Recruiting

Resistance Exercise

Sponsor:

University of Michigan

Code:

NCT07022340

Conditions

Perimenopause

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: Female

Age: 40 - 60

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Resistance Training Intervention

Study Details

Brief summary:

Women's blood vessel health gets worse after menopause, or "the change of life". Some women exercise less during menopause. Exercise can improve blood vessel health. The investigators want to know if resistance exercise, like lifting weights, can improve blood vessel health in women who are just starting menopause. The investigators also want to know if lifting weights can improve mood, sleep, and quality of life in women going through menopause. The investigators will have two groups of women for this study. One group will lift weights (do resistance exercise) twice per week, and the other group will get emails with information about menopause. The investigators will measure blood vessel health, sleep, mood, and menopause symptoms at the start and the end of this study and compare women who did and did not exercise.

Conditions

Perimenopause

Study ID

NCT07022340

Start date

Jun 6, 2025

Status verified date

Jun, 2026

Completion date

Dec, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: Female

Age: 40 - 60

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

  • Are between 40-60 years old
  • Have had menstrual irregularities in the last 12 months
  • Do not currently complete more than two 30-min sessions of structured exercise per week and do not do any resistance training exercise;
  • Are not currently pregnant
  • Do not smoke or vape nicotine or marijuana
  • Have not had an oophorectomy, hysterectomy, or surgical menopause
  • Are not currently taking hormone replacement therapy
  • Have not taken hormone replacement therapy in the last 6 months
  • Are not taking steroidal medication or medication to treat diabetes, cholesterol, or high blood pressure
  • Are able to exercise - your doctor has not told you that you cannot exercise
  • Can attend a morning study visit at the University of Michigan's School of Kinesiology Building
  • Are willing to avoid food 2 hours prior to the morning study visit
  • Are willing to avoid strenuous exercise, caffeine, and alcohol, 8 hours prior to the morning study visit
  • Are willing to participate in an exercise training program or health education program for 16 weeks

Study Design

Enrollment

50 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Prevention

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Resistance Training Intervention

Participants randomized to resistance training will complete two sessions/week for 16 weeks.

no intervention: Health Education Intervention

Participants randomized to the health education control group will receive weekly emails with general menopause information. They will be instructed to maintain current lifestyle habits, including exercise habits while enrolled in this study. They will be provided with a personalized resistance training program, equipment orientation/training session, and a counseling phone call with an exercise physiologist following study completion, or they can re-enroll in the resistance training intervention after completing the control portion of the study.

Interventions

Resistance Training Intervention

Participants will complete a brief aerobic warm-up and dynamic stretching prior to each strength training session. Participants will complete 9 exercises for all major muscle groups. Strength testing at the baseline study visit will be used to determine initial load. Participants will complete 1 set of moderate-intensity loads (\~50% maximum and \~12 repetitions) in week 1, 2 sets in week 2, and 3 sets in week 3. By week 4, participants will be completing 3 sets at 60% of maximum. Weight loads will be progressively increased so volitional fatigue is reached by 8-12 repetitions/set.

Primary outcome measure

  • Vascular function [ Time Frame: At baseline and the end of the 16 week study period ]
  • Endothelial Function [ Time Frame: At baseline and the end of the 16 week study period ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Marnie K. McLean, M.S.

734-615-1711mcmarnie@umich.edu

Abbi D. Lane, Ph.D.

734-647-3843abbilane@umich.edu

Locations

University of Michigan School of Kinesiology

Recruiting

Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109

Contacts

Marnie K. McLean, M.S.

734-615-1711mcmarnie@umich.edu

Abbi D. Lane, Ph.D.

734-647-3843abbilane@umich.edu

Principal Investigator:

Marnie K. McLean, M.S.

More Information

Sponsor

University of Michigan

Last update posted

Aug 3, 2026

Last verified

Jun, 2026

Keywords

  • menopause
  • perimenopause
  • vascular function
  • arterial stiffness
  • endothelial function
  • resistance exercise training
  • strength training
  • mood
  • sleep
  • quality of life
  • cardiovascular disease
  • estrogen deficiency
  • exercise

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Michigan on 2026-08-03.