Fitness during peri - bootcamps - cortisol response

[NameChangedForThis2025]

Hiya,

I'm mid 40s and BMI 27 so looking to get to a healthy weight and height/waist ratio. I've been running 3-4k 3x a week for the past year, but know I need to be incorporating strength training.

I've tried at home dumbbell workouts and a gym but it just doesn't stick, so I've recently signed up for outdoor bootcamps. I'm still in the trial period but I'm really enjoying it so intend to add in 2 per week on top of my running. It's a mix of body weight strength, kettlebells, battle-ropes, sprints etc, in circuits.

I've been reading that too many high intensity workouts can produce a cortisol response that isn't the best for peri/menopausal women. But I'm kind of thinking that the best workout is the one that you can stick with and I really think I do better with something outdoors, routine and social. (Social being particularly important as I've not had any hobbies since having my son 3.5 years ago!)

Does anyone have any experience/ thoughts on bootcamps in your 40s /older instead of traditional strength training?

Just grateful for reassurance/ enlightenment!

:)

There was a thread on this the other day.

Boot camp classes won’t affect your cortisol levels. Enjoying outdoor exercise will improve your health and wellbeing - go for it!

I’ve been doing outdoor bootcamp for almost 2 years, great workout, but honestly I find 1. They don’t get easier 😆 I assume because it’s a different workout each time, and 2, the structure is more incorporating battle ropes, kettlebells, dumbbells, and primarily bodyweight exercises such as burpees, lunges etc.

I would say they are more of a general conditioning class, not proper strength training, which in our mid 40s is what we apparently need.

Ive stuck with it because it’s saved my mental health, it’s a brilliant community, the coach is caring and supportive, the sunrise start is spectacular.

i have however started attending an actual strength training class alongside twice a week, i had though myself previously strung and fit, but am very much not compared to the other girls.

with cardio covered, i would be looking for something more focused on heavy weights.

it's fine
listen to your body
at yourlevel you would not normally see such a stress response unless you are training for an extreme sports event with multiple training sessions a day.

after a hard workout you might retain more water, which might show as weight gain the next morning, but that goes away quickly.

Thanks everyone, that's helpful. I think at this point my strength ability is so extremely low, that these classes will still help. In another 6 months/ year when I've improved and managed to increase my running to regular 5/6k then I will look to do heavy weights once a week. But right now I think it would be just too many things all at once.

I do outdoor bootcamp (plus a weekly heavy weights session).
I doubt an hour a week is ruining my metabolism.

TBH getting my teenager out of the house in the morning is much worse for cortisol

@BogRollBOGOF Swap teenager with pre schooler and I’m right there with you

Heavy weights once a week will maintain but won’t build strength. You need to do more than once a week. If you’re enjoying your classes stick with them but they won’t actually meet your goal of strength training so you need to decide what is most important to you.

@HundredMilesAnHour genuinely trying to understand this, what’s required to count as ‘strength training’? If the class involves strength work and I increase my strength doing them (eg more push ups, heavier kettlebells) what is it that means it’s not strength training? Ta 🙂

That’s conditioning rather than strength training I’m afraid.

For strength training you need to be lifting significantly heavier (to get the benefits we need as we age) and that also means good form and technique. You can’t achieve really that in a circuits style bootcamp class. (I’m actually a qualified gym instructor and circuits instructor, but have been doing strength training 3 times a week for longer than my peri-menopausal brain cares to remember!).

I’m 47 and have been doing bootcamp classes for about 3 years (alongside another sport). I absolutely love it. I was just doing once a week to start with just to keep me ticking over in the off season but now I go 2-3 times a week I’ve really noticed a difference in my cardio fitness plus my overall strength. I’ve been gradually increasing the weights as I go. If this doesn’t count as a type of strength training, then I don’t know what does tbh! Like you I need to do something on a fixed schedule plus the social side and being outdoors all weathers is great.

any exercise you can keep up and enjoy doing is good.
the bootcamp sounds likea good mix of cardio and strength so give it a go.

Please do not listen to the absolute nonsense in the media about cortisol at the moment. It is a complete load of absolute twaddle. I have Addisons disease and I do not produce any cortisol at all, it is a life threatening condition which requires daily life long steroids. The opposite of this is cushings disease where you produce too much cortisol. Both conditions are extremely rare - other types of adrenal insufficiency are more common than Addisons but there are only about 9k people in the Uk with Addisons and even less with cushings. All the support groups I’m involved with are absolutely fed up with the sudden surge in online accounts sharing stuff about managing cortisol - if you don’t have Addisons / adrenal insufficiency or cushings - which the vast majority of people don’t - your body will self regulate the cortisol it needs: full stop. It’s not a thing.

Just wanted to say thanks again for the feedback.

Thank you @Picklechicken for the response about cortisol.

I'm going to stick with it.

Its going to be too much to run 3x plus 2 bootcamps AND add heavy weights sessions - I need to be realistic and do the things I've a chance of sticking to.

Also, part of the class definitely involves lifting heavy to point of failure (e.g. today included overhead press amongst other things). Its not the totality but it is part, so I'm happy with it as a first step to improve my strength and I can revisit later once I'm fitter!

Plus I just really like being outside when I'm exercising :)