The science

Why strength training, and why now

What changes in your body during perimenopause and menopause, why strength training is one of the most useful responses, and how that thinking is built into Shatavi. Every claim below links to its source.

A woman in her fifties doing a strength exercise with a dumbbell at homeAI-generated image

What's changing in your body

As oestrogen falls after menopause, bone density can drop quickly.4 Lean muscle mass also tends to decline through the menopause transition.5 These are ordinary parts of this stage of life, not signs that something has gone wrong.

Why strength training specifically

Muscle and bone respond to load. UK guidance says strengthening activity helps delay the natural decline in muscle mass and bone density that starts from around the age of 50,2 and NICE, which sets clinical guidance in England, advises that people going through menopause are told why maintaining muscle mass and strength through physical activity matters.3

For bone, the Royal Osteoporosis Society recommends doing both impact and strength exercises.67 And it isn't too late to start: resistance training builds strength and muscle in older adults too.8

This isn't about training harder than you did in your twenties. It's about training in a way that matches what your body needs now.

How much is enough

Guidelines for adults recommend muscle-strengthening activity that works all the major muscle groups on at least 2 days a week.12 They also say that any strengthening activity is better than none.2

Shatavi's plans are built to that: sessions of 15 to 40 minutes, on the days of the week you choose, working the main movement patterns of a squat, a hinge, a push and a pull.

Why generic workout plans fall short

Most fitness content is built for a general audience, or for a much younger body. It rarely allows for joint sensitivity, recovery time, or the week-to-week variability that comes with fluctuating hormones, disrupted sleep or hot flushes. Shatavi's plans are designed around that variability from the start, instead of treating it as an exception. See how it adapts.

Who checks our work

Every rule is signed by a doctor

Our clinical lead, a doctor, wrote and signed off the parts of Shatavi that decide what you're asked to do:

  • The rules for when your plan holds steady, adds weight, or eases off.
  • The symptoms the app asks about, and what it offers for each one.
  • The stop for serious symptoms, and exactly what it says to you.

Doctor-built means the rules are a doctor's. It doesn't mean a doctor sees your data or gives you advice through the app: for that, your own doctor is the right person.

What Shatavi is not. Shatavi is an educational fitness-guidance app. It doesn't diagnose any medical condition, and using it isn't the same as seeing a doctor. If you have a health condition, take medication for your symptoms, or aren't sure whether strength training is right for you, talk to your own doctor before you start.

Sources

  1. World Health Organization. WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. 2020. www.who.int
  2. UK Chief Medical Officers' physical activity guidelines. Department of Health and Social Care, 2019, updated 2026. www.gov.uk
  3. NICE. Menopause: identification and management (NG23), recommendation 1.2.5. 2015, updated 2026. www.nice.org.uk
  4. NHS. Osteoporosis: causes. www.nhs.uk
  5. Juppi HK et al. Role of menopausal transition and physical activity in loss of lean and muscle mass: a follow-up study in middle-aged Finnish women. J Clin Med. 2020;9(5):1588. doi.org
  6. Royal Osteoporosis Society. Exercise for bones. 2026. theros.org.uk
  7. Brooke-Wavell K et al. Strong, steady and straight: UK consensus statement on physical activity and exercise for osteoporosis. Br J Sports Med. 2022;56(15):837–46. doi.org
  8. Fragala MS et al. Resistance training for older adults: position statement from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. J Strength Cond Res. 2019;33(8):2019–52. doi.org