Menopause Part 4: Training, Protein, Cortisol, Hormone Therapy, & Bone Density · Barbell Medicine Podcast · Radar

Evidence: Menopause vs Training Response3:26 – 10:04

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

3:26

So the training that works for a perimenopausal woman is the training that works for any healthy adult.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

3:31

That's our main claim here.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

3:33

There is a famous trial that came out in 2023, the Eisenman trial.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

3:37

And I think that's one of the strongest single pieces of evidence that we have.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

3:40

Let's talk through it.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

3:41

The setup here, Eisenman and colleagues at the German Sport University in Cologne published this in 2023.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

3:49

They took 41 women.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

3:50

Their mean age was 52 plus or minus about four years.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

3:54

They classified each one of them as either premenopausal or postmenopausal based on their FSH levels.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:00

That's a follicle stimulating hormone.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:02

That's the pituitary hormone that climbs when ovarian estrogen output goes down.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:08

And they have got a 12-month diary of their periods.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:11

Now, 17 of the premenopausal women trained at moderate intensity, which was about 75% of the one rep max, twice a week for 10 weeks.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:19

And then 24 postmenopausal women were split between the same moderate intensity training program and then a lower intensity version where they trained at 50% of the one rep max.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:28

We're going to focus on the moderate intensity comparison, which is the head-to-head comparison between pre- and post-menopausal women.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:34

Now, they were doing legitimate free weight training.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:37

They were doing squats, bench press, and deadlift variants.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:40

Now, some people listening to this would be like, what kind of squats were they? Well, it was with a barbell, so that's good.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:45

It was to a box, however, so not exactly a regular barbell squat, but the bench press was with free weights.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:53

So real movements, nonetheless, with real weight.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:56

The results after 10 weeks, the squat one rep max in the pre-menopausal group went from 48.5 kilograms to 68.5 kilograms, a 61% increase.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

5:08

In the post-menopausal group on the same program, squat one rep max went from 36.3 kilos to 71 kilos, a 65% increase.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

5:17

And the bench press told the same story.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

5:18

Pre-menopausal group went up 18%, whereas the post-menopausal group went up 22%.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

5:23

Now, if we just started right there, This looks like a PED, just go post-menopausal and your gains will increase.

Evidence: Menopause vs Training Response3:26 – 10:04

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

3:26

So the training that works for a perimenopausal woman is the training that works for any healthy adult.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

3:31

That's our main claim here.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

3:33

There is a famous trial that came out in 2023, the Eisenman trial.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

3:37

And I think that's one of the strongest single pieces of evidence that we have.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

3:40

Let's talk through it.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

3:41

The setup here, Eisenman and colleagues at the German Sport University in Cologne published this in 2023.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

3:49

They took 41 women.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

3:50

Their mean age was 52 plus or minus about four years.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

3:54

They classified each one of them as either premenopausal or postmenopausal based on their FSH levels.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:00

That's a follicle stimulating hormone.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:02

That's the pituitary hormone that climbs when ovarian estrogen output goes down.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:08

And they have got a 12-month diary of their periods.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:11

Now, 17 of the premenopausal women trained at moderate intensity, which was about 75% of the one rep max, twice a week for 10 weeks.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:19

And then 24 postmenopausal women were split between the same moderate intensity training program and then a lower intensity version where they trained at 50% of the one rep max.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:28

We're going to focus on the moderate intensity comparison, which is the head-to-head comparison between pre- and post-menopausal women.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:34

Now, they were doing legitimate free weight training.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:37

They were doing squats, bench press, and deadlift variants.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:40

Now, some people listening to this would be like, what kind of squats were they? Well, it was with a barbell, so that's good.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:45

It was to a box, however, so not exactly a regular barbell squat, but the bench press was with free weights.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:53

So real movements, nonetheless, with real weight.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

4:56

The results after 10 weeks, the squat one rep max in the pre-menopausal group went from 48.5 kilograms to 68.5 kilograms, a 61% increase.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

5:08

In the post-menopausal group on the same program, squat one rep max went from 36.3 kilos to 71 kilos, a 65% increase.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

5:17

And the bench press told the same story.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

5:18

Pre-menopausal group went up 18%, whereas the post-menopausal group went up 22%.

Jordan FeigenbaumHost

5:23

Now, if we just started right there, This looks like a PED, just go post-menopausal and your gains will increase.