Strength training through perimenopause

The short answer: keep lifting. Strength training is one of the best-supported things you can do around menopause, and two sessions a week is the minimum UK guidance recommends for everyone. The catch is that perimenopause can make your recovery numbers look worse than you feel, and many fitness apps respond by telling you to rest. A training plan that knows you're in perimenopause can read those numbers more sensibly and keep the strength work in your week.

What the research says

Two trials in women after menopause are worth knowing about:

• Bone and function. In the LIFTMOR trial, postmenopausal women with low bone mass who did supervised high-intensity resistance and impact training twice a week improved their bone density and physical function over eight months (Watson 2018, Journal of Bone and Mineral Research).
• Hot flushes. In a 15-week trial, postmenopausal women who did resistance training three times a week roughly halved their moderate-to-severe hot flushes over the 15 weeks (Berin 2019, Maturitas).

Both studies were in women who had already been through menopause, so they don't directly prove the same effects during perimenopause. But together with the wider evidence on muscle, bone and healthy ageing, they're a strong reason to make strength training non-negotiable through the transition. The UK Chief Medical Officers recommend muscle-strengthening activity on at least two days a week for all adults.

Why your tracker may be getting perimenopause wrong

Hormonal changes in perimenopause can shift the very signals trackers use to judge recovery: heart rate variability (HRV) can dip, resting heart rate can creep up, and skin temperature can run higher. Sleep often gets worse too.

Most apps compare those numbers against a general baseline. When HRV drops, resting heart rate rises and temperature is up, they read it as under-recovery or possible illness, and suggest you take it easy. In perimenopause that pattern can simply be your new normal for a while, so "take it easy" can quietly turn into weeks without training.

What a perimenopause-aware plan does differently

Fitovo asks about perimenopause, menopause and HRT when you set it up (you can change them any time in your profile). Once you've told it:

• It gives your HRV more room. A dip counts for less than it would for someone without those health factors. Sleep counts for a little more, and it assumes recovery takes slightly longer, so a hard session weighs more on the next morning's readiness.
• It sets a higher bar for "you might be unwell". It only suggests possible illness when your HRV drop, resting heart rate rise and temperature rise all pass stricter thresholds together, so a warm night on its own won't bench you.
• It protects your strength sessions. The plan keeps a floor of two strength sessions a week. On a low day it trims the reps, not the weight, so you keep the training effect.
• It works around the rest of your life. Classes, walks, runs and swims logged in Apple Health count towards your week, so the plan fills the gaps instead of piling on.

It works with Apple Watch, Oura and Whoop. No wearable? You still get the full plan, and readiness comes from a short morning check-in instead.

What it isn't

Fitovo is a training app. It isn't a symptom tracker or a cycle tracker, and it doesn't give medical or HRT advice. If you want cycle tracking alongside your training, apps such as Athlytic and Gentler Streak include it.

A simple starting point

Two full-body strength sessions a week, 30–45 minutes each, built around squats, hinges (like deadlifts or hip thrusts), pushes, pulls and carries. Start lighter than you think, add weight or reps gradually, and keep going through the weeks when you feel flat: those are the weeks the consistency matters most.

For a full 12-week plan you can do at home, read The Over-40 Resistance Training Guide.