Why Weight-Bearing Exercise is Essential for Women During Peri/Menopause
- Lana Angel
- Jul 29, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 10, 2025
Weight-bearing exercise is essential for women, especially during perimenopause and menopause after age 40. Understanding what counts as weight bearing exercise and why it matters can help women of all ages build stronger bodies and healthier futures.
Weight-bearing exercise involves activities that require supporting body weight against gravity, such as resistance training, walking, dancing, stair climbing, yoga, tai chi, or tennis. These exercises help maintain and build muscle and bone strength. Pilates is becoming increasingly popular, and a common question is whether it counts as weight-bearing exercise. This depends on the specific movements involved. Traditional mat Pilates provides some weight-bearing benefits, but adding resistance through reformer machines, resistance bands, or small weights can make it more effective for maintaining bone density and building strength.
During menopause, weight-bearing exercises are especially important because it can:
Builds Peak Bone Mass: For younger women, weight-bearing exercise is essential for building peak bone mass, which typically occurs in the late 20's to early 30's. The stronger your bones are at their peak, the better protected you'll be against bone loss later in life.
Maintain Bone Density: During menopause, oestrogen levels drop by up to 90% which, among other things, can reduce bone mineral density and increase the risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures. Weight-bearing exercises help strengthen bones and reduce the risk of fractures.
Promote Weight Management: Weight-bearing exercises, particularly resistance training, help maintain muscle mass throughout life. Muscle tissue burns more calories at rest than fat tissue, supporting a healthy metabolism. Whilst weight gain is common during menopause and perimenopause, resistance training and weight-bearing movements help maintain muscle mass, which supports a healthy metabolism and helps burn calories.
Build and Preserve Muscle Strength: Starting in our 30's, we naturally begin to lose muscle mass. Weight-bearing exercise helps combat this process, preserving muscle mass that's vital for mobility, stability, and overall strength as we age.
Support Joint Health: These exercises help maintain flexibility and prevent stiffness in joints, supporting long-term mobility and reducing the risk of injury.
Enhances Mental Health and Sleep: exercise produces feel-good endorphins, can lower stress and support better sleep quality. This is beneficial for women at any life stage, but particularly valuable for those experiencing the sleep disruptions and mood changes that can accompany hormonal transitions.
Support Heart Health: Activities like brisk walking and stair climbing improve cardiovascular health, lowering the risk of heart disease which becomes increasingly important as women age and oestrogen's protective effects on the heart diminish.
The Bottom Line
How much should we be exercising during menopause and perimenopause? The general advice is that women should aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity, five days per week. This should include a combination of weight-bearing exercises and other forms of movement. For women over 40, incorporating specific resistance training 2-3 times per week becomes increasingly important for maintaining bone density and muscle mass.
As with most things, the key is consistency! Whether you're in your 20's building peak bone mass, or in your 50's navigating menopause, weight-bearing exercise is an investment in your current and future health. Starting at any age provides benefits, and it's never too late to begin building stronger bones and muscles.
Note: This information is for educational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice.
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