Monday, June 20, 2022

Book Review: Next Level--Your Guide to Kicking Ass, Feeling Great, and Crushing Goals Through Menopause and Beyond

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

About 10 years ago, I was finishing up a yoga class, talking about running with one of the other participants. Another woman came up to us and joined in the conversation. She turned to me and told me that I should enjoy running now because, after menopause, I wouldn't be able to run anymore. I didn't hear the rest of what she said because I was so stunned at this declaration. I looked at her as she spoke and realized that she was exactly what I didn't want to become in my older years. I was still feeling great. I couldn't imagine that happening to me. I vowed that it wouldn't. 

For sure, in my mid-50s, there was a period of time when I really struggled with my endurance.  Fortunately, my strength workouts never suffered. I adjusted my expectations, cutting back running to 3 days per week and adding run/walk intervals into my runs to help me complete those long distances. I continued strength training and added a day of CrossFit to my weekly regimen. I also began to adjust my diet, finding that more protein and fewer refined carbs gave me more endurance and stable blood sugars. After a few years, things settled down for me and to this day, I continue to enjoy running the way I did prior to menopause. Albeit, a little bit slower.

A friend sent me a copy of Dr. Stacy Sims' new book, Next Level. Sims is an exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist who studies female athletes and performance. Next Level is geared to woman experiencing perimenopause and menopause. It's an amazing read--empowering and oh so helpful. I feel as if I have found my new training bible.

After reading Next Level, I felt validated that I have been intuitively following the science and making the right adjustments to maintain fitness in my own life. But there was still plenty for me to learn and I eagerly poured over the pages of this well-written and thoroughly researched guide. Like many of the athletes she profiles in her book, I was really active before I started peri-menopause. And like many of the athletes with whom she works, with I experienced a distressing decline in my performance once I approached menopause. It seemed like it happened overnight, much like the sagging of my skin and other body parts.

"Women are NOT small men." (Link to Sims' TED talk)

Almost all the research done on exercise and nutrition has been done with men; advice for women has been extrapolated from those studies. Actually, this applies to medicine as well.  Instead of guiding women through the process with practical advice, most doctors push HRT on women. Physicians receive very little training on menopause. Thankfully, this is changing thanks to positive images of older women continuing to break down stereotypes and barriers of what it's like to be an active post-menopausal woman.

The author of the book, Dr Stacy Sims, is a well-known exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist. Her earlier book, ROAR, guides women through training and nutrition in each phase of life, but is more geared to younger women. I was really excited to see the release of Next Level! For me, having a book that explains to me what is happening in my body and offers guidance on how to manage it was just what I needed!

Sims goes through the science and explains the physiologic changes that occur in a woman's body once estrogen levels decline. Probably one of the most distressing changes is the 'menopot''--that accumulation of fat around a women's midsection. (a word that Sims hates). Sims says that her life mission is to "understand the why of what is happening in the woman's body" so she can help women 'optimize' their wellness and performance. In Next Level, she outlines all of this so well that women can use this book as a menopausal training handbook. 

First up, as Sims says: "now's the time to lift heavy sh**!". Building muscle mass not only increases our metabolism, but also helps mitigate the symptoms associated with estrogen loss. Think heavy weights and low reps. There's a whole chapter devoted to the topic and she provides some basic instruction with photos. Sims is also a big fan of interval training and also provides some examples of those exercises. Interval training helps improve insulin sensitivity and helps you burn more fat. Think quality (intensity) over quantity of work. Naturally, she loves CrossFit because the workout of the day has both a strength component and a metabolic conditioning component.

There are also chapters devoted to nutrition and supplements that can be helpful, and she also does a deep dive into sleep issues and mental health. I just can't recommend this book enough! This may be the single most important book for pre and post-menopausal women. There's a lot of science and readers can skim over some of the more technical discussions without missing the key points. But she breaks it down so that even a non-scientist can understand it.

Having crossed over to the 'dark side', as I joking like to call it, I can attest to the effectiveness of the advice in Next Level. It's so nice to know that just because we are getting older doesn't mean that we can't continue to do the things we love to do. Obviously, this isn't a cookbook approach to training after menopause, it's a guide to help you make a plan to stay fit and active into your golden years. As country legend George Jones used to sing: I don't need no rocking chair...

I'm grateful to Stacey Sims for changing the narrative and framing menopause in a positive way. Do yourself a favor and read her book. 

Have you read Next Level or ROAR? If you are pre or post-menopause, what are some of the things you're doing to help with the symptoms? Have you changed your training at all? How about your nutrition?

I'm linking up with Kim and Zenaida for Tuesday Topics, with the Runners' Roundup: DebbieDeborahJen, and Lisa.




36 comments :

  1. I love this review. What strikes me, as it always does, is how much is just thrown AT women even in medicine. So little effort goes into understanding women and changes we go through at different stages in our lives. So happy people are starting to see that we need a women's approach to women's issues - one that is based on science, empowers us and allows us to lead our best lives at whatever age we are.

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    1. I'm equally as happy to see this--as an aging woman who has moved through the healthcare system at the mercy of research done on men. It's about time!

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  2. Thanks Wendy for the review! This book is calling my name and I need to get it. Actually I just ordered it. I am approaching 50 and know my body is not the same as before. I know I need to make changes. My latest blood work was a wakeup call.

    Thank you for linking up with us!

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  3. I love Stacy Simms and she has some great research and info to share. I also believe she is spot on with the nutrition and lifting heavy advice. The 50's can be a decade of feeling strong and accomplishing running goals if we change our approach. I am halfway through the book and look forward to chatting w you about it

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  4. I need that book and I need to get into Crossfit!
    I'm 54 now and I haven't changed my training over the last 20 years. If anything, I'm spending more time on exercise now than I used to.
    However, I could do more heavy lifting and I could cut more of the refined carbs.
    Thank you so much for this review, Wendy!

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    1. You're doing so well in your 50s! But if anything, I'd definitely recommend strength training. It was such a game changer for me.

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  5. GAAAAAH! I need this book! I keep hearing people rave about ROAR but I haven't read it because it's geared towards younger women. I had no idea she wrote a book for the rest of us. It sounds awesome- just what we need. Thanks for this review!!!

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  6. Wow! This sounds like such an amazing book. What really irks me is the notion that women are put into a certain box once they reach a particular age. It's so rude because men do not get that same type of treatment at all!

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    1. Even worse is that women get ignored after menopause. I love that my generation is speaking up!

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  7. Oh I need to get this, in fact I'm going to order it right now. I'm sliding into menopause and I don't want to take HRT but there's a massive push for it here (I have my reasons and they're both researched and personal). So if this is not all about having to have HRT, I'm up for it!

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    1. I didn't want to take HRT even though my physician recommended it. So glad I made it through without it.

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  8. This sounds like a must read! I'm post-menopausal and after dropping 30+ pounds feeling better than I have in a very long time. Peri-menopause was tough but with the help of 2 great doctors (GYN and primary care) I was able to navigate it without HRT. I've cut way back on refined carbs and finally committed to strength training.

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  9. This sounds like such a great book! I read Roar a few years ago and feel like I could use a refresher. Women are so different from men and its great that this information is becoming available. I'm trying to work on strength as much as I can now to prepare for the changes that will happen down the road.

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  10. Yes, yes, and yes! I just turned 60 in April with a hysterectomy when I was 49 years old. This is the first year in working out most of my adult life (but for the really rough years before the hysterectomy) that I have struggled with all my workouts, mentally and physically. I always lifted and had cardio but I have felt the need for adjustments this year but at a loss, without a good plan. Thank you so much for this timely review and recommendation! I have valued your recommendations in the past so this is just great! I just ordered this book.

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    1. Let me know what you think after you've read it. I was turning the pages as fast as I could read them!

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  11. I’ll be for sure getting this book. Why would that woman in your yoga class say that? I get annoyed with people who speak to things they know nothing about. I know (and know of) a lot of women over 50 who continue to run, and run well! I don’t plan on stopping any time soon, even if I am slower. BTW, I was 55 when I BQ’d.

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    1. There are a lot of bitter older women as you know--and so many of my friends have gotten very large. I don't have a lot of friends my age who are as active as we are. It may be geographical. But I just keep doing my thing.

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    2. Me too. I have very few people I can ask to hike or do a race with me. I feel like so many women get to our age and think they are too old be active. This is why I stay connected to this group of women, too bad everyone is so far away. :-)

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  12. Great review Wendy! I'm ordering this book now - thanks for sharing!

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  13. Yes, this sounds like a definite must-read! I'm just now dipping my toes into the "dark side"...I'm not quite there ((yet)), but I refuse to let it slow me down when I arrive. Thanks for the review.

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    1. At least be prepared! I wasn't expecting the slowdown, that's for sure.

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  14. For some reason, my comments sometimes disappear.

    Anyway as I said, I didn't start running until AFTER menopause so I have no idea what changed.

    I do know that I more sleep issues, my weight has shifted though it doesn't show on the scale.

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  15. I read ROAR a few times. While I definitely think things change as we age, and that we have to change how we approach fitness, what the woman at Yoga said to you was absurd. I've had some really bad advice like that from my "elders" at times, too. Perhaps it was true for them, but it doesn't have to be true for everyone.

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  16. thank you so much for sharing. Menopause stinks but it's not the end of our lives, nor our value. Its so good to have validation and a path through!

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    1. It's really a physical and mental challenge for so many women. Ageism is pervasive in our society. We need to feel valued!

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  17. I love this book! I also recommend Selene Yeager's podcast "Hit Play Not Pause" (and especially Episode 81 where Selena and Dr. Stacy Sims discuss the book).

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    1. I will definitely check it out!!! Thank you for the recommendation!

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