to swim so poorly?? Obviously there are still 45-55 year old women who are still quite fast. Would horomone replacement therapy help me there? When lifting weights, should I do more weight and less repetition? Should I cut my yardage some so that I have more rest?
I know there was an article on this in Swim magazine, but it didn't address these specific questions. Thanks for any input.
I think slower times or not swimming as well as expected might well be related to sleep deprivation. We all need rest to recover after training and racing, and if you are not sleeping well, you aren't recovering well. I am 49 and finding that I have some tough times sleeping every cycle for about 4 day and if that is right before a meet, that is hard. I haven't noticed a loss of muscle mass, but I build muscle easily and do strength training as well as swimming. Hang in there and let's all keep talking about this - it's an important topic and not studied much.
I think slower times or not swimming as well as expected might well be related to sleep deprivation. We all need rest to recover after training and racing, and if you are not sleeping well, you aren't recovering well. I am 49 and finding that I have some tough times sleeping every cycle for about 4 day and if that is right before a meet, that is hard. I haven't noticed a loss of muscle mass, but I build muscle easily and do strength training as well as swimming. Hang in there and let's all keep talking about this - it's an important topic and not studied much.
I am likewise a terrible sleeper and have been worse for the last 5-6 years.
Here's an expert: www.epidemiology.pitt.edu/bromberger.asp
PHM41: I am doing an article for SWIMMER about menopause and swimming, and about andropause (male menopause) and swimming. Am looking for men and women (preferably USMS members) who are willing to talk about it, both as experts and as swimmers who are dealing with it.
Thanks. Billl Edwards
I'm glad to hear that you're writing about this. I am 44 and if I'm going to be experiencing muscle loss, I'd rather know about it sooner rather than later in order to do my best to counteract it.
I am 49 and just entering menopause and have noticed that my muscle mass is depleting( and unfortunately slowly being replace by fat cells). I swim about 15000 ( 3000 5 days per week) meters a week and lift weights 2-3 days per week. My last meet was horrible and wonder if my poor performance is linked to this loss of muscle. I am not taking hormone replacement therapy because I don't have the other nasty symptoms of night sweats and hot flashes. My only other complaint is not sleeping well. (awake at 2 a.m. and have trouble returning to sleep).
My question to you women who have already come out the other side is really this- menopause is here to stay, no way around that. But does that mean I have to swim so poorly?? Obviously there are still 45-55 year old women who are still quite fast. Would horomone replacement therapy help me there? When lifting weights, should I do more weight and less repetition? Should I cut my yardage some so that I have more rest?
I know there was an article on this in Swim magazine, but it didn't address these specific questions. Thanks for any input.
PHM41: I am doing an article for SWIMMER about menopause and swimming, and about andropause (male menopause) and swimming. Am looking for men and women (preferably USMS members) who are willing to talk about it, both as experts and as swimmers who are dealing with it.
Thanks. Billl Edwards
I am 54 yrs. old and not taking HRT.
Like most of you I have experienced sleeping difficulties. Caffeine, sugar, and alcohol make it almost impossible for me to sleep so I try to keep them to a minimum. I use 1.5 mg. of Lunesta most nights; it helps me tremendously!
The other menopausal symptoms (sweats, headaches,craziness) sort of come and go with me. I'm not sure what causes the cycles but I feel like fruits, vegetables, and a low fat diet help tone the problems down.
Swimming always makes me feel better. Nothing relieves stress, sweats, headaches, and craziness like a great workout!
I know I should start some type of weight training. I was trying to do Kettlebelle workouts 3X per week. I probably need to cut back a bit on swimming if I'm really going to do it; my work schedule, swimming, and the rest of my life leave me tired and unmotivated for any more workouts.
I will look forward to learning some new tricks from this thread. :angel:
I'm 39 but have been put into medically induced menopause twice for fibroids (Lupron) so I know what might be coming in a few years and I'm not looking forward to it. During those total 6 months that I was on it, I wasn't allowed to take anything to help the symptoms. I did notice I had loss of sleep and mood swings (big time - sorry to my husband). I did not notice muscle mass though. Now lately I've felt like some of the symptoms are coming back. I'm having minor hot flashes, mood swings, headaches, etc. Perimenopause? Already?! I hope not. It has caused me to up my routine. I'm trying to swim harder and I'm lifting more. Although I have noticed after a 5500+ LCM practice it takes me a full day to recover.
Great thread- thanks! I appreciate the opportunity to hear what you are all going through, so I know what to expect. (By the way, I'm 48 and couldn't fall back to sleep after waking up at 5:15am, so I fired up the computer to read the forums... :D )
So, my question: I had an endometrial ablation, in 2004, due to non-stop bleeding. How will I know when I have entered menopause? My doctor told me, "You'll KNOW!" But, some experience symptoms worse than others. Is there anybody out there in the same boat who can answer this question for me? Thanks!
