Evidence library · Sticking with it

Does aerobic plus resistance affect sticking with it in menopause? What 8 studies found

Studies of aerobic plus resistance in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women that measured sticking with it. 5 reported an improvement and 0 found no difference against the comparison group.

  1. 61 postmenopausal breast cancer survivors on aromatase inhibitors with joint pain did a year of aerobic and strength exercise, and most maintained adherence to the program.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 61 women · 52 weeks · 2016PostmenopausalCited 56 timesPubMed

  2. Postmenopausal women doing 12 weeks of combined aerobic and resistance training outdoors reported better mood responses and higher adherence than those training indoors.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 23 women · 12 weeks · 2015PostmenopausalCited 43 timesPubMed

  3. In a year-long trial of 154 perimenopausal and early postmenopausal cancer survivors, an aerobic-resistance exercise program increased physical activity levels but did not change diet or alcohol adherence.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 154 women · 52 weeks · 2019Midlife womenCited 26 timesPubMed

  4. Postmenopausal women did 12 weeks of indoor or outdoor training three times weekly, and indoor training improved body composition and fitness more while outdoor training improved blood pressure, strength and adherence.

    Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 23 women · 12 weeks · 2016PostmenopausalCited 7 timesPubMed

  5. In a 12-week pilot RCT, low-active pre- and perimenopausal women did a remote group strength and cardio program, increasing physical activity more than controls but not significantly.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 39 women · 12 weeks · 2025PerimenopausalPubMed

  6. In a 3 month combined aerobic and strength training program, obese and lean premenopausal middle-aged women improved similarly across most fitness, strength and balance measures, with high enjoyment in both groups.

    Reported an improvementControlled trial · 72 women · 12 weeks · 2023OtherCited 4 timesPubMed

  7. 22 menopausal women completed a 12-week workplace exercise programme of body conditioning, Zumba Gold, Pilates and HIIT, with authors reporting favourable changes in body fat, fitness, menopause symptoms and mental health.

    Direction not statedBefore-and-after study · 22 women · 12 weeks · 2026Midlife womenPubMed

  8. Midlife women pilot tested activities like circuit training, Zumba, Pilates and pedometer use, ranking pedometer and Zumba as most sustainable for ongoing physical activity.

    Direction not statedOther · 2016Midlife womenCited 5 timesPubMed

How to read this. Each line is one study, summarised in plain language from its PubMed abstract, with the authors' own sentence underneath on the study page. A count of studies is not a verdict: trials differ in size, length and quality, and a result in one group of women may not hold in another. Nothing here is medical advice.

Summaries are generated, then checked by machine against the abstract they came from; any summary that could not be matched word for word was left out. Our clinical lead is reviewing the summaries topic by topic, and this note will change when that is done. Corpus last refreshed 2026-11-03. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix the summary or remove the study.

Other exercise types and sticking with it