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Megan Hoover, DPT and Lindsay Brin, Exercise Science
Consider this: strength training enables us to do all the things we love for many years to come. It changes our body composition (reducing fat and increasing lean tissue).
While we usually default to cardio for fat loss – strength training is a real game changer for body composition. Your body becomes more efficient all day, not just during workouts. Especially after 40, when hormones make fat loss harder, strength training plus daily walking is the MVP.
For some, the word strength training conjures up images of bulky muscles. But, here’s the thing, you’re not actually adding new muscle fibers. You’re strengthening and reshaping the ones you already have.
Women are born with a set number of muscle fibers, and resistance training helps build those fibers through a process called or hypertrophy. For women this kind of training is key to maintaining tone, improving metabolism, building strength and aging gracefully. Explore our free Strength Guide for Women Over 40.
Typically, muscle and strength increase steadily from birth and until about 30 years of age. After that, without regular use, our muscles weaken and lose mass. This age related loss of muscle mass and strength is called sarcopenia. After age 35 we lose 3 – 8% of our muscle every decade!
Muscle is lost far more easily and quickly than it’s built, so a consistent strength training routine is crucial, especially as you get older.
Hormonal shifts begin to change how our bodies respond to exercise. Lower estrogen levels impact muscle recovery, joint health, and how efficiently we build and maintain lean muscle. Strength training becomes even more important, but how we train needs to adjust too.
Our bodies become more sensitive to inflammation and stress. Traditional high volume or high intensity workouts that worked in our 20s and early 30s can now backfire with increased cortisol and even muscle breakdown.
Instead, it’s smarter to focus on strength training + walking. Walking fills the gaps strength training alone can’t do, plus it helps balance hormones and increase fat loss.
Download 10 Ways to Make a Strength Training Routine work for you Strength Training Guide for Women Over 40.
You need to specifically strengthen your muscle groups to be able to withstand the physical demands you put your body through — from daily activities to athletic pursuits.
Strength training is very important to increase the tolerance for load on our joints and structure. Whether it is chasing your kiddos (or grandkids) around the yard or running up the stairs, your body has to be able to effectively manage and control your movement and positions.
Stability is the body’s ability to control a joint through motion or activity with appropriate speed and quality of movement. Your pelvis/hip must stabilize the leg you are standing on to bring the other leg through to walk. If your glutes are weak, you cannot control this motion and will use your joints to stabilize. Over time you will reach mechanical failure. This may show up in the form of low back pain, pelvic pain, knee pain, plantar fasciitis, just to name a few.
For example, a marathon runner needs to run to build endurance, but if she does not appropriately strengthen the muscles that control side-to-side and rotatory motions (i.e., glutes, adductors, core), she will eventually end up with a repetitive injury.
As hormones shift in your 40s, bone loss happens more quickly. It sounds discouraging, but it’s actually an opportunity to challenge your bones so they stay dense and strong.
Strength training is the strongest protector of bone after 40. Progressive strength training that loads your hips, legs, and spine is one of the most reliable ways to maintain and rebuild bone.
The LIFTMOR trial is one of the most well known studies on bone density training in women. Participants used very heavy loads at about 80–85% of their one rep max (1RM), which is roughly 4–6 reps. The program showed significant, safe gains in spine and hip bone density. Because of those results, it’s still one of the most frequently cited studies in this area.
Research in 2023 and 2025 expanded on LIFTMOR’s findings and showed that women can build strong bones using moderate-to-high loads at about 65–80% of 1RM, roughly 6–12 challenging reps performed 3x per week. These studies found the most consistent improvements in bone mineral density at the spine and hip.
In other words, you don’t need to lift at your absolute max. Lift heavy with great form, week after week. Over time, that kind of steady effort is what creates meaningful change in your bones and muscles.
Research in pre and postmenopausal women also shows that even a few minutes of small jumps can strengthen bones at the hip and spine. Add a few 20-second SIT sprints in a daily walk (once or twice per week) or be consistent in your strength training.
By adding muscle through strength training, we elevate our basal metabolic rate (metabolism). This is why athletes burn more calories (units of energy) at rest.
The composition of muscle and fat is extremely different. Muscle tissue is a lot denser than fat tissue, i.e., it weighs more. So this means you can have more muscle mass, but actually appear smaller. If you’re a little confused, or maybe just don’t believe me, search “10 pounds of muscle vs. 10 pounds of fat.” The yellow fat tissue is chunky and lumpy. The beautiful muscle tissue is smooth and compact.
When you exercise, you don’t turn your fat into muscle, you lose the fat.
If you maintain muscle (also known as lean tissue) some research shows that your BMR remains steady from ages 20 – 60. In one study, nine months of resistance training increased resting metabolic rate by an average of 5 percent or about 158 calories per day (Aristizabal et al. 2015).
Something important to understand is that you can’t spot reduce fat. A study done by the American College of Physicians found that the dominant arm of a tennis athlete did not have less stored fat in her strong arm vs. her non-dominant arm. So basically, even though an athlete might use their left/right arm to pitch a baseball or whack a tennis ball, the stronger arm will not have less fat.
Our bodies were made for movement. They were designed to withstand all different postures, positions, movements, and forces. However, we need to take the appropriate steps to keep our bodies healthy so we can successfully manage normal tasks. Good posture and alignment gives better transfer power in athletics.
Target a kyphotic posture (hunchback) by strengthening the backside of your body. Combat knee pain by strengthening your legs/glutes and stretching your chest. Help back pain through strengthening the core.
Postural and alignment issues feed right into pain and injury. When we are feeling nagging pain in a certain body part, our instinct is to stretch it or massage it or rest it. But have you ever considered you may need to strengthen that muscle (or another one)? It can be hard to pinpoint the culprit, so this is where a physical therapist can be valuable.
Your muscles and bones rely on many of the same nutrients to stay strong. As we age, our bodies become less efficient at repairing and rebuilding tissue, which means we need a bit more protein to get the same results we used to.
Eating enough protein helps your body recover from workouts, maintain lean muscle, and support stronger, healthier bones over time. Nutrition doesn’t replace training—it enhances it.
At 46 and deep in perimenopause, I’ve become much more aware of how everything we do affects not just our bodies, but our brains. Women make up nearly two-thirds of Alzheimer’s cases, and our lifetime risk is significantly higher than men’s (1 in 5 for women versus 1 in 10 for men).
Estrogen is highly neuroprotective. It supports brain metabolism, how our brain cells communicate, and our ability to handle stress and inflammation. As estrogen fluctuates and declines, our brains become more vulnerable. This is one reason so many of us start noticing brain fog, word finding issues, and that “wired but tired” feeling in our mid-40s. This is exactly where strength training helps!
Research shows resistance training improves executive function, memory, processing speed, and even creates measurable positive changes in brain activity. It releases myokines — beneficial chemicals from your muscles that signal and support the brain — and improves insulin sensitivity, which is critical for long-term cognitive health.
When you combine it with daily walking (which increases blood flow to the brain and helps regulate cortisol), this simple approach becomes one of the best defenses we have against cognitive decline.
The goal isn’t just to build muscle or burn fat. It’s to protect the quality of our later years including how clearly we think, remember, and show up for the people we love.
Exercise guidelines recommend getting 150 minutes of aerobic exercise and at least 2–3 strength training sessions per week.
Use moves like B-stance squats and glute kickbacks—a mix of compound (multi-joint) + isolation (single-joint) moves are both essential.
Training volume is key, especially after age 35-40 when perimenopause and hormones are at play. Too much volume and you can add bulk you might not want. Too little and it’s not as effective. Use this guide for sets and reps for strength without bulk.
As you get more conditioned you need progressive overload. This means gradually increasing intensity—by lifting heavier, adding pause or tempo techniques, smart exercise sequencing, or using tools like bands, balls, dumbbells, and sliders. We do this in our Weekly Schedule.
The goal is to move every day. Don’t over complicate it. What will you still be doing 8 weeks from now?
We have plans laid out for you, so you don’t have to think about what to do, which muscle groups to work which day, etc. Try our Weekly Schedule.
The health of our muscles and joints is dependent on the health of our tissues. Strength, flexibility, cardiovascular, corrective exercises, and hydration are all components of keeping our bodies healthy so we can do what we love! Nutrition is another key component in achieving your health and fitness goals and keeping your body feeling its best after 40.
If you’re feeling puffy, wired, or foggy after 40, I wrote the full story (and the exact changes that helped me).
After age 35, women naturally begin losing muscle mass in a process called sarcopenia. Hormonal changes also affect metabolism, recovery, bone density, and fat storage. Strength training helps maintain lean muscle, support metabolism, protect bones, improve energy, and promote healthy aging.
No. Most women do not have the hormone levels needed to build large amounts of muscle. Strength training helps shape and strengthen the muscle you already have, creating a lean, toned appearance rather than bulk.
For most women, the best combination is strength training plus daily walking. Strength training builds muscle and supports metabolism, while walking helps regulate hormones, reduce stress, improve recovery, and support fat loss.
Most women benefit from 2 to 3 strength training sessions per week along with regular walking and daily movement. Consistency matters more than doing intense workouts every day.
Hormonal shifts can make women more sensitive to stress, inflammation, and recovery demands. High-volume or excessive HIIT workouts that once worked well can sometimes lead to fatigue, puffiness, poor recovery, or stalled progress after 40.
Yes. Strength training helps preserve lean muscle and increase resting metabolism, which supports fat loss and healthy body composition during perimenopause and menopause.
Progressive strength training using challenging weights with proper form is one of the best ways to support bone density. Exercises that load the hips, legs, and spine are especially effective.
No. Fat and muscle are two different types of tissue. Strength training helps build muscle while your body burns fat separately.
Yes. Research shows resistance training can improve memory, processing speed, executive function, and overall cognitive health. Combined with walking, it may help support long-term brain health during perimenopause and beyond.
Yes. As we age, our bodies become less efficient at rebuilding muscle tissue. Eating enough protein helps support recovery, lean muscle, and bone health.
Yes. Strength training improves stability, posture, joint support, and movement quality, which can help reduce common issues like knee pain, back pain, and plantar fasciitis.
Sources
American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand: Resistance Training for Health and Fitness. (2026)
https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2026/04000/american_college_of_sports_medicine_position.21.aspx
Xiaoya L, Junpeng Z, Li X, et al. (2025)
Effect of different types of exercise on bone mineral density in postmenopausal women: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Scientific Reports. 2025;15:11740. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-94510-3
Tucker LA, Strong JE, LeCheminant JD, Bailey BW. (2015)
Effect of two jumping programs on hip bone mineral density in premenopausal women: a randomized controlled trial.
PMID:24460005
Zhao F, Su W, Sun Y, et al. (2025)
Optimal resistance training parameters for improving bone mineral density in postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
PMID: 40420105
Watson SL, Weeks BK, et al. (2018)
High-Intensity Resistance and Impact Training Improves Bone Mineral Density and Physical Function in Postmenopausal Women With Osteopenia and Osteoporosis: The LIFTMOR Randomized Controlled Trial. J Bone Miner Res. 2018;33(2):211-220. doi:10.1002/jbmr.3284
Wang Z, Zan X, Li Y, et al. (2023)
Comparative efficacy different resistance training protocols on bone mineral density in postmenopausal women: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.
PMID: 36824476
Lindsay Brin holds a degree in Exercise Science and has over 20 years of experience helping women, especially women over 40, build strength and redefine what fitness means for life. She has certified Pilates instructors and CPTs across the U.S. and developed a fitness course accredited by National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and American Council on Exercise (ACE).
But her most transformative learning came after 40, when she began experiencing perimenopause. Lindsay immersed herself in the science of aging, hormones, walking, HIIT, and strength training—ultimately developing a method that works with your body, not against it.
This is now the foundation of Moms Into Fitness, which has helped over 85,000 women rebuild strength, renew energy, and create lasting results.
