Women's health needs evolve throughout life, and the same applies to fitness. Changes in hormones, physiology and day-to-day circumstances can influence how people feel, train and recover, making personalised support an important part of helping people achieve their individual goals.
For fitness professionals, understanding those changes is essential. Samantha Rasiah, Active IQ Ambassador and an experienced trainer, said: "Our capacity, recovery, training and nutritional needs will change depending on the different life stages that we are going through, whether that be puberty, adulthood, pregnancy, postpartum, menopause or beyond that."
Menopause is one of those key transitional stages where changing needs can influence an individual's relationship with exercise, highlighting the value of personalised support from qualified fitness professionals.
Understanding menopause and physical activity
Although menopause is a natural stage of life, the physical and hormonal changes that come with it can affect people in different ways.
Drawing on her experience of working with women across different stages of life, Sam explains that menopause can influence far more than the symptoms commonly linked with it.
She said: "The physical and hormonal changes that are associated with menopause affect so many things, not just moods, but also things like energy levels, strength, mobility, sleep, appetite, recovery capacity, even cognitive ability and memory, as well as confidence and motivation levels."
For some women, these changes may influence how they approach exercise or recovery. That’s why it’s so important to support a positive relationship with physical activity that can be maintained during these key moments in life.
Staying active plays an important role in supporting health and wellbeing, both during and beyond menopause. National guidance highlights the importance of maintaining strength, supporting bone health and taking part in regular physical activity throughout life.
This is particularly important given the wider challenge of ensuring more people can access and benefit from regular physical activity. While overall activity levels in England continue to improve, Sport England's latest Active Lives Adult Survey found that women remain less likely to be active than men, and we still see significant inequalities in participation across different groups in society.
For the physical activity sector, this reinforces the importance of creating environments where more women feel understood, supported and confident engaging with physical activity in a way that best works for them.
How qualified trainers make a difference
As Sam explains: “One woman's experience of menopause can differ quite significantly from another."
Because each experience is unique, a one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to meet everyone's needs.
Qualified fitness professionals can help women adapt their training around their changing needs, while continuing to work towards the goals that matter to them. That might mean adjusting training loads, modifying exercises, offering support with recovery, introducing different activities or simply helping someone build confidence in trying something new.
Most importantly, effective coaching starts with understanding the individual. By taking the time to understand someone’s circumstances, preferences and experiences, coaches can adapt their support in a way that feels realistic and achievable to them.
Sam added: "If you're experiencing menopause and feel like you need some support with your training during this time, look for a coach who specialises in this area as they will understand how to adapt training to your current needs and abilities."
At a time when health and fitness information is readily available online, qualified professionals bring an additional layer of expertise. Through their training and experience, they can help people make informed decisions and adapt exercise safely and appropriately to support their individual needs.
Building a workforce equipped to support women
Women's health is receiving greater attention across the physical activity sector, helping to broaden our collective understanding of how different life stages can influence people's experiences of exercise and physical activity.
For trainers, employers, operators and education providers, this reinforces the importance of ongoing learning and professional development.
This view is shared by trainers like Sam, who said: "It's really important that we equip ourselves with adequate knowledge and skills so we can continue to support our clients with the personalised coaching that they need throughout the different stages of their lives."
Supporting people going through significant changes such as menopause reminds us that people's needs, goals and experiences are not fixed. That’s why continuing to develop knowledge and understanding helps fitness professionals to adapt their approach and create positive, personalised experiences for the people they support.
Develop your knowledge and skills with Active IQ
Whether you're starting a career in fitness or looking to build on your existing experience, developing your knowledge and skills is key to supporting people throughout key stages of their life, including supporting women going through menopause.
Explore fitness qualifications and professional development opportunities with Active IQ to build your expertise and help create positive, personalised experiences for the people you support.