Why You Are or Aren’t Sore After Workouts — What does Menopause Really Have to Do With It

If you are still chasing soreness like it's a badge of honor and like it's a sign you worked out hard or hard enough, or maybe if you are wondering, I'm not sore, does that mean I didn't work hard enough and that really didn't count, wasn't a great workout? Either way, this episode is the myth-busting, science-backed wake-up call about what does soreness mean and why it's not such a great use of this is good or this is bad in midlife. So we're gonna talk about what menopause has to do with post-workout soreness. Stay tuned. If you have ever said this, like, I'm not sore, like, I must not have pushed enough, maybe I didn't work hard enough, or you're saying right now, why am I still sore? Or I'm sore all the time, this episode is absolutely for you. And I've heard all of it and everything in between. In your 40s and your 50s and beyond, your body responds to exercise in a different way than it did when you were younger. However, some of this is not about you being 50 or 61 or 48, but it's actually about you and potentially you had this distinct difference between you, your friends, your bestie, your spouse or partner when you were 20. This would have been true. So we're going to unpack all of it, and it's time to update what soreness really means to you, for you, and how menopause does play into this just a little bit. So in full disclosure for you, It is still January as I'm recording this live, but no matter when you're listening, by the way, soreness is a factor that is always a topic of conversation, so stay tuned. But if you're seeing this or any part of it on video, you might have seen a clip from it. I'm in a parka indoors, and yes, it's true, not embarrassed to say so. You know, every house has the rooms where It's like, I remember my brother's room was called the South Bedroom because it was always sunny in the winter. Mine was on the opposite side of the house, so fortunately that meant they gave me carpeting when I was like a barely a teenager. So it was just a little bit warmer in there because it was always freezing cold in there. I didn't get the benefit of the sunshine. Well, This is that room. There's great windows in here. There's great window light, but there's no sunshine. The room next door, it would be a great podcast room right now, but I'm freezing, so I have the park on. That's the story, and that's all. I'll end right there. Here's why you should listen to the podcast. We're gonna answer these questions. Why are some women always sore after workouts and others never? And no matter which you are, I guarantee you, you're asking questions about it. And the other woman is too. It's good to know that. What does the latest science say about soreness and actual muscle damage? How does menopause and estrogen impact muscle recovery and inflammation? And what's the difference between effective training and painful training and why soreness should not be your metric for success. Spoiler alert right there. And what to track instead. But I am going to answer this question at the end because it is asked so very, very often. Should soreness determine whether you're ready for another workout again? So stay with me to the end if you want that one. Inside of this episode, you're going to get some science-backed resources resources and references. So if you're wanting to follow up and follow through with some of the things that I've mentioned here about what is the thing to track, and you want to take a good look at the science yourself— prove it to me, girls— it's here and in this one. All right, so before we go too far, I want to explain what muscle soreness is and when it most often happens. And some of this comes from 15 years teaching in the Department of Kinesiology and teaching core courses for PE majors who wanted to own gyms, be trainers, manage clubs, be PAs and nurses, pre-med students, pre-PT students. So we have the gamut, and they all go through these core courses learning physiology, learning physiology and applying it to themselves. So basically being their own lab rat. I taught over and over again underwater weighing, not just doing it and explaining to them how underwater weighing compared to skinfold calipers, compared to girth measurements and other means of tracking body comp. And this was long before a very educated, anyway, bioimpedance was born. There were some real remedial ones out there at the time. And then it was VO2 max. So I would take students and once a semester for every course I taught, and there were multiples of the same kind of course load that I would teach. And we would take, say, 2— generally we had room for 2, maybe 3 different students to be subjects, and we would run them through a VO2 max test. And so some of the students got to come up and help administer and learn how to do it, run the metabolic cart, talk to the, the client, quote unquote, and/or be the subject. And then everybody else was keeping track of the data, the statistics. It was great fun. But this really showed me teaching hundreds of students, so about 200 students every semester, fall and spring, and then a smaller cohort generally during summer semesters when I would typically volunteer. You know, I learned a lot about soreness even among basically 20 to 24-year-olds, and there were some outliers, but that's basically how old everybody was. I learned a lot about that. And then going in and looking at training in the real world where our clientele most frequently were women over 40 who reached out, either came first into group fitness where I spent a lot of time in my early formative fitness years. And then when personal training really became, okay, this is mainstream, this is not just for celebrities, you know, I learned a lot not just in working with my own clients, but once I was supervising, you know, almost a dozen trainers in 3 locations, you know, that was a lot of repetitions, you know, over 250,000 personal training sessions over, um, every year, what we were seeing is there's such a difference in the way people respond to the same kind of workouts. You know, we could have the same kind of people, roughly the same fitness level, in the same programs, experiencing very different feelings afterward and feelings of readiness for the next workout. And it's when it became very clear that not everybody should go to a boot camp with the same frequency. Per week. So some would do, okay, I can do great with 3 or even just 2 boot camp-like intense sessions every week. And others could tolerate 4. Very few could tolerate 6. You know who they were? They were the 18 to 20-year-olds who were not staying up partying, by the way. These were the boring ones who went home, slept, ate really well and were just really into being their own geeks and lab rats. But I tell you this because I think there is, number one, there's often— there are women who are in midlife, you're in midlife or you're beyond, and you're starting to exercise for the first time because, number one, I think we're all getting a wake-up call. This is not just how we look. This is not just so that we look good sleeveless. No discounting that. We all want to look good. We've all been praised for looking good our entire lives. Why would we not want that? But it is that we now realize taking good care of ourselves is not just a vanity play. It is not just for today. And knock on wood, those of us that did it for whatever reason 10 or 20 years ago and realize we've been doing it consistently And it puts us at an advantage for potentially being able to age better and being a little bit more resilient in starting the menopause journey and therefore finishing it a little stronger and better than maybe the next woman. And it's not a competition, but certainly comparing ourselves going through it fit to not fit. And of course, if you, you hope you don't have the comparison to do, you just experience one way. And you got to think, it might have gone so very differently if I hadn't been prepared, or maybe if I had been prepared, could I have improved it? But no matter when you're listening to this, I want you to know that you absolutely can improve your strength, your power, your longevity, the ability to live stronger doing things you love longer. By starting here. I'm going to share with you some of the background of soreness that stems from just the basics. So we often call soreness after exercise, we call it DOMS, standing for delayed onset muscle soreness. D-O-M-S, very common term. You've probably heard it or read it somewhere in your lifetime. It might have had a fleeting minute, and you might have at that moment thought, "Oh, I never get that," or, "Oh, I remember feeling that." And some people— what you want to consider is that some people, you may be one or you may rule this out right now, almost always experience that. And others, whether they're 20, 22, 35, 47, 59, or 70? Almost never do. And that is just say you've done a workout, you went to the gym, you did your strength training session, and you had been away for a few weeks. You know how that is. It's like, okay, body, come on back online, back online, let's reboot. And You know, almost all of us will experience some soreness if we're doing something that we have not done, and I'll come back to that in just a little bit. Hey friends, before we go any further, I am so excited to share this with you. It's about C15 from Fatty15, the first emerging essential fatty acid to be discovered in more than 90 years. It's an incredible scientific breakthrough to support long-term health, wellness, and you guessed it, healthy aging. Look, I don't want my birthday candles to matter. This was discovered ironically by a Dr. Stephanie Van Watson while working with the US Navy to continually improve the health and welfare of aging dolphins. How cool. Based on now over 100 studies, we know that C15 strengthens our cells. It's a key healthy aging nutrient which helps to slow down biological aging at the cellular level. When our cells age, our bodies age too. Yeah, as many as 1 in 3 people worldwide may have low C15 levels. That leads to a syndrome called Cellular Fragility Syndrome. Now, if you want to know if your doctor can test for it, the answer is yes. So Physicians, some of which are already testing for it in a regular blood panel. There's also an at-home test that you can take. Fatty15 is a science-backed, award-winning, patented, 100% pure C15 supplement. It's vegan-friendly, free of flavors, allergens, and preservatives. It's clinically proven to raise C15 And listen to this, that results in lower cholesterol levels, healthier liver function, improved gut microbiome— after my own heart— and improved red blood cell health within 3 months. I am on a mission this year to improve my own gut microbiome. And again, if you want to test and prove to yourself that you need this, some doctors already routinely test for C15 levels as a part of fatty acid panel. So ask about that. And just as importantly, your doctor can test for clinically relevant signs of Cellular Fragility Syndrome. And that includes— pay attention because I've talked to some of you I know have these— high red blood cell distribution, high ferritin levels— pay close attention— and elevated liver enzymes. So if you want to get your hands on it, Just like me, Fatty15 is on a mission to optimize your C15 levels to help support your long-term health and wellness, especially as you age. You can get an additional 15% off their 90-day subscription starter kit by going to fatty15.com/flipping50 and use code FLIPPING50 at checkout. Before we get started, at this time of year, it is really even more important that we talk about the fact that hydration is important, but hydration isn't just about drinking water. Being optimally hydrated is about optimizing your body's fluid ratios. And this fluid balance depends on so many factors, including the intake and the excretion of electrolytes. But you don't need electrolytes just if you're working out or it's hot outside or you're a heavy sweater, though you may need more if those things are true for you. LMNT is one of my favorite ways to boost electrolytes and make drinking water in winter more attractive. And by the way, I add the chocolate LMNT to warm water or unsweetened almond milk for a little guilt-free cold-free hot chocolate and take in my electrolytes that way. The current science points to consuming 4 to 6 grams of sodium, 3.5 to 5 grams of potassium, and 400 to 600 milligrams of magnesium per day from diet and supplements for optimal health outcomes. Those are really key electrolytes. All electrolytes are best consumed from whole foods, no contest. Element can help fill in the gaps that we've got in our diet. In alignment with that, Element has a science-backed ratio of 100 milligrams sodium, 200 potassium, and 60 milligrams of magnesium. Now I know what you're thinking, 100 grams of sodium? I can hear it even on this side. You're wondering, isn't sodium bad for you? But here's the deal: the government recommends consuming fewer than 2.3 grams per— of sodium per day, ostensibly for heart health. But in 2011, a Journal of the American Medical Association study found that optimal health outcomes occur at 4 to 6 grams per day. Yeah, so what happens is if we cut out salt, you're thinking that you're being virtuous by eliminating salt. Oh no, I never salt my food. Because I know you, I've eaten dinner with you, by the way. That actually can cause more harm than good. Many healthy people need more sodium, not less. Symptoms of low blood sodium levels, it's called hypokalemia. Nitremia, by the way. They include headaches, fatigue, muscle cramps, and confusion. And in severe cases, not to sound alarmist, brain damage, seizures, and death. But I want you to listen to that list again: headaches, fatigue, muscle cramps, confusion. In other words, brain fog. Does that sound similar to symptoms of menopause? I say yes. So it could be that you're passing off some of your symptoms for what really is just hydration. Look, everyone from U.S. Olympic athletes to health experts like me and women just like you who want optimal energy and balance for health are using it. You can get your own. Get a free 8-count sample pack of Element's most popular drink mix flavors with any purchase at drinkelement.com. Flipping50. Find your favorite Element flavor or share them with a friend. My favorites, by the way, Citrus Salt and Orange Salt. That kind of wake-up call can be really severe or it can be just a moderate, "Ow, I know I worked something." You are more likely to experience that if you are doing something you haven't done for a very long time. You are new to exercise or new to a very specific activity, you're more likely to experience that. But there's also specific kinds of exercise that will tend to cause that. Now I want to come back to delayed muscle onset, delayed onset muscle soreness first before I go any further and explain this. There's also a soreness that can happen while you're doing something. Now, this usually doesn't happen as frequently during an exercise session. Usually this is some kind of other kind of activity, like you're doing something and it's like a chore. It's like I have to do it and you wish you were done, but you're not. And so you have to keep going. One experience I've had really recently is moving, you know, and so if your, your little baby biceps are in this box carrying mode the whole time, they're contracted at about 90 degrees and you're carrying things. You're, you're also going up and downstairs with a load, which is a very functional workout. But if it's light enough for you to carry, it's probably not really overloading your lower body, but a lot of reps probably gave you a little muscle endurance there. But I can remember feeling like, oh my gosh, the next day, like, I felt like I had lifted weights, like really heavy weights, you know. But all I had done is like the same weight and isometric exercise, like right in that angle. It was like, oh my goodness. So That's a 2-for-1, everybody, right? So 2 for Tuesdays, that was like Dobie's cookies when I was in college, but the big cookie, it was awesome. But I digress. So this is one of those where you're doing it and you're feeling like, oh, I'm gonna feel this tomorrow. It's that, it's that statement. So you could also I would say the first time you go out and garden and you spend the day, or you are pulling weeds and you're doing spring cleaning. Maybe it's that you're raking leaves and you're doing a repetitive action over and over and over and again, and you're getting sore because you're overuse of the same muscles that causes some fatigue and soreness. While you're doing it, there's a pretty good chance you're gonna get to feel that again. Two for one. That's what I mean by that. So realize that that is there. Delayed onset muscle soreness is a factor, and it can happen anywhere. Delayed, meaning not during but after, could happen anywhere between 24 to 72 hours later. And if you are someone who has is rheumatoid arthritis. So differentiation here is rheumatoid arthritis, not osteoarthritis, wear and tear, that kind of— but no, a little more rheumatoid arthritis. Then there is a likelihood that you will experience, or could first experience, some delayed soreness up to 72 hours, and it's generally called a flare. When you have chronic disease like rheumatoid arthritis, it's not necessarily called muscle soreness, but it may be joint pain and inflammation that you are feeling. So realize that there is a distinction between these. We are in this podcast for this purpose, talking more so about delayed onset muscle soreness. So focus on that with me and let's talk about— so those things that are new to you, I've really kind of described that through, you know, you're moving, you don't do that kind of contracting, you know, so constantly in such a short period of time. And basically, if you're— if it's your move, you're on both sides of it, right? You got to pack the boxes, you're lifting them and putting them in the corner, and then you got to unpack them. So you got to carry them off the truck. Truck. Maybe you didn't carry them off the truck, but I don't think I've ever been involved in a move where every box got to exactly the right room. There was always a little moving around of boxes. So you still are carrying on the other side too. And there is probably seasonal yard work is one of the best examples that I can give you for repetitive work. Could also be seasonal shoveling, snow shoveling, but those are great examples of an anomaly. I want to illustrate 3 different studies here that will speak a little bit into what causes soreness, because there are some very specific things. Now, I'm going to warn you right away, if I were writing a book and/or an academic article, my research, the studies that I'm quoting, should be about 10 years old and no more, just to be relevant. That's often what's asked for. I'm going to share a study with you right here that is from 1996. And I share it with you because it's a lot like what I shared with you without a citation, and that is DOMS, delayed onset muscle soreness. It is a well-accepted truth about muscle soreness and exercise. So it is okay, I believe, for me to use such an old study because this is readily accepted as this is just— we know this, this is foundational. You most likely know this or have heard it, and, or if not, I guarantee you've experienced it. So I'll give you a couple examples when we're through. But this is related to eccentric exercise contractions and inflammation. So the study basically took participants and had them perform maximal eccentric contractions with elbow flexors. So imagine that's basically your bicep curls from moving. And so if your elbow flexes You are pulling weight towards you, right? You're bringing your hand towards your chest, your face. So what they measured was how much arm swelling was there and how much— where were the inflammatory markers in the blood. And those inflammatory markers in the blood are like creatine kinase and just soreness responses. So literally that So here's what they found. Soreness appears most strongly after a first bout of an unfamiliar exercise, but inflammatory markers may still be elevated even without pain. So what does that mean? So you move, and if you're lucky, you know, you don't move all that often. You're going to move once or twice and maybe in your lifetime, in your adulthood. I have members of my family who shall remain nameless who've moved far more than that. But occupation, occupational hazard. If you are, say, a pilot, that is something that may happen. And or you go chasing your children or grandchildren. Again, you're going to move a little bit more. But moving is not an everyday thing. And you don't necessarily exercise or move in the way that you do while you are moving. There's a lot of use of this word moving for a very short duration period of time. So that's an anomaly, you know, holding boxes like that, carrying things, flexing the elbows in this case, right? So they looked at that, and you are probably going to be have some inflammatory markers, be sore, even though you're not necessarily in pain. Those inflammatory markers are still there. Why is that important to you? Well, we already tend to carry a little extra inflammation during menopause, so could be key. But feeling sore after your first heavy workout doesn't mean that you're building more muscle or you're getting further ahead. It just means your system is likely to have less and less soreness the more regularly that you you do something and it becomes a part of your routine. Any anomaly can cause a little more soreness. So once your body knows what you're doing, what the demands are, it will stop screaming with that soreness, even though the tissue responses will continue. They will continue to adapt and get stronger due to the work, but you're not necessarily going to feel it or get that signal of soreness like you did in the beginning. That doesn't mean you're not working hard enough. So it's not always hard either that does it. An anomaly of any kind. I sprint regularly on a treadmill doing literally high-intensity interval training, and I lift to muscular fatigue. I'm not shy about hard work. However, last week I spent 2 hours dancing at a '70s bar. Everybody knew the music, the words to every single word. It was like going back in time. If you've never been, I think this is a franchise, there are a few of them in the country. I think it's called Goodnight John Boy, and everything in it, the pictures, the images, the music, are totally '70s disco flair. Pants, bell-bottoms, glittery outfits, platform shoes, the whole nine yards. We dressed up to go. So fun. But, you know, when was the last time I'd been dancing like that? Just full out having fun. By the way, no alcohol, at least for me, involved. It was just friends. And I was sore the next day because I hadn't done that. Now, it doesn't mean that I'm not in shape, but anything different can cause you that. So let's say you too, you're in shape, you're lifting, maybe you're spinning on your Peloton. And you've got tons of points and you're very popular, but then all of a sudden you go to a yoga class with a friend and the next day you can barely walk, you're so sore. So again, it's the anomaly that could still get you. It's not necessarily about fitness level or doesn't always have to be. So we first gave the illustration or demonstration of you're doing a strength training workout and you haven't done one. And then it could be that now you're doing heavy one and you haven't been used to that weight, but it's also just something different that could have this result for you. So realize that the pain doesn't have to be there. Inflammatory markers still can be there and pain is relative, right? So if you just suddenly realize, Wow, you know, I'm a little sore. And now similarly, I went to a conference. I was there for basically 5 days, 4 and a half. And you know, when you're sitting down, unlike for me when I'm at home, I don't do this as often, I'm just realizing, but I cross my legs a lot. So you're sitting in a room in a conference, you know how it is when you're sitting in there and the air conditioning comes on and you're just freezing, crossing your legs just seems like a natural— somehow it's a way to keep warm. And, you know, crossing my legs makes me sore the next day. So any anomaly can do that. So it is true, the better conditioned you are to a specific movement, the less likely you are to be sore from it. But any new move could do that for you. In the second study, I wanna point out something about protein synthesis and damage from exercise. This was from a study in 2016. So during 10 weeks of resistance training, researchers tracked daily integrated myofibroblasts. Fibrillar, and that is protein, basically fibers, myofibrillar protein synthesis, and direct markers of muscle damage at weeks 1, 3, and 10. That's over the 10-week study. So very early on, they'd got them twice. Key results were this: muscle damage was highest initially, and then over time it dropped. So protein synthesis related to hypertrophy actually correlated better once muscle damage attenuated. Meaning protein synthesis. And what is that? That is your body building up protein, protein fibers, the strength of the protein or fiber contractions that you're able to make. And the opposite of that, protein breakdown, meaning muscle breakdown. Hey friends, before we go any further, I am so excited to share this with you. It's about C15 from Fatty15, the first emerging essential fatty acid to be discovered in more than 90 years. It's an incredible scientific breakthrough to support long-term health, wellness, and you guessed it, healthy aging. Look, I don't want my birthday candles to matter. This was discovered ironically by a Dr. Stephanie Van Watson while working with the US Navy to continually improve the health and welfare of aging dolphins. How cool. Based on now over 100 studies, we know that C15 strengthens our cells. It's a key healthy aging nutrient, which helps to slow down biological aging at the cellular level. When our cells age, our bodies age too. Yeah. As many as 1 in 3 people worldwide may have low C15 levels that leads to a syndrome called Cellular Fragility Syndrome. Now, if you wanna know if your doctor can test for it, the answer is yes. So Physicians, some of which are already testing for it in a regular blood panel. There's also an at-home test that you can take. Fatty15 is a science-backed, award-winning, patented, 100% pure C15 supplement. It's vegan-friendly, free of flavors, allergens, and preservatives. It's clinically proven to raise C15 And listen to this, that results in lower cholesterol levels, healthier liver function, improved gut microbiome— after my own heart— and improved red blood cell health within 3 months. I am on a mission this year to improve my own gut microbiome. And again, if you want to test and prove to yourself that you need this, some doctors already routinely test for C15 levels as a part of fatty acid panel. So ask about that. And just as importantly, your doctor can test for clinically relevant signs of cellular fragility syndrome. And that includes— pay attention because I've talked to some of you I know have these— high red blood cell distribution, high ferritin levels— pay close attention— and elevated liver enzymes. So if you want to get your hands on it, Just like me, Fatty15 is on a mission to optimize your C15 levels to help support your long-term health and wellness, especially as you age. You can get an additional 15% off their 90-day subscription starter kit by going to fatty15.com/flipping50 and use code FLIPPING50 at checkout. Before we get started, at this time of year, it is really even more important that we talk about the fact that hydration is important, but hydration isn't just about drinking water. Being optimally hydrated is about optimizing your body's fluid ratios. And this fluid balance depends on so many factors, including the intake and the excretion of electrolytes. But you don't need electrolytes just if you're working out or it's hot outside or you're a heavy sweater, though you may need more if those things are true for you. LMNT is one of my favorite ways to boost electrolytes and make drinking water in winter more attractive. And by the way, I add the chocolate element to warm water or unsweetened almond milk for a little guilt-free hot chocolate and take in my electrolytes that way. The current science points to consuming 4 to 6 grams of sodium, 3.5 to 5 grams of potassium, and 400 to 600 milligrams of magnesium per day from diet and supplements for optimal health outcomes. Those are really key electrolytes. All electrolytes are best consumed from whole foods. No contest. Element can help fill in the gaps that we've got in our diet. In alignment with that, Element has a science-backed ratio of 100 milligrams sodium, 200 potassium, and 60 milligrams of magnesium. Now, I know what you're thinking. 100 grams of sodium? I can hear it even on this side. You're wondering, isn't sodium bad for you? But here's the deal. The government recommends consuming fewer than 2.3 grams per— of sodium per day, ostensibly for heart health. But in 2011, a Journal of the American Medical Association study found that optimal health outcomes occur at 4 to 6 grams per day. Yeah, so what happens is if we cut out salt, you're thinking that you're being virtuous by eliminating salt. Oh no, I never salt my food. Because I know you, I've eaten dinner with you, by the way. That actually can cause more harm than good. Many healthy people need more sodium, not less. Symptoms of low blood sodium levels, it's called hypo— nitremia, by the way. They include headaches, fatigue, muscle cramps, and confusion. And in severe cases, not to sound alarmist, brain damage, seizures, and death. But I want you to listen to that list again. Headaches, fatigue, muscle cramps, confusion. In other words, brain fog. Does that sound similar to symptoms of menopause? I say yes. So it could be that you're passing off some of your symptoms for what really is just hydration. Look, everyone from U.S. Olympic athletes to health experts like me and women just like you who want optimal energy and balance for health are using it. You can get your own. Get a free 8-count sample pack of Element's most popular drink mix flavors with any purchase at drinkelement.com. Flipping50. Find your favorite Element flavor or share them with a friend. My favorites, by the way, Citrus Salt and Orange Salt. So protein synthesis was much more related to hypertrophy and it actually correlated better once muscle damage attenuated. So we actually don't want muscle damage and we're not necessarily making a lot of progress when we have it. So just trying to get sore doesn't mean that you're making extra progress. In fact, it means there's significant enough damage to the muscle that you may have set yourself back a little because now there's so much inflammation and soreness that we actually have to heal first before we can begin again. So for those of you who are feeling tons of soreness all the time and thinking, this is so good, I love being sore. And, you know, and I would say that's probably a minority of you, but I know you're out there. Your soreness can go down while your gains go up. So it's because your muscles get better at handling the load, you're more resilient, and the real driver of growth is consistent muscle protein synthesis that you get from consistent ability to lift weights. Now don't get carried away because it doesn't mean more frequency, it just means consistency. So if you overdo it thinking, I, I felt so great, I just did more, I went to another class because I felt good— don't, you know, the worst workout you can do is probably the feels-like workout. Like, I didn't feel like going, or I felt great, so I kept going. You know, it's always good to have a plan. You know, you can go outside of that plan, or inside of that plan for that matter, a little bit. It's probably not going to affect your results too much. You're still going to make some progress. But if you just ignore it all, all completely, and just kind of, how do I feel today? How am I going to do that? Not a great idea. So follow some kind of a plan. Your soreness can go down while your progress can go up. Don't forget that. So you are trying to get consistent muscle protein synthesis. Eventually it's going to outpace the early damage signals. You become more resilient as you get more fit. It is true if you experience significantly more soreness at the beginning, as you progress, you will most likely have that go down. And that doesn't matter if you are a woman who's in her 60s, who's in her 70s, who's in her 40s, or in her 30s. That would be true for the majority of us. The more fit that you are compared to you and nobody else, the less sore you will be following workouts. It's as a general rule. So let's talk about this third study that I want to share. There's a body of peer-reviewed evidence showing that estrogen can reduce inflammation and help muscle repair by promoting satellite cell activation and limiting the infiltration of inflammatory cells. So satellite cell activation is like good guys and limits infiltration of inflammatory cells coming in. Obviously, that's what we want. So if I were to say this, it's estrogen has a protective role for you in helping to decrease and keep our inflammation down. And we hear so much about that, but I think automatically when you hear inflammation, we go to, oh, our labs. But my doctor said my labs are fine, but there's all kinds of inflammation. And sometimes it's not just the A1C or the CRP in your lab test results that may or may not be in norms, but it is so much more. Inflammation can be preventing weight loss, and inflammation can be, you know, getting in the way of your muscles actually getting the the best results and helping you feel best for your workout. So when estrogen levels are higher— so we're talking you're still in those reproductive years and early stage of perimenopause for many of you— your recovery pathways are smoother. I sat on a plane last night— actually, it's been a long day, it feels like 2 weeks ago— with a 25-year-old who had run a half marathon in Florida with her mom, and then she was coming back home to medical school in Chicago. And the individual sitting between us said, well, what kind of a recovery did you have? Like, she's like, you didn't have any recovery. Like, and she's like, you know, no, right here. And honestly, she was a very educated and articulate 25-year-old. She was in medical school, and she said Well, now I'm just taking advantage of this 25-year-old body. I have a pretty good capacity for recovery. And I would totally agree, right? Anybody in premenopause still does have a more optimal capacity for recovery. It's when estrogen goes down that we have a decline in our ability to repair or recover from exercise. I think the danger, if you're listening to this, would be if you interpreted that, well, I shouldn't work as hard that would be a big mistake. I think the important piece is we like to call place and pace. We wanna be starting you at the right place and then progressing at the right pace so that we suddenly, seemingly, 8 weeks later are doing so much more, but all we've done is just snuck it in by increasing a little bit at a time and making, taking a little bit of break and then bringing you right back in. Those incremental changes add up so well that you're getting so much stronger and you tolerate so much more. So when estrogen levels are higher, your recovery pathways are smoother, there's less inflammatory chaos and more efficient repair, and it's just easy. But as we age, estrogen drops in menopause. That smooth process gets a little bumpy, which is why some women temporarily feel longer recovery times without any drop in training effectiveness. What did I just say? If you have a longer recovery period, you used to work out Monday to Wednesday, and now you say, I'm going to wait another day and not work out until Thursday, you may find you're more resilient, you get better results and less inflammation, and you are truly ready for that next workout. But you're not necessarily dialing down the intensity. You're able to get your optimal capacity for intensity because you waited a little bit longer. And we do need that capacity. We need the stimulus. Though we equally need the rest and recovery. And some of us are thinking more frequency is better because there is this tricky term when we talk about volume and needing more volume. Ladies of the '80s, we may interpret that incorrectly as more frequency, more duration, and more intensity. And doing all three is really not recommended. So we might want to do more intensity because we know we need VO2 max, we know we need power and explosive movement. That's intensity. But we don't necessarily want a greater duration. We want quality, not so much quantity. Now, if I say to you I want volume in terms of I'd like to see you do 4 sets or 5 sets occasionally of strength training you are increasing your duration in order to do that. I mean, you would have to, but there may be some things in the workout that you were doing that can just go by the wayside. We don't have to do them every time. And there is your buyback— buy back your time in that department. So a lot of times women can feel longer recovery times and there is no drop in effectiveness of the workout. So try it on for size. The musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause, something I've talked about, and that was a term finally coined by Dr. von der Weydt in July of 2024. I've quoted it many times. I've put it in many of the masterclasses we've taught. So you may not find the exact citation here in this. Podcast, but it's because we've cited it so many times. If you look it up, you will find it. But you want to be reminded that that includes one of the signs was arthralgia, and that stands for aches and pains in the muscles and/or in joints for what seemingly is no apparent reason. So that might be compounding what feels like DOMS or delayed onset set muscle soreness for you. So you could be having just the— this is, I'm a new exerciser or doing some activity that's new to me or a new exercise, and I'm having this. But it's also true that you may be at this moment in life where, okay, I've also got this. So it's kind of amplifying what you are feeling justified in the movement that you're doing. So want you to be kind of filtering through which are you feeling. If you're not working out but you're feeling sore, it's probably definitely musculoskeletal syndrome and arthralgia. However, if you're doing both and you're feeling like this is, this is more, this is extra, and I didn't ask for extra, you might want to back off just a little bit, take a little bit more recovery time, definitely a little bit more warm up, a little bit more cool down, and value that mobility time between your more intense exercise sessions like it is gold. Younger women do have a greater recovery capacity, and with age you want to give yourself just that little extra support through days of easier effort, better quality or attention to at least sleep and nutrition. Work on your stress coping mechanisms. Easily said, a little harder to do, but you can go further if you want to. Those things I just mentioned, all free. Now, there's a little cost. You have to invest some time and energy to do them, but you could go further with some of the things that will cost if you don't have them already: sauna, massage, cold plunge. If you choose them, you know, infrared light, but they won't necessarily make up for poor sleep, poor coping skills, or a bad diet. And, and I'll tell you that I was working with somebody just recently who was in our continuous blood sugar challenge with CGMs, continuous blood sugar monitor, and And, you know, she was asking about doing something that was a little bit more drastic. And I said, why are you wanting to do that? What's your motivation for doing that? Because it was, you know, it was about 5 steps down from anything that I would offer first. And it might be further than that even. But I said that and I said, look, you know, I will tell you that that's not a quick fix. That is a long game. You're not going to see immediate gratification or immediate results. And there are a lot of other things that you want to fix, and that is something you'll do short-term and then come off, but you're gonna have to come back and face these other 5 things for it to work. And they are all of these things: they are sleeping, they are moving regularly, breaking up sedentary time. We've been talking for almost 40 minutes when I get up or when I'm done, I will get up. I will move to the other end of the house. I will do some air squats. I will take the dog out. And you should too, dog or no dog. You should move regularly, every 45 minutes, every hour. Your blood sugar levels will help you. If your blood sugar levels are stable, your insulin response is stable. If your insulin response is stable, your insulin sensitivity is better. If your insulin sensitivity is better, you're at less risk for disease and less likely to have belly fat. So there are some really easy things that you can put in there, but we tend to think big thing, go big, go home. But it's truly make sure the little things are at home. That's what should be there to help yourself with recovery. If you are experiencing soreness, Longer warmups, no more skipping those cooldowns, mobility between sessions. Doesn't mean you have to go to yoga, but get down on the floor, play with the dog, sit in a deep squat, make sure you're flexing and extending something while you're relaxing and watching television or talking with the family. And I had an acquaintance tell me she was working with a trainer the other day, and it honestly shocked me. I know in the back of my mind I was thinking something I wanted to ask, but I didn't feel like I knew her well enough because to me, I had watched her move, and I've watched her move for the last 3 years in a gym where 2 people that at conferences were in the gym. There seems to me to be movement patterns that her trainer may be not helping her address, that her movement could be more fluid. And she could be moving more in a balanced way. And so I was very surprised. She did tell me a few things she was doing and a few of her goals. My fear is that, you know, that trainer would be going directly to that goal but not see that this actually— mobility and ability to move through full range of motion with a balanced body is far more important as a precursor, like a prerequisite. You got to do this first if you actually want to get to that. You can jump ahead to that, but it's not going to make any sense, and eventually you're going to have to get kicked back out. So I want you to realize that you, you want to address all of the pieces, but mobility is going to be that girlfriend that keeps the door open to doing all the rest of the things that you want and may also help reduce muscle soreness. So I want you to realize you can't avoid the parts that might feel boring or tedious. Stretching mobility exercises are not always sexy to us, but they will keep you in the sexy game. So last but not least, I promised I would answer this question: should soreness determine whether you're ready to work out again? And my answer to that would be, if you are still sore and it's been 2 days since your last workout. Number 1, I would make sure you are moving. So we call this active versus passive recovery. When we say we don't want you to work out hard, we do want you to work out lightly or moderately even by walking, getting on a bicycle and pedaling, a rowing machine, go swimming, do things lighter, less damaging to the muscle tissue. But do move because that circulation actually helps speed recovery because as we get the blood flow, we get the oxygen delivery and the tissues get that capacity back much sooner. So you do want to move, but that would be my suggestion. If you're due for a workout, you're still sore, I would do a lighter movement and build back up. Do a lighter movement, go for a walk, and then do some stretching at the end of it. And by the next day, maybe feeling better. You could also try some passive things like taking a bath with Epsom salt. Again, very low to no cost. You've gotta get the Epsom salt in, but that should be also a part of your plan. I hope that's been helpful. For those of you that don't get sore, Some of that is genetic. There is nothing wrong with not being sore. It is very unique to individuals. There are a lot of 20-year-olds who will do, say, the same training program, and some of them will get extremely sore, some of them not sore at all. And we're talking, they're all in the same training status. Maybe they're all experienced or maybe they're all inexperienced. But the variability between how we recover, how quickly, and whether we are or we aren't sore is not necessarily just an age thing. We are not as resilient as we're as old, but we can get as fit as long as we take more recovery and use it wisely. Recovery is not just time. Off of exercise. It's so much more than that. I hope this has been helpful. The science will be in the show notes. 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