How Denise Austin Torches Post-Menopause Belly Fat (and Other Unwanted Flab)

Your body changes after menopause. So it makes sense that you’ll need to change some of the ways you take care of it. Here are a few tips for keeping unwanted fat under control.

“The only constant is change,” the saying goes. And that’s true for our bodies, too, particularly for women in midlife, thanks to the no-more-periods party known as menopause.

Data shows that in the 10 years leading up tomenopause(a transition period known as “perimenopause”) women experience a two- to fourfoldincrease in fat and loss of lean body mass, according to a2019年3月在期刊上发表的研究JCI Insight. Those changes stabilize after menopause begins.

Read: Biology has a lot to do with unwanted belly, back, and arm flab.

这不是围栏本身在你的肌肉里吃掉了。这是与触发身体变化的过程相关的激素变化，从而导致您以不同方式存储和燃烧脂肪和肌肉。这意味着在二十多岁期间，你遵循的健身房常规和饮食可以让你的身体在四十年代和五十年代（或者你经历过周年期和更年期时感觉太大了不同）。

Key to countering the changes — to look and feel your best — is adapting behaviors that affect metabolism and weight gain (like exercise, sleep, and diet) to specifically torch fat, boost lean muscle, and keep your energy up.Lifestyle changeslike eating at the right time of day, keeping portion size in check,bob ios下载 ， 和reducing stresscan all help.

And when it comes toexercise, no matter what your previous routine, thinkstrength training.

These exercises specifically work against the fat gain and muscle loss that happen during menopause, explains丹尼斯奥斯汀, a fitness instructor who’s created dozens of video and online fitness programs and has authored 12 fitness books, including40后适合和神奇.

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Strength exercises grow lean muscles and help you burn fat more efficiently (by boosting metabolism), she says.

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You’ll still want to get someaerobic exercise在本周，奥斯汀增加了。但您所做的负重锻炼也将使这些锻炼更有效。

^{丹尼斯奥斯汀has been creating fitness programs for more than three decades. She served on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in the early 2000s. Her most recent 10-Week Whole Body Plan is designed to help people get fit by not only moving more, but also eating right and maintaining a positive attitude. Listen to Austin’s tips on how to stay on track with your health and fitness goals.}

6移动核心，手臂和腿部

Austin suggests doing the following circuit of strengthening exercises three to four days per week (up to six days a week if you’re strong enough) to see results. Use a yoga mat if needed for the floor exercises, and a pair of light dumbbells for the moves that require weights. Aim to rest as little as possible in between each one.

1.自行车

Lie on your back with legs extended flat on the ground in front of you. Place your hands behind your head with your elbows pointing out to either side (rather than pointed up to the ceiling) and raise your upper back off the ground while engaging your core muscles, keeping your lower back pushed into the floor and your shoulders and neck relaxed. At the same time, draw your knees toward your chest. Twist from your waist and reach your right elbow to your left knee while extending your right leg out straight in front of you, hovering it a few inches off the ground. Reverse the move to twist your left elbow to your right knee, extending your left leg. Continue alternating sides for one minute without letting your feet touch the floor. (If this is too difficult, modify by doing the move with your knees bent and feet resting flat on the ground.)

2. Lower Tummy Tuck

Start by lying on the floor with your arms at your sides and legs extended straight in front of you resting on the floor. Lift legs up to the ceiling and bend at the knees. Keep your core engaged and your lower back pushed into the floor. Initiating the move from your lower abdominal muscles, lift hips slightly off the ground and your feet toward the ceiling (drawing your knees toward your chest), then lower. Repeat the move for one minute.

3. Tricep Kickback

Start standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and with a lightweight dumbbell in your right hand (to make it easier, skip the weight). Step your right leg back, bending your left leg and keeping most of your weight in your left leg (rest your left hand on your left thigh, or a chair or bench if needed for support). Draw your right elbow up behind you and straighten your arm until it’s fully extended behind you (almost parallel with the floor), squeezing your triceps. Then curl your right fist back toward your chest. Keep your ab muscles tight and your back straight throughout the exercise. Repeat just the arm movements for a full minute, then repeat on the other side.

4. Upper Back Fly

Start standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and holding a lightweight dumbbell in each hand. Lean slightly forward and bend your knees. Keep your weight spread evenly over the balls of your feet and your heels. Extend your arms straight down toward the ground (so that the lines of the arms from the shoulder to your fist are perpendicular to the floor), then raise your arms directly out to either side, keeping the arms as straight as possible, and lower back down. Repeat the arm movements for a full minute. (If too difficult, modify by doing the same move without weights.)

5. Mini Squat With Leg Lift

To start, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Sit back into a chair pose, bending your knees as deeply as you can without your heels coming off the ground and keeping your back as vertical as possible. Now return to standing, transferring all your weight to your right side as you kick your left leg straight out behind you. Then return to the chair pose with weight evenly distributed between both feet again. Extend your arms straight in front of you while in the chair pose (so they are parallel to the ground) to help you balance. Repeat the move, kicking your right leg out behind you and transferring all your weight to your left leg. Continue to alternate sides for one full minute.

6.侧弓步

Start standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands on your hips. Take a large step with your right leg directly out to your right, bending your right knee, and transitioning most of your weight to your right side, bending your torso forward (hinging at the hips). Return to the beginning standing position and repeat the move on the left side. Continue alternating for one minute.