You might have noticed that your clothes fit a little more snugly, especially in the middle. The abs you’ve worked so hard to build are hidden beneath a layer of softness that wasn’t there before. And no matter what you do, you can’t seem to stop it.
One signal that menopause is coming in hot is what the Internet ever-so-lovingly refers to as menopause belly. This is simply the natural shift of where fat settles in the body during midlife, typically right around the midsection (1).
To make matters worse, your tried-and-true exercise routine might not keep the fat off like it used to. Doubling down on steady-state cardio only leaves you feeling depleted. Meanwhile, your meno belly won’t budge.
What gives? The secret lies in doing less, say experts.
About the Experts
Antonietta Vicario, RYT500, is the Chief Training Officer at Pvolve, co-creator of the Moving With Menopause program, a certified Pilates, Yoga, Barre, Pre + Post Natal Corrective Exercise Specialist, and Integrative Nutrition Health and Hormone Coach.
Patricia Greaves, CPT, is the founder of StrongHer Personal Training and specializes in strength training and nutrition coaching for women 40+. She’s a NASM-certified personal trainer and corrective exercise specialist, and MedFit Menopause Fitness Coach certified.
What Causes Menopause Belly?
Despite being called menopause belly, midlife weight gain can start during perimenopause, the years before your periods stop for good. This stage is when the body’s production of estrogen and progesterone starts to decline, resulting in irregular menstrual cycles and symptoms such as hot flashes and—you guessed it—weight gain.
During perimenopause, women store more visceral fat around the midsection. What makes this type of belly fat dangerous? It surrounds your organs. High levels of it have been linked to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.
Studies are still looking at exactly why body fat accumulates more around the belly during this time. However, one major trigger seems to be hormonal changes, particularly the decline in estrogen (1).
Estrogen helps regulate where fat is stored in the body, explains Patricia Greaves, founder of StrongHer Personal Training and menopause fitness specialist. “When estrogen levels decrease, fat is predominantly stored in the stomach instead of the hips and thighs.”
Hormone shifts and aging also cause declines in muscle mass. “We lose muscle mass and strength as we age by about three to eight percent per decade (2), starting as early as our late 30s, due to a natural aging process called sarcopenia,” says Antonietta Vicario, a certified yoga and pilates instructor and Chief Training Officer at Pvolve. “Sarcopenia slows our metabolism as muscle is the most metabolically active tissue in the body, affecting body composition.”
Chronic stress and not getting enough sleep—common problems in midlife—also contribute to menopause belly. “A lack of sleep can increase cortisol levels. While that’s not necessarily bad, chronically elevated cortisol levels can promote fat storage in the midsection,” explains Greaves. Poor recovery and a slower metabolism may also lead to weight gain, she adds. If it feels like the odds are stacked against you, there is good news. Visceral fat is impacted by healthy habits, including a healthy diet, and quality sleep. And since a sedentary lifestyle is a risk factor for menopause weight gain, exercise can also help (3).
“The number one thing we hear from those in the menopause transition is that their bodies feel foreign to them,” explains Vicario. “They are experiencing so many changes, especially when it comes to body composition, and often, the former exercises they used to do with great results just don’t work anymore.”
In fact, you’ll want to resist the urge to spend hours doing more cardio and crunches to counteract menopause belly.
Here are six exercises that build core strength and stability, reduce belly fat, and improve how you feel during daily movement. (Don’t forget: a nutritious diet goes hand-in-hand with your movement plan.)
1. Prioritize strength training
If you haven’t been using dumbbells as part of your fitness routine, meet your new exercise buddy. Studies have shown that strength training with weights can reduce visceral fat (4). Why? Hefting weights builds muscle. “The goal is to build muscle,” Vicario says. “Strength training will build lean muscle mass, which will keep your metabolism strong. Having a strong metabolism helps to reduce the likelihood of visceral fat.”
Focus on training all muscle groups and include weight-bearing exercises, such as squats, lunges, deadlifts, chest presses, and modified push-ups, adds Greaves. Exercises that work more muscle groups burn more calories.
2. Train your core in non-traditional ways
As your body changes, so should your approach to ab workouts. “Doing crunches every day is counterproductive because they work the same muscles, not giving them a chance to rest and recover,” explains Greaves. And they don’t contribute to overall muscle building which promotes a leaner waist, she adds.
Your solution: incorporate compound exercises, such as squats and deadlifts, into your routine, recommends Greaves. These exercises have been shown to work the core even more than isolated ab exercises (5). Plus, since they target multiple muscle groups at once, your workouts are more efficient, Greaves says. A win-win.
An example of a compound exercise is a squat-to-press. Exercises such as push-ups and planks are compound exercises that are especially good for the core, she notes.
Include some unilateral exercises—or exercises that work one side of the body at a time—in your routine as well. Challenging your muscles and balance with this type of movement engages your core, particularly for targeting the obliques and building stability (5).
“When you balance oppositional limbs, such as during the Bird Dog exercise on a mat or during a standing lunge, you use your core to steady yourself. It’s helping to strengthen your abs without seeming like it,” Greaves explains.
While strengthening the core muscles won’t burn belly fat, notes Greaves, “they will tighten and tone the area, improving posture and minimizing belly protrusion.”
3. Keep cardio intervals short
You might have noticed the long, steady-state cardio workouts you’ve been logging no longer serve your body and leave you completely spent. One potential reason: A 2021 review suggests extended cardio (more than 60 minutes) may increase cortisol production (6). Still, the review concludes more studies are needed in menopausal women. Individual stress tolerance and loads may also impact whether the cortisol spike is acute or chronic.
The recommendation: spend less time on cardio, but keep the intensity up. “‘Short High-Intensity Interval Training,’ or ‘SHIIT’ (pun intended) produces healthy stress on the body to strengthen the heart and bones, without spiking stress hormones like cortisol,” explains Vicario. Plus, high-intensity cardio has the highest potential to reduce visceral fat (7).
SHIIT involves a burst of high-intensity exercise, such as sprints, high knees, or skaters. Do them at your full effort for 30 to 45 seconds max, then recover for two to three minutes for a total duration of 20 minutes. Aim for two sessions a week.
4. Work your pelvic floor
There’s a strong connection between your pelvic floor muscles and the hormonal fluctuations of perimenopause. Like all muscles, your pelvic floor is susceptible to aging-related muscle loss. Declining estrogen levels may also lead to dysfunction in this area (8).
While you can’t spot train fat, integrating pelvic floor exercises can keep you consistent with your workouts by reducing lower back pain (9) and combating incontinence—which may make you want to avoid working out altogether.
Pelvic floor exercises can also help strengthen and support your deep core muscles (10). Your core muscles include your abs, back, and pelvis—think of it as your control center. A strong core can reduce strain on other joints and muscles and help you move more efficiently, so your workouts deliver the results you’re looking for.
Some women may benefit from pelvic floor physiotherapy. This typically involves a combination of pelvic floor exercises to strengthen weakened muscles, and biofeedback to help make sure you’re activating the right muscles.
Pilates might also help. “Pilates really focuses on the core muscles, including the lower back and pelvic floor,” notes Greaves. It also helps to strengthen surrounding areas like the glutes, hip flexors, and shoulders, she adds.
5. Stay limber with mobility movements
Mobility training—taking the joints of the body through their full range of motion—can help reduce belly fat and overall weight loss in a few ways. Vicario explains that this type of movement can help prevent musculoskeletal issues and injury. In other words, they’ll keep you healthy, so you can stay consistent. “It’s part of creating longevity within your exercise routine.”
It also helps your body move more efficiently during strength training and SHIIT workouts. “You are able to get deeper into your range of motion and incorporate more muscle groups,” she adds.
6. Take your recovery seriously
During midlife, exercise and recovery go hand in hand. “Arming yourself with techniques to reduce cortisol in the body can help offset the negative effects of this hormone that can lead to weight gain,” explains Vicario.
Take time for yourself, practice breathing exercises, meditate, do some light stretching, go on an easy walk, and get enough sleep.
The Bottom Line
Updating your fitness routine can make all the difference in reducing menopause belly. To lose weight around your midsection during menopause, focus on strength training, short and intense cardio workouts, more impactful core exercises, and making recovery a priority. If pelvic floor pain and incontinence, or a lack of mobility are keeping you from your workout routine, you may also want to consider pelvic floor therapy or mobility training.
