Women experience a variety of symptoms at this stage of their lives. Some of the more common ones are
- weight gain
- brain fog
- hot flushes
- musculoskeletal pain
- mood swings
Research done with 196 postmenopausal women in Italy showed that Nordic Walking was better than Pilates for losing weight and reducing blood glucose and the levels of bad cholesterol in the blood. (Effects of Nordic Walking and Pilates exercise programs on blood glucose and lipid profile in postmenopausal women) After only 10 weeks of Nordic Walking they had lost more weight that the Pilates and control groups.
Another research study on postmenopausal women (Nordic walking increases circulating VEGF more than walking in postmenopause) showed that Nordic Walking was better than walking for creating an important substance called vascular endothelial growth factor (or VEGF for short). VEGF helps in the formation of small blood vessels and also assists with would healing. It’s really important in body areas that need a good blood flow like one’s lungs and brain.
There’s plenty of evidence that proves that exercise in general reduces the frequency and intensity of hot flushes and improves one’s mental health and wellbeing. Nordic Walking is the exercise of choice for women because it spreads the effort over the whole body so is more comfortable for people who have musculoskeletal pain.
Finally, if you’ve ever Nordic Walked with one of our instructor led groups – or maybe seen some of the photos of happy smiling faces on our Facebook page, then you’ll know how good our group sessions are for one’s mental health and wellbeing. If you’ve not tried Nordic Walking yet – find your nearest INWA Instructor on our search facility: British Nordic Walking