Menopause as a Performance Advantage
- Brainz Magazine
- Oct 9
- 7 min read
Written by Susan L Williams, Clinical Hypnotherapist
Dr. Susan L. Williams, also known as Dr. Sue, is a pioneering clinical hypnotherapist with a unique expertise spanning athletes, sports teams, executives, and entrepreneurs. In her thriving practice, now in its fourth year, Dr. Sue employs innovative hypnotherapy techniques to help athletes overcome barriers such as negative mindsets, limiting beliefs, and the psychological impact of injuries and setbacks.
Menopause isn’t a downgrade. It’s a new operating system. When you learn to train with it rather than against it, you can maintain, and often improve, strength, power, sleep, and focus. This stage is not a retreat from performance but a recalibration of potential. The physiology changes, yes, but so do the opportunities. This guide translates the best of current science and female-athlete expertise into plain, practical strategies you can use right now, intelligent strength training, heat-savvy conditioning, true sleep repair, pelvic-floor confidence, and treatment options you can discuss openly with your clinician. Whether you’re pursuing a personal best or leading a team, menopause can become your next performance advantage.
A word on care and choice
There is no single blueprint for managing menopause. The most recent NICE guidance is clear, individualized, shared decision-making is essential. So, before making any changes to your current care, training, or medication plan, consult your qualified medical professional to ensure choices are safe and appropriate for you. Bring your own goals into the consultation, bone strength, quality sleep, mental focus, freedom from disruptive flushes, and collaborate with your clinician on an approach that fits both your health history and your ambitions.
If you prefer to explore the foundation yourself, start here, "NICE: Menopause – identification and management (NG23)." It outlines evidence-based approaches that put personal context first rather than prescribing a one-size-fits-all solution.
Hormone therapy: Facts before fear
For hot flushes, night sweats, and other common symptoms, Hormone Therapy (HT) remains the most effective option. Its benefits often extend beyond symptom relief to include bone protection and improvements in quality of life. That said, it is not the right choice for everyone. HT comes in several forms and doses, which is why open dialogue with your clinician is essential.
If you want the most accessible, professionally written overview, read the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) 2022 Hormone Therapy Statement (PDF). It summarizes current evidence and dispels outdated myths.
The route and dose you choose matter. Large registry studies suggest that some oral combinations may carry different cardiovascular or clotting risks compared to transdermal (through-skin) forms. This is not a reason to avoid treatment altogether. It is an invitation to discuss specifics rather than generalities. For primary data, see BMJ 2024 – Emulated Target Trial on HT Route and Cardiovascular Risk.
Nonhormonal support that works
If HT isn’t suitable or desired, real alternatives exist. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can reduce vasomotor symptoms and improve sleep. Certain medications and behavioural strategies have strong evidence for easing day-to-day impact. You can review the NAMS 2023 Nonhormone Therapies Statement (PDF) for professional guidance.
The key takeaway, effective management always begins with personalization, not prescription.
From physiology to performance
Now, how do we turn this changing physiology into a competitive edge in training, sport, and leadership?
Start with strength. After 40, fast-twitch muscle fibres and bone density respond to the principle of “use it or lose it.” Strength training becomes non-negotiable. Two or three sessions a week are ideal. Focus on the major movement patterns, squat, hinge, push, pull, and carry. Work in the range of 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 6 challenging reps, taking purposeful rest between efforts rather than rushing through.
It’s best to develop or review your plan with a qualified physical trainer who can tailor exercises, loading, and technique to your current condition and goals.
Finish sessions with light, controlled impact, step-downs, small hops, or low-amplitude jumps, scaled to your joints. Prioritize sharp form and clean execution over fatigue.
If your week gets busy, compress the essentials into a 20 to 25-minute hotel-gym circuit, one minute of heavy machine press or row, one minute of step-ups, repeat. Record your first set for technique and your last set for intensity. The goal is not exhaustion but competence.
Navigating the heat
Perimenopause can magnify heat sensitivity, turning even routine workouts into struggles. Here, the elite-sport playbook helps. Pre-cool before sessions with an ice slushie or cold towel 10 to 15 minutes beforehand. Choose shaded routes or ventilated spaces. On hot days, shorten work intervals, extend recovery, and cool your neck, face, or palms between sets.
If flushes still interfere, integrate these strategies with the medical options discussed in your HT or nonhormone plan. The aim is reliability. You need a training system that supports consistency, not one that depends on chance.
If you enjoy data, note your Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) after each workout. These small records build insight, helping you adjust sessions up or down without over-analysing the numbers.
You can track RPE easily by jotting a quick 1-10 effort score in your training notes right after each session, along with a few words on how it felt. Details like sleep, temperature, or focus help you see patterns and adjust your plan with precision.
Sleep, focus, and brain clarity
Sleep disruptions and mental fog are among the most frustrating symptoms, yet they often respond well to structure. Start simple, darker, cooler, earlier. Add a short, repeated wind-down routine, breathing practice, light mobility, a few pages of real reading, low light.
If night sweats are the culprit, address both symptoms and behaviour. CBT-based tools can improve both sleep and vasomotor regulation. If you’re using HT or a nonhormonal medication, align timing and dose with your evening schedule for smoother physiology overnight.
Morning light within two hours of waking remains one of the most underused recovery tools. It resets circadian rhythms, stabilizes hormones, and pays off that night with deeper rest.
Pelvic floor: Strength you can’t see but always need
Many women experience leakage, urgency, or heaviness and assume it’s simply part of aging. It’s not. The pelvic floor is trainable.
Start with focused muscle training, ideally with a professional’s guidance for a few sessions before moving to a home plan. You don’t need elaborate devices, consistent cues and practice are enough. Try three mini sets right after training or before your shower, ten quick contractions, ten slow holds, and ten “brace for a cough” contractions.
If this habit has been postponed, that’s fine. The best time to begin is the week you decide to begin.
Tech: Use it, don’t serve it
Technology can be useful when treated as a guide, not a master. HRV and recovery scores offer trends, not verdicts. If your sleep was patchy, swap a hard interval session for steady aerobic work or strength instead. But never let one data point dictate your entire week. You are not your metrics.
A sample training framework
If you prefer a structure over a collection of tips, start here:
Monday: Lower-body strength and light impact
Wednesday: Upper body push and pull with carries
Friday: Total-body power and coordination drills
Optional Tuesday or Saturday: 20 to 30 minutes of aerobic tempo, hill work, or brisk walk-run
On warm days, apply your cooling strategies. In the evenings, keep your wind-down routine consistent, dim lighting, minimal tech, same bedtime, and a short CBT-style reflection or relaxation sequence if you use one.
When to revisit therapy options
If hot flushes, night sweats, or fatigue consistently disrupt your sleep, training, or focus, or if you’re thinking about long-term bone health, it may be time to review your treatment options with your clinician. For many healthy women under 60, or within ten years of menopause onset, hormone therapy (HT) offers a favourable balance of benefits and risks. However, the right approach always depends on your individual health profile and personal goals.
Discuss your medical history, preferred delivery route (such as transdermal or oral), and what outcomes matter most to you. A helpful resource to bring to your next appointment is the International Menopause Society Practitioner’s Toolkit (PDF). Sharing this with your clinician can make the conversation more focused, efficient, and grounded in current evidence.
The bigger picture: Training the body you have now
Menopause is not a limitation. It’s an inflection point, a physiological update that demands awareness, not apology.
You don’t need to power through a system that has evolved. Learn its rhythms, train with intelligence, and let your results speak louder than outdated myths. Strength, endurance, and clarity are not left behind with youth. They are redefined through wisdom and precision.
You’ve spent decades mastering persistence. Now is the time to master timing, when to push, when to rest, when to adapt. Every session becomes data, every recovery a recalibration, every decision a reflection of your growing understanding of yourself.
Menopause invites you to step into that knowledge fully. The body you have now is capable, responsive, and ready. Train with it, live with it, and let the results remind you, the clock does not define your performance, your awareness does.
If you’ve read this far, take it as your nudge. You don’t need to fight biology to excel. You simply need to align with it. The next chapter of strength begins the moment you do.
Plan for your next 30 days:
Book a performance consult. Bring your goals, bone strength, power, and sleep, along with a brief symptom summary, a snapshot of your training week, and the IMS Practitioner’s Toolkit.
Start or refresh your strength plan. Aim for two focused, heavy sessions each week with a small dose of impact if your joints allow. Track your loads and note how you feel the next day to guide progression.
Install your heat playbook. Pre-cool before sessions, choose routes with shade and airflow, shorten work bouts, and extend recovery on hot or flush-heavy days.
Protect your sleep. Keep your environment darker, cooler, and earlier, and add a 10-minute wind-down you repeat every night. If sleep remains disrupted, revisit the NAMS position statements with your clinician.
Create a pelvic-floor plan. Begin pelvic-floor muscle training, and if symptoms haven’t improved after six to eight weeks, schedule one to three sessions with a pelvic-floor physiotherapist for personalized guidance.
The takeaway is simple, this stage of life isn’t a step down. It’s an invitation to train with greater intelligence and self-awareness. Build real strength with purposeful lifting and small doses of impact. Learn to manage heat with strategy, protect your sleep as a foundation of performance, address pelvic-floor issues early, and choose therapies that align with your body and your goals. Then step out and do what matters most, in your sport, your work, and your wider life.
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Susan L. Williams, Clinical Hypnotherapist
Dr. Susan L. Williams, also known as Dr. Sue, is a pioneering clinical hypnotherapist with a unique expertise spanning athletes, sports teams, executives, and entrepreneurs. In her thriving practice, now in its fourth year, Dr. Sue employs innovative hypnotherapy techniques to help athletes overcome barriers such as negative mindsets, limiting beliefs, and the psychological impact of injuries and setbacks. She also empowers executives and entrepreneurs to overcome self-doubt and ingrained limitations, guiding them towards achieving a 'millionaire mindset'. Her approach shows that hypnosis caters to different audiences and the core methods are complementary and equally transformative.
