Creatine, cardio and lifting weights: What you can learn from the healthy habits of menopause doctors

My social media feed is full of women who lift heavy weights, prioritize protein and take supplements to get stronger and live longer. They’re not fitness influencers; they’re menopause doctors.

In between extolling the virtues of hormone therapy and whether you should wear a weighted vest on your power walks, these doctors are doing dead lifts at the gym and dropping scoops of creatine into their protein-packed smoothies. In other words, they don’t just give advice on healthy aging — they live it.

What can we learn from them? What’s their go-to workout routine? How much protein do they actually eat? And what supplements do they think are worth shelling out cash for?

I reached out to three doctors who treat menopausal patients to find out: Dr. Vonda Wright, an orthopedic surgeon and author of the new book Unbreakable: A Woman’s Guide to Aging With Power; Dr. Kelly Casperson, a urologist and author of The Menopause Moment; and Dr. Jocelyn Wittstein, an orthopedic surgeon, expert on the musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause and author of The Complete Bone and Joint Health Plan.

As Casperson puts it, “We practice what we preach.” And it shows. Here are the healthy habits they swear by.

They’re always on the move

If you take away one thing from these menopause doctors, it’s this: They find ways to move their bodies every day, whether that’s walking, lifting weights or doing squats. “The body hates not moving,” Casperson tells Yahoo.

Wittstein, who recently shared a sample workout week on her Instagram, gets in cardio five days a week. That can mean walking, running or rucking (walking with a weight on your back). She tells Yahoo she’s also a fan of the Norwegian 4x4, which involves working out at the highest intensity you can handle for four minutes, followed by three minutes of active recovery (doing very light exercise), and repeating this four times.

Casperson often exercises at home using the BODi by Beachbody app, which offers everything from cardio and strength training workouts to yoga and Pilates. It’s a habit she picked up after the birth of her second child, when she needed to figure out how to stay in shape without leaving the house. “I really had to challenge the belief that you can't get a good workout in at home — that is not true,” she says. “Turns out, push-ups are hard, no matter where you do them.”

Wright’s workouts generally follow a framework called F.A.C.E.: flexibility, aerobic exercise, carrying a load (lifting weights or body weight) and equilibrium (working on balance). She fits in flexibility by doing a dynamic warm-up — putting her joints through their full range of motion — every time she works out, from hip swings to inchworms and bridges, which also engages her core. Wright likes to follow the 80-20 method of cardio, which involves low-intensity cardio 80% of the time and high-intensity cardio 20% of the time, at least three hours a week, breaking them up into 45-minute sessions. So if you work out four days a week, three of them would be easier exercise sessions (such as a jog, brisk walk or bike ride) and one intense session (such as a HIIT workout).

“I choose to do it on a treadmill because I'm an old cardio girl,” Wright tells Yahoo, adding that she listens to podcasts while she works out. Twice a week, after hitting 45 minutes of cardio, Wright sprints as fast as she can for 30 seconds to get her heart rate up and push herself.

They lift heavy weights

Another common theme: lifting heavy weights. All three doctors do strength training — which improves bone density and flexibility, reduces body fat, helps prevent falls and delivers mood-boosting endorphins — about two to three days a week. That can look like grabbing the heaviest weight you can handle and doing three to six repetitions four times.

“Heavy lifting and sprinting are really body recomposition tools,” says Wright, who notes that muscle strength is critical for being able to live independently — something everyone wants to do as they age. Lifting weights is also empowering. “I like feeling really strong,” she says. “I like feeling like a badass.”

Wright takes being a badass to the next level by doing powerlifting (think four repetitions of, say, a deadlift using a 45-pound bar with weights on it, or goblet squats with a 100-pound free weight). But that’s not on the menu for everyone. Instead, the doctors recommend that you keep challenging your muscles by graduating to heavier weights once lifting those same 8-pound dumbbells you’ve had for ages starts to feel easy.

They jump around (literally)

It’s something most of us haven’t done since playing hopscotch at recess, but jumping is another key component of these doctors’ well-rounded workout routines. Wright points out that bones build themselves by impact. “The literal biomechanical force of impact turns into biochemical signals to lay down bone,” she explains. “So you need to jump and exert four times your body weight. Walking doesn't do it. Running doesn't really do it. Jumping will do it.”

Wright, who does 24-inch box jumps in her workout routine, says you can start small: Try jumping off a single step in your home 20 times (even better if you have one of those risers left over from step aerobics in the ’80s). Or do jumping jacks and side-to-side or lateral jumps. Wittstein jumps rope, “which can double as your cardio,” and sometimes uses a cordless jump rope that’s also great for beginners.

Wright and Wittstein also recommend balance training to prevent falls. Wright regularly channels her inner flamingo by standing on one leg multiple times a day. “I practice my balance all the time,” she says. “I teach people to do it by standing in front of the mirror and brushing their teeth on one leg.”

They eat protein at every meal

Protein, protein, protein. Everybody is talking about making sure you get enough of it, and Wright, Casperson and Wittstein are no exception. Wittstein makes sure she gets 30 grams of protein in each meal. Casperson feels like she’s “winning” if she gets in 100 to 130 grams of protein per day. She shares that she got better at consuming more protein by writing down what she was eating.

While the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for the average adult is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (a quick and easy way to calculate that is to multiply your weight in pounds by 0.36), some experts say that’s not enough. Wright, who has protein at every meal, tells her patients, particularly if they’re active, to aim for 1 gram of protein per ideal pound (meaning, based on a weight that’s healthy for you). “People think it’s hard, but it’s not hard because a cup of [Greek] yogurt is 25 grams of protein and a chicken breast the size of my hand is about 45 grams or so,” says Wright.

They take a slew of supplements, from creatine to magnesium

The doctors have a lot in common when it comes to supplements, which include:

• Creatine: It helps build muscle and supports brain health. “It’s so safe, it’s so cheap and it’s so effective both for muscle and brain — it really seems like a no-brainer at this point,” says Casperson. Creatine comes in powder form and is typically tasteless, so it’s easy to add a scoop to your morning cup of coffee or a smoothie. Wittstein takes 5 grams per day.

• Vitamin D: It supports bone, teeth and muscle, along with the immune system. The recommended amount of vitamin D is 600 international units (IU) daily for people ages 1 to 70 and 800 IU for adults over 70. The doctors take much more than that (2,000 to 3,000 IUD), but it’s best to check with your health care provider before going beyond the RDA.

• Omega-3 fatty acids: It’s anti-inflammatory and supports heart health. The National Academy of Medicine recommends that adults get 1.1 to 1.6 grams of omega-3s per day.

• Magnesium glycinate: Magnesium is a multitasker, helping to control blood pressure and blood sugar, as well as supporting bone health and the immune system. It also helps you sleep. Wright takes 500 milligrams of magnesium glycinate at night, while Wittstein takes 400 milligrams.

Wright takes a few additional supplements, including 500 milligrams of Jinfinity Vitality NAD+ booster, a popular anti-aging co-enzyme that helps with energy production and DNA repair, and Timeline’s Urolithin A, another longevity supplement that’s said to improve cellular health, reduce inflammation and promote muscle growth.

Their advice: Start somewhere

Casperson admits there’s a risk in sharing how she takes care of her health because “people think if they can’t do 30 minutes five days a week, they shouldn’t do anything,” she says.

Wittstein gets a lot of messages from women who feel defeated and think it’s too late to start getting in shape. “People should know it’s never too late to start doing things to better your health,” she says, citing the classic mantra that “something is better than nothing.” Her suggestions: Get a walking pad at your desk. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk at lunch. Do push-ups in between stirring the pot while cooking. “Start somewhere,” she says.

Casperson agrees. “Just move a little bit every day. The body loves to be moved.”