A Guide to Navigating Perimenopause and Strength Training for Trans and Gender Expansive People

Check out the full guide:  A Guide to Navigating Perimenopause and Strength Training for Trans and Gender Expansive People available to all members of my Patreon no matter the tier level.

There is still so much mystery surrounding the stages of menopause especially when it comes to the added layer of being a trans or gender expansive person maneuvering through  this phase of life. I am currently experiencing perimenopause and it is drastically affecting my physical, mental and emotional body. For many trans and gender-expansive people, navigating health care and bodily changes—like those that occur during perimenopause—can feel especially complex and isolating. These shifts often amplify feelings of disconnect between the body and our sense of self, particularly when the medical systems deny us affirming care, amidst the backdrop of sweeping anti-trans legislation across the U.S. For those of us who use Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy (GAHT), the natural hormonal changes that come with aging can interact with long-term hormone use in ways that are not fully understood—because research on trans aging is significantly lacking. Trans and gender expansive people deserve to access care that honors our identities, validates our experiences, and empowers us to live authentically. When we are forced to tend to our own needs, self-advocacy often becomes our lifeline in a system that denies our humanity, and many of us turn to alternative or holistic approaches to fill the gaps left by traditional medicine. 

Movement as an embodiment practice has become a deep space of self-reconnection for me, particularly as a transmasculine person navigating perimenopause. Strength training has provided not just physical resilience but also an empowering way to reclaim my evolving body. Over the last several months, engaging in an affirming strength  training  program has helped me to celebrate my strength and adaptability rather than resist the changes my body is experiencing. 

In this guide I will share some ways I am now engaging in strength training while working through perimenopause in hopes that it will help others. My goal is to create more space for conversations about trans and gender expansive aging—especially around perimenopause—so we can work together to build a world where affirming, research-driven care is the norm, not the exception. Because we all deserve to age with dignity, authenticity, and the freedom to thrive.