Why Pushing Harder Stops Working in Perimenopause (and What to Do Instead)

If you’re doing everything that used to work—working out harder, staying disciplined, pushing through fatigue—and your body feels more depleted instead of stronger, this episode is for you.

In this conversation, Andrea explores why the “push harder” approach to fitness and life often backfires during perimenopause, and what women actually need instead to feel strong, steady, and supported in their bodies.

Perimenopause brings real changes to hormones, stress tolerance, recovery, and motivation. This isn’t a personal failure—it’s a physiological and nervous system shift. And it requires a new way of relating to strength, rest, and rhythm.

In this episode, you’ll learn how strength training, yoga, stillness, and Ayurvedic wisdom can work together to help you feel more resilient—without burnout.

In this episode, we explore:

• How perimenopause changes stress tolerance, recovery, and energy

• Why workouts that once felt empowering may now feel depleting

• The myth that “more discipline” fixes hormonal and nervous system shifts

• Why strength training is still essential in perimenopause—but needs to be done differently

• How yoga, pranayama, and stillness support the nervous system during hormonal transition

• What Ayurveda teaches us about listening to the body instead of overriding it

• Why rhythm, awareness, and attunement matter more than intensity in midlife

A gentler approach to strength in perimenopause

This episode is an invitation to move away from punishment-based fitness and toward supportive strength—the kind that builds muscle, protects bones, and honors recovery.

Andrea shares why:

• Shorter, intentional strength workouts are often more effective than longer sessions

• Nervous system regulation is foundational for hormonal health

• Listening to your body is not “doing less”—it’s doing what actually works now

Feeling called to go deeper?

If your body has been whispering—or shouting—for something different, January is where we begin.

Andrea is hosting Perimenopause Power Hour, a live virtual workshop designed to help you:

• Understand how perimenopause affects strength, stress, and recovery

• Learn how to train your body with your hormones, not against them

• Integrate Ayurvedic and nervous-system-supportive practices into real life

📅 Perimenopause Power Hour
🕘 January 17th | 9:00 AM (Virtual)

She’s also offering an in-person workshop later that day:

🌿 Ayurveda & Yoga for Your Dosha
🕑 January 17th | 2:00 PM
📍 Big River Yoga

About the host

Andrea Claassen is a yoga teacher, strength coach, and Ayurvedic practitioner with nearly two decades of experience supporting women through stress, burnout, and the perimenopause transition. Her work blends strength training, yoga, seasonal rhythm, and Ayurveda to help women feel capable, calm, and connected in their bodies.

If this resonates, you may enjoy my 5 Day Stillness Challenge or taking my Perimenopause Support Quiz both designed to help you slow down, tune in, and reconnect with your inner rhythm during this season.