28 MENOPAUSE MATTERS 2012

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Fitnessmatters

Welcome to Fitness Mat-ters. This time I amturning my attention to

balance training, a frequentlyneglected component of fitnessthat has benefits for women,particularly at the menopause. Balance training plays a criti-cal role in the prevention offalls and the subsequent risk ofosteoporotic fractures. It hasbeen reported that in adultsmore than the age of 40, bonemass decreases by 0.5% peryear. However, more worrying,early post-menopausal womenexperience a rapid loss ofbone over and above this dueto declining estrogen levels. This increases our risk of fallsand osteoporotic fractures ofthe wrist, spine and hip in later

of staying upright and are oftenamazed by how quickly theirbalance improves. But donʼt worry if you canʼtget to classes. The followingthree-dimensional exerciseroutine uses the Swiss Ball toreally challenge your balanceand core muscles and can bedone at home. Swiss Balls area cheap and easily sourcedpiece of fitness equipment. For

best results, perform each ex-ercise slowly, with focus andconcentration. Aim to do eachexercise 8-12 times on eachside. If you find it difficult to in-corporate the upper bodymovements at first, leave themout. Donʼt give up. Youʼll beamazed how quickly you im-prove with regular practice.1 Place one foot on the ball as

life, in the absence of an ap-propriate exercise intervention. We have already looked at theimportance of resistance train-ing in the maintenance of bonemineral density. However,weak muscles, along with poorpostural control and reducedlower limb range of motion allincrease the risk of falls and in-jury in older women. While it has proven difficult todetermine the importance ofresistance, flexibility and bal-ance training in fall prevention,all three fitness componentsshould be included in our train-ing programme.Given the consequences ofosteoporotic fractures, includ-ing diminished quality of lifeand potential loss of independ-ence, it is never too early to incorporate balance traininginto our exercise regimes. Classes loke Yoga, Pilatesand Body Balance are highlybeneficial in improving bal-ance, co-ordination, muscularstrength, endurance and flexi-bility and can be accessed atyour local leisure centre or inthe community. I always include lots of stand-ing balance work in my FitnessPilates and Swiss Ball classes.My clients enjoy the challenge

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Kathleen Stewart focuses on

the benefits ofbalance training

Working out on a fine b

NEXT ISSUEResistance Training Revisited

MENOPAUSE MATTERS 2012 29

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Return to the start position.3 Finally, push the ball out tothe back corner, while usingyour arms to initiate torso rota-tion. Your arms return to thestart position as you roll theball back towards your body.Think of twenty to four on theclock face.I hope you enjoy this exercisesequence. You can contact meon kathleen@katsfitness.co.uk

shown. Roll the ball out in frontof you while stretching yourarms overhead. At the sametime slowly roll the ball back towards you and bend forward,contracting your abdominalmuscles.2 This time we are rolling theball directly out to the side.While pushing the ball awaywith your foot, bend directly tothe side and stretch overhead.

e balancing act Moving 6000 or moresteps a day, no matter

how, adds up to a healthierlife for midlife women. Ifyou can manage that levelof physical activity it willsubstantially decrease therisk of diabetes and meta-bolic syndrome (a diabetesprecursor and a risk forcardiovascular disease),according to a study pub-lished online recently inMenopause, the journal ofthe North American Meno-pause Society.

Other studies have shownthe value of structured ex-ercise in lowering healthrisks such as diabetes,high blood pressure andheart disease, this studyhas shown that habitualphysical activity, whether itcomes from exercising orthe simple activities ofdaily living, has the powerto improve women's health.

In Passo Fundo, Brazil,292 women who were 45 to72 years old wore pedome-ters and recorded theirdaily steps. They also hadhealth checks such as cho-lesterol and blood sugarand waist and hip measure-

ment (to gauge abdominalobesity, which is a risk fordiabetes and cardiovascu-lar disease). Women who took 6000 or

more steps per day wereconsidered active andthose who took took fewerwere seen to be inactive.The active women were

much less likely than theinactive ones to be obeseand have metabolic syn-drome or diabetes, whetheror not they had gonethrough menopause - whenthese risks go up andwhether or not they wereusing hormone therapy.For midlife women, it

looks like the journey tohealth begins with 6000steps.

Are youready tostart thejourney to

health?