Eps 455: My Perimenopause Workout Routine to Build Muscle Without Burning Out

What is the best workout routine for perimenopause if you want to build muscle without feeling exhausted, sore, or burned out?

In this solo episode, I’m sharing exactly how I train at almost 45 after learning that more exercise does not always produce better results. For years, I completed intense workouts six days a week. That approach helped until my sleep, energy, recovery, hormones, and body composition began changing in my late 30s.

I initially assumed I needed to work out harder. What I eventually realized was that my body no longer had the capacity to adapt to everything I was asking it to do. Exercise is a valuable stressor, but your body still needs enough energy, protein, sleep, metabolic support, and recovery to turn that training stimulus into muscle.

I walk through my current weekly workout split, including daily walking, four strength-training sessions, dedicated mobility and yoga, warmups, cooldowns, and at least one full recovery day. My rhythm is simple: strength, strength, recover, strength, strength, recover.

You’ll also learn why I no longer train completely fasted, how I fuel before and after workouts, why I use deload weeks around my cycle, and how I am experimenting with blood flow restriction training to create a muscular stimulus with lighter loads.

This is not a workout schedule every woman should copy. Your ideal perimenopause exercise plan depends on your symptoms, recovery capacity, stage of perimenopause, hormone status, nutrition, sleep, stress, and whether your body is already carrying health debt.

If your old workouts stopped working, the answer may not be another intense program. The better question is: What does my body currently have the capacity to recover from?

In This Episode

00:00 How my workouts changed in perimenopause
01:39 Why the hardest workout is not always the most productive
02:12 When pushing harder stopped producing results
04:09 Why you cannot outtrain health debt
05:54 Exercise creates a stimulus, but recovery builds muscle
07:23 Why I temporarily stopped intense workouts
08:32 Fitness as an investment when your body is already in debt
10:12 Learning to train smarter, not harder
10:54 My daily walking routine and step goal
13:31 My current seven-day workout split
13:44 Monday and Tuesday strength training
14:06 Warmups, cooldowns, mobility, and workout length
15:24 Wednesday recovery with yoga and mobility
15:50 Thursday and Friday strength training
16:13 Weekend rest and Yin yoga
16:45 Strength, strength, recover
17:13 Progressive overload and the smallest effective dose
18:08 How I fuel before and after workouts
19:12 Why building muscle and eating less can conflict
20:05 How I became leaner and more muscular while exercising less
20:48 My experiment with blood flow restriction training
22:25 Adjusting training around the menstrual cycle
23:19 What a deload week looks like
24:18 Training for the next 30 years
25:51 Signs your body may not be recovering
27:24 Why your workout plan must match your current body
28:23 When walking, eating, sleeping, and recovering should come first
30:01 The muscle-building lesson I want every woman to remember

Take the Next Step

If conflicting midlife fitness advice has left you wondering whether you should lift heavier, do more cardio, try HIIT, or pull back and recover, take my free Perimenopause and Health Debt Quiz.

It will help you begin identifying your current stage of perimenopause and whether health debt may be affecting your workouts, energy, recovery, and results.

Use the link in the episode description to take the quiz.

Connect with Bria

Instagram: @bria_period_whisperer
Website: https://theperiodwhisperer.com