I’m 49 (almost 50!), and when I was 48 I made one specific change that was a game changer for my physique – specifically for my abs and legs.

I stopped running and started walking with a weighted backpack for cardio.

NOT a weighted vest. A weighted backpack.

After I turned 45 I noticed that my body hated running.

My body never really loved running before I was 45, but I noticed that as I got deeper into perimenopause, my runs left me feeling bloated, inflamed, achey, and my lower belly fat seemed to grow bigger by the minute.

Running is really stressful on your body not only because it is high impact, but also because unless you are doing short, high intensity sprints, for High Intensity Interval Training (or SIT – Sprint Interval Training), most running is moderate intensity cardio.

Too much moderate intensity cardio can keep cortisol levels chronically high.

Then, if you are a woman over 40 and you combine that with the stress that your body is experiencing as a result of hormone changes in perimenopause, you are delivering a high cortisol cocktail to your body that keeps cortisol levels elevated, and inflammation high.

Flashback to when I was training for the kettlebell Iron Maiden Challenge and powerlifting, I remembered that my body composition was always the most lean and shredded when I was only lifting heavy shit and walking and wasn’t running at all. 

So, I decided to stop running and start walking with a weighted backpack for Zone 2 cardio, and I increased the number of days that I was lifting weights from 4 days/week to 5-6 days/week.

I started with 15lbs and then after about 3 months, I increased the weight to 20lbs and now I walk with a 25lbs loaded backpack.

Weighted vests are great, but I specifically prefer walking with a weighted backpack to a weighted vest because:

→ The weight is unevenly loaded on your back, so your legs and abs have to work harder to pull the weight that is behind you, loaded on your back, vs. a weighted vest that’s an even distribution of weight.

→ Due to the uneven distribution of weight, walking with a weighted backpack significantly increases the intensity of the walk, so it’s easy to get your heart rate up to Zone 2 and stay there if you are walking fast enough.

→ It’s cardio without putting excess stress on your body, pissing off your hormones or taking away from your strength gains in the gym.

→ BONUS: My abs and quads have never looked better from working to pull the extra weight on my back and my hormones are happy because I’m no longer pissing off my cortisol with running.

If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!