Mornings with Megan

22: Moving Smarter in Perimenopause: The Full Framework Part 1


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Part of the Move Pillar of the Perimenopause Matrix

Doing everything right with exercise and still feeling exhausted, not recovering well, or holding weight around your middle?

This one is for you.

This is episode one of a three-part movement series. Today we cover the full cardio framework for perimenopause.

What we cover in this episode:

🧠 The stress cup model: why cortisol dysregulation (both too high AND tapped out) changes everything about how you should be moving

💪 Why your high-intensity class may not be your friend right now, and how to think about it

⏱ Dr. Martin Gibala's published protocols from McMaster University: the SIT protocol (10 minutes, 60 seconds of hard work) and the HIIT 10x1 (20 to 25 minutes total), with equipment options for every level

📚 How Dr. Stacy Sims (Next Level) and Gibala land in the same place from different research angles

❤️ Megan's personal story of cortisol burnout and why she needed someone else to hold her to the protocol she couldn't give herself

🚶 Why walking is genuinely medicinal: the blood sugar evidence, the 2025 Lancet longevity data (7,000 steps, 47% lower mortality risk), and the 2024 Lancet RCT on walking and pain

📊 Your real-world VO2 max test, no lab required


Full Episode Show Notes


About the Perimenopause Matrix:The Matrix is my framework for navigating perimenopause across 6 pillars: Fuel, Move, Recharge, Regulate, Connect, and Clean. But this episode isn't about optimizing all 6—it's about choosing the ONE that matters most in YOUR current reality.

🧬 Ready to stop guessing?

I help women interpret their labs so they can make nutrition decisions based on data, not diet trends.

👉 Book your personalized Lab Review here

🎁 FREE RESOURCE: Download the free Perimenopause Decoder . It helps you understand what's happening during perimenopause so you can make decisions from a place of clarity, not chaos.


📱 CONNECT WITH ME:

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You're not crazy. You're not broken. You're not alone. And you absolutely deserve to feel like yourself again.

Listen to Mornings with Megan Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Wednesday!

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Mornings with MeganBy Megan Pfiffner