Make your coaching services more inclusive with this transformative menopause awareness course for women's health. This programme is designed to equip you with the specialist knowledge, skills and confidence to better support women through this inevitable life event.
Discover how to support female clients effectively with exercise, nutrition, and other aspects of their lifestyle as they transition through the menopause.
Distance-learning
6-8 weeks
None
YMCA Awards, CIMSPA
Our specialist menopause awareness course sets the new standard of education for physical activity and wellbeing practitioners wanting to work with perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Delivered by a team of clinical experts who are certified by the British Medical Society, this is one of the world’s leading education programmes for exercise and wellbeing professionals.
Our groundbreaking menopause awareness course has been specifically designed for physical activity and wellbeing practitioners that are committed to providing a higher level of care, support, education, and advice to women who are experiencing the menopause.
In the UK, it is estimated that there are approximately 13 million women living with the effects of the menopause and every woman will eventually go through this significant life event. As an exercise and wellbeing practitioner, it’s inevitable that you will find yourself working with women affected by the menopause which is precisely why this specialist menopause awareness course has been developed.
There are currently over 34 symptoms associated with the menopause and these symptoms can be physical, mental, and/or emotional. Symptoms vary in severity and number, and every woman’s menopause journey is different from the next. As a skilled menopause practitioner, you will be able to better recognise these symptoms, educate your client accordingly, allowing you to offer better advice and support in a way that is aligned with the evidence base.
Our specialist menopause awareness course has been designed and delivered by two industry-leading doctors and a chartered physiotherapist that specialise in women’s health and the menopause. These clinicians are also certified with the British Menopause Society.
The course content is delivered through distance learning, combining online learning with engaging theory and practical training videos. You’ll also receive a hard copy of the comprehensive student manual and a high level of individual support from our team of tutors. On enrolment, you’ll have complete access to everything you need to succeed.
There are no formal entry-requirements to this menopause awareness course and so enrolment is open to anyone.
It is however important to underline that this menopause awareness course is specifically designed for exercise and wellbeing professionals. Without specific practitioner qualifications (e.g., personal trainer, fitness instructor), this course will not qualify you to be able to provide advice or support others in a professional capacity (e.g., paying clients). You are welcome to complete the programme for greater knowledge and awareness though.
Our specialist menopause awareness course is an Ofqual regulated qualification that is certificated by YMCA Awards. On completion of this programme, students will receive the following: Level 3 Award in Menopause Awareness.
This qualification is also endorsed by CIMSPA and you will receive 10 CIMSPA CPD points on completion of this programme. The course is mapped against the following professional standard: Population Specialism: Working with Women and Girls.
This course is also fully endorsed by YMCA Awards, the original and most widely recognised health and fitness industry awarding organisation.
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Throughout our specialist menopause awareness course, you’ll develop a deeper understanding of the many anatomical and physiological changes that take place as women start to approach menopause. You’ll also explore a range of exercise, nutrition, and lifestyle changes that women can make to alleviate the severity of their symptoms with the goal of improving their general health and wellbeing. Above all, you’ll learn to separate fact from fiction, ensuring the advice you provide clients is based on the latest clinically validated guidelines. A snapshot of some of the learning content is supplied below:
- Prevalence data at different ages/life stages
- Who is affected
- Types of menopause
- Stages of menopause (perimenopause, menopause, post-menopause)
- Symptoms of menopause – effects on health and wellbeing
- Female reproductive system
- Hormonal changes during menopause
- Effects of oestrogen loss on health and wellbeing
- Cardiovascular risk factors in menopause
- Role of progesterone in menopause
- Testosterone and women’s hormonal transition
- Defining osteoporosis in the menopause
- Hormonal changes and bone health
- Osteoporosis risk factors
- Combatting bone loss
- Exercise, physical activity and nutrition strategies
- Lifestyle choices and other factors influencing bone health
- Symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction
- Causes of pelvic floor dysfunction
- Hormonal effects on the pelvic floor
- Posture, gait and functional movements
- Kegals and pelvic floor exercises
- Other exercises to promote pelvic floor health
- Appropriate pre-exercise screening and risk stratification
- Planning safe and effective exercises (frequency, intensity, types, and time)
- Benefits of exercise and physical activity
- Risks and considerations
- Barriers for being active, including strategies for overcoming them
- Delivering safe and effective activity sessions
- Importance of nutrition during the menopause
- Foods to consider avoiding during the menopause
- Functional and helpful foods for menopause
- Nutritional considerations for bone and heart health
- Importance of hydration for menopause
- Effective supplementation strategies and misinformation
- Non-hormonal therapies
This is a comprehensive menopause awareness course that will allow you to become a more confident and competent physical activity or wellbeing professional capable of supporting women through this important life transition.
Once you’ve completed our specialist menopause awareness course, you’ll be part of an elite team of HFE graduates that have completed one of the most comprehensive and up to date menopause education programmes in the physical and wellbeing activity sector. These graduates are now working with some of the most prominent brands in the active leisure sector.
Our specialist menopause awareness course comprises of 9 separate units, each of which is designed to broaden and deepen your understanding of that subject area. At the end of each unit, you’ll be required to complete a series of informal learning checks to ensure that you are making good progress with your learning.
Once you have completed all of your learning and you feel that you have sufficient levels of technical knowledge and understanding, you’ll complete the final knowledge workbook online, which consists of a series of multiple-choice and multiple-option questions that are scenario-based and designed to assess your ability to apply what you have learned to real-life situations.
Finally, to complete your course you’ll complete a short professional discussion (VIVA) with your support tutor where you will be presented with 3-5 scenarios that you’ll need to describe how you would manage. This is discussion is completed remotely and after all other assessments are complete.
Throughout your menopause studies our dedicated team of learning support tutors are only a call away if you need any expert advice or guidance. Whether it’s a quick technical question about a specific part of your course, or you just need some help with your approach to learning, our team will always be happy to help. You can reach our learning support team via:
Featured below are a range of questions that we are frequently asked about our solution-focused course for health and fitness professionals. If you do have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate contact our Careers Team on 0800 612 4067.
Our menopause awareness course is the only education programme in the active leisure sector that is designed and delivered by leading clinical experts. You can rest assured, therefore, that you are getting access to the highest quality information that is aligned with the latest clinical evidence.
When you have completed this qualification, you’ll be able to more effectively educate and support female clients about the menopause. Some of this may involve supporting women that are already symptomatic, offering them practical solutions to better manage their symptoms, including signposting them when they need more help.
You’ll also be able to use the information to work with women who haven’t yet started the perimenopause but who want to prepare themselves physically, mentally and emotionally for the transition when it starts.
The menopause represents a period in a woman’s life where there is a lot of change afoot. The uncertainty around these changes can give rise to a number of emotions like fear and anxiety. Having access to an exercise or wellbeing professional like you who has the specialist knowledge and understanding to be able to educate and support them can be invaluable. You can also market your qualification status to attract more female clients.
Above all, you’ll be better equipped to have professional discussions with your female clients without feeling the need to be embarrassed or uncomfortable. You’ll be armed with the very latest information on all things menopause so that you are in a position to offer your clients the best support that you can.
The Level 3 Award in Menopause Awareness is a qualification that is specifically designed for those already working in the exercise, physical activity or wellbeing sector, who want to upskill to increase their knowledge and understanding of the menopause and how it affects women (broadly and individually). As such, there are no specific occupational outcomes associated with this qualification.
Whether you are a personal trainer, health and wellbeing coach, or a Pilates or yoga teacher, you’ll find the course information and guidelines incredibly useful if you are working with women who are perimenopausal or postmenopausal.
Many exercise and wellbeing professionals utilise their qualification status to market themselves as menopause competent coaches, allowing them to attract more clients who are looking for competent trainers and coaches that are able to support them with this significant life event. While there is nothing fundamentally wrong with this practice, practitioners should be mindful of their scope of practice and ensure that they are not operating beyond this.
There is no requirement to have any prior knowledge or understanding of the menopause. The course materials supplied (textbooks, online course, lecture videos, practical explainer videos) will contain everything that you need to know to be able to complete the course.
A basic understanding of anatomy and physiology (level 2 or above) would be useful, as there will be some anatomical and physiological concepts that will be discussed that are not explained in this course. It is assumed that this knowledge and understanding has been gained in other learning/qualifications (e.g., fitness instructor, personal trainer).
Absolutely not. It’s likely that many women will be attracted to this menopause awareness course because the information will be useful personally as well as professionally. Every person born a woman will experience the menopause at some stage in their life, so having a broader and more detailed understanding of this process and how it affects people individually will, of course, be useful.
There is a strong argument to say that men are more in need of menopause training than women, given the fact they don’t experience it directly in their life. Also, men are generally less familiar with the anatomy and physiology of the female reproductive system and how this biological system changes as a women moves closer to menopause.
On completion of this course, men will have a much greater understanding of the menopause, be more confidently able to have conversations with women about their symptoms, including how to better manage them, and what they can do to reduce their future risk of health conditions like heart disease, osteoporosis, and other health complications associated with menopause.
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Thank you for signing up. If you want career advice or to learn more about the courses we offer, reach out to our friendly careers team.