How to Start Exercising in Menopause: A Beginner's Guide
You don't need to become "an exercise person". You just need a starting point small enough that you can actually do it.
"I know I should exercise. So why can't I just start?"
If you've asked yourself that - probably more than once, probably while scrolling past someone else's 6am gym selfie - here's something worth sitting with.
This was never really a motivation problem.
You don't have an exercise problem. You have a starting problem.
Those are two completely different things, and mixing them up is why so much well-meaning advice hasn't worked for you.
Why "just get motivated" doesn't hold up
Most exercise advice is built for people who've already started. It assumes a baseline: some fitness, some routine, some familiarity with what to do with your body in a gym. If you haven't exercised in years - through a busy decade, a house move, small children, a demanding job, or simply because life got in the way - none of that applies to you yet.
So when the advice doesn't land, it's easy to conclude the problem is you. Not enough willpower. Not enough discipline. Not enough of an "exercise person".
I see this all the time with women I work with. They don't need another person telling them exercise is good for them - they already know that. What they usually need is permission to start much smaller than they think they should.
Five minutes. A walk to the end of the road. Two sit-to-stands from a kitchen chair. Something small enough to actually finish, so you close the day thinking, I actually did that.
That's not a lesser version of exercising. That's how it starts.
The behaviour, not the workout
There's good reason to start small. When a new habit feels manageable, you're much more likely to repeat it - and confidence tends to grow from those small wins.
That's why the plan below isn't a training programme. It's a way of showing up, on the days you feel like it and the days you don't.
Good day, hard day, rough patch
This is the part that actually matters - more than any specific exercise.
Good day: a 20-minute walk. Nothing complicated. Just movement, at whatever pace suits you.
Hard day: five minutes. That's not you giving up - that's you still showing up, on a day when your energy, your sleep, or your patience is running thin.
Rough patch: stopping altogether for a while isn't a failure. It's what happens to many people at some point - illness, a stretch of bad sleep, a busy few weeks at work. What actually determines whether exercise becomes part of your life isn't whether you have a rough patch. It's what you do afterwards.
Restarting is the behaviour change. Not the twenty-minute walk. Not the five minutes. The restarting.
If you take one thing from this article, take that one.
If this is where you're stuck - knowing you want to make a change but struggling to turn "I should" into "I do" - this is something we can work through together in coaching. Book a free 30-minute Menopause Clarity Call if you'd like to talk about what might realistically work for you.
What should I actually do if I'm starting from scratch?
Start with something you know you can do.
Week 1: Walk for 5-10 minutes, two or three times.
Week 2: Add a few minutes, or another short walk, if that feels manageable.
Week 3: Introduce a little more movement - a longer walk, or a few simple strength exercises like sit-to-stands from a chair.
There's no prize for progressing quickly. The aim is to build something you can repeat.
You don't need to treat this as a rigid three-week programme, and you don't need to move on to the next stage until you're ready. The point is simply to translate "start small" into something you can actually do tomorrow morning.
If you haven't exercised for a long time, or you have a medical condition or concerns about your health, speak to your doctor before starting a new exercise routine.
Why strength training eventually matters
Once you're comfortable moving again, strength training during menopause deserves a place in your routine. During and after menopause, resistance exercise can help support muscle and bone health - one of the lifestyle strategies that can help you manage the changes associated with menopause - which is why it's worth building towards over time.
But if you're currently struggling to get off the sofa and go for a ten-minute walk, you don't need to start with weights.
Starting is the first goal. Strength comes next.
When you're ready to introduce it, The Best Strength Exercises for Menopause is the natural next read - and once you've started lifting, How Often Should Women Lift Weights During Menopause? will help you work out a realistic frequency. From there, How Much Protein Do Women Need During Menopause? covers how nutrition supports the muscle you're building.
If you want to understand how strength training fits into the bigger picture of menopause - including muscle, bone health, recovery and nutrition - explore our strength training and bone health in menopauseguide to .
You don't need to make up for lost time
You don't need to become an exercise person.
You don't need to make up for the last ten years.
You don't need to start with three gym sessions a week.
You just need to make the first step small enough that you actually take it. And once you've done that, you can take the next one.
If you're ready to understand the bigger picture of what your body needs during menopause, rather than trying to work it out one symptom at a time, my self-paced Menopause Essentials course takes you through the foundations - from nutrition and movement to sleep, stress and the changes happening during this stage of life.
If you know you want to make changes but keep struggling to turn "I should" into "I do", that's exactly the kind of gap we can work through together in menopause coaching that helps you build sustainable habits.
Book a free 30-minute Menopause Clarity Call and let's talk about what would actually work for you.
Frequently asked questions
How do I start exercising if I haven't exercised for years? Start smaller than feels necessary - a five- to ten-minute walk is a genuine starting point, not a compromise. Build up gradually, and don't worry about "doing it properly" until you've built the habit of showing up.
What is the best exercise to start with during menopause? Walking is the most accessible starting point for many women, alongside simple bodyweight moves like sit-to-stands from a chair. Once that feels manageable, you can layer in strength work - see [The Best Strength Exercises for Menopause].
Is walking enough exercise during menopause? Walking is a genuinely valuable form of weight-bearing activity and a sensible place to begin. Over time, adding some strength training brings additional benefits for muscle and bone health, which is why it's worth building towards rather than starting with.
How can I stay motivated to exercise during menopause? Aim for consistency over intensity, and expect rough patches. Motivation tends to follow action rather than precede it - the small, repeatable step is usually more sustainable than relying on willpower alone.
Sources and further reading
NHS. (2025) Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64.
Royal Osteoporosis Society. (2026) Strength exercise to help make your bones stronger.
Women’s Health Concern. (2023) Exercise in menopause.
Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C.H.M., Potts, H.W.W. and Wardle, J. (2010) ‘How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world’, European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), pp. 998–1009.
(Personal coaching observations reflect my own experience working with clients and are not attributed to external sources.)
