You’re a woman over 40. You want to be in shape. You want to look great in that sleeveless shirt. You want to be able to play with your kids or grandkids. You want to like the way you look in pictures. Maybe your parents have or had health issues, and you want to avoid those issues for yourself. I get it. Those are all great reasons to exercise.
But there are lots of myths about strength training for women over 40. In this article, we’re going to:
- Bust the 2 most common myths that women over 40 believe
- Correct the 6 most common strength training mistakes that women over 40 make
- Strength training with purpose – how to strength train for 5 different purposes (fat loss vs. muscle gain vs. improving a chronic condition vs. for sport vs. for daily life)
- Specific strength training exercises
…and you just thought you’d get a generic exercise routine here. Ha!
With that out of the way, my team and I do have a special program for women over 40. It’s called “Fit, Feminine, and Over 40.” It’s a personal training program (both in-person and virtual) that combines exercise and nutrition. If you want to see whether you qualify for that program, just respond to this email with the words “Fit, Feminine and Over 40” in the subject line.
Without further ado, let’s get to it.
Myths About Strength Training for Women Over 40
Myth #1: Metabolism Slows Down
This is a common myth, and it’s logical. Weight is gained after 40. There appear to be no changes in exercise or nutrition, so that means that your metabolism is slower.
But that’s not the case, actually.
One study found that yes, weight is gained after 40, but no, it’s not because of decreases in metabolism. Another study found the same thing. In fact, metabolism is unchanged between ages 20 and 60. Only after 60 does metabolism slow down. And even then, only 0.7% per year.
So what gives? Why is weight gained after 40?
Well, there are 4 sources of energy expenditure:
- Metabolism: how many calories you burn per day just to stay alive
- Exercise
- Thermic effect of food: how many calories you burn to digest and assimilate your food
- NEAT: non-exercise activity thermogenesis. How many calories you burn through movement that isn’t purposeful exercise. For instance, gardening is not purposeful exercise, but it burns calories. Sitting there and bouncing your ankle isn’t purposeful exercise, but it burns calories. And so on.
It’s actually NEAT that is affected by changing hormones, according to this study. Small, unconscious movements throughout the day can add up to hundreds of calories across 16ish waking hours. So if you’re moving less, and eating the same, there’s less on the “energy out” side of the equation.
But most women over 40 actually aren’t eating less. Their appetite increases slightly. Why? On purpose – your body wants to gain body fat. You might not like the way it looks, but this is actually healthy body fat – on condition that you weren’t overweight to begin with.
I can feel your confusion – “why does my body want to gain body fat after 40?” Great question.
Before 40, the 3 organs that make estrogen are:
- Ovaries
- Adrenal glands
- Body fat
As you approach, go through, and go past menopause, the ovaries don’t do the job anymore, so the job of estrogen production falls on 2 organs: adrenal glands and body fat. So women who gain some body fat after 40 are actually healthier (again, on condition that they weren’t overweight to begin with).
Research shows that lean women who gain body fat after 40 actually have a decrease in all-cause mortality. Another study shows that obese postmenopausal women who lose weight have improvements in health. But overweight women don’t. The difference between obese and overweight is that obese women have a body mass index (BMI) of over 30. Overweight women have a BMI between 25.0 and 29.9. To calculate your BMI, go here.
Another study found that indeed, obese menopausal women experience the worst menopausal symptoms. But overweight menopausal women had no more hot flashes than lean menopausal women.
Myth #2: You’re Going to Look Bulky
A lot of women see men lifting weights, and notice how bulky they are. So they shy away from weights, and if they do weights, they don’t use appropriate weights or intensity.
However, more than anything, there are significant hormonal differences between men and women. Namely, testosterone. Men have lots of it. Women have very little of it.
Because of that, women simply can’t build as much muscle as men.
For comparison’s sake, a man has the potential to build 40-50 pounds of muscle in his entire life. Of those, 20-25 will come in the first year; 10-12 in the second year; 5-6 in the third year, and so on.
By contrast, women only have the potential to build 20-25 pounds of muscle in their entire life. Of those, 10-12 will come in the first year; 5-6 in the second year, and so on.
Notice how slow that is. Even at the fastest, it’s about 0.8 – 1 pound per month.
Routines that make men bulky make women toned.
Now that we’ve busted the 2 most common myths about strength training for women over 40, let’s talk about…
Common Strength Training Mistakes for Women Over 40
In no particular order:
Mistake #1: Using Weights That Are Too Light
This mistake comes from the myth that if women lift heavy, they’ll get bulky. Not true.
You need to cross a certain threshold in order to get stronger. That threshold is about 70% of the maximal weight that you can lift for 1 repetition. So if for instance, you can lift 10 pounds for just a single repetition, you should be strength training with at least 7 pounds.
Furthermore, you should be adjusting the weights based on the muscle being worked. You think of 10 pounds as heavy? Maybe for your biceps it is. But for your legs, it’s virtually nothing. Different muscles have different strengths, whether it’s your biceps, shoulders, back, legs, calves, abs, etc. Exercises need to be adjusted on a muscle-by-muscle basis, and they need to be a minimum of 70% of your max.
You’ll still burn calories with weights that are lighter than that – but you won’t get stronger or more toned.
Mistake #2: Not Getting Close to Muscular Failure
Along with the previous mistake of using weights that are too light, most women don’t get close enough to muscular failure.
Why?
Couple of reasons:
- The fear of getting too bulky. Which, now you know is unfounded.
- Muscles burn when you get close to muscular failure. Some people don’t like that sensation.
But again, you need to put in sufficient effort to get stronger and get toned. Otherwise, you’ll be one of those people who spends lots of time exercising, but not seeing the fruits of your labour – you’re not as toned or as strong as you want to be.
What’s sufficient effort?
When you finish an exercise, you should ask yourself “how many more could I have done?” The answer should be 1-3 more. If you could have done more than 3 more, the weight was too light.
Mistake #3: Using Generic Programs
I’m a personal trainer – my entire career is about personalizing exercise to a person’s body, so when I see people using generic programs (or worse – personal trainers using generic programs with their clients), there are 3 possible outcomes:
- You get the results you’re looking for. This is a best-case scenario. Unfortunately, this is also a pretty rare scenario.
- You spend a lot of time… and nothing happens. You don’t get more toned or stronger.
- You spend a lot of time… and get injured.
When putting together an exercise program, you have to consider:
- Your goals
- Your injuries
- Your health conditions
- Your medications
- Your hormonal status
…and other factors.
Use generic programs, get generic results.
Mistake #4: Not Progressing
When someone wants an exercise program, they typically just want a list of exercises. But, as I talk about in my article on the most important factor in an exercise program, the exercises themselves are only the 4th most important variable.
The progression model is the most important factor. What do I mean by that? Each workout should be ever so slightly harder. Whether it’s one more repetition, one more pound, one more set, or other methods of progression (there are 8-9 methods of progression).
After all, if your program is static (same exercises, sets, reps, weights, etc.), you’ll just maintain. Which is fine if maintenance is your goal. But not fine if progress is your goal.
Mistake #5: Not Exercising Due to Injuries
If you have an injury, you certainly don’t want to make it worse. But a common mistake is for instance having a left knee injury, and not exercising your right leg, or your upper body. There is still a lot that you can do despite injuries.
The majority of our clients come with some kind of issue, whether it’s arthritis, back pain, carpal tunnel, or something else. The focus should be on “what can I do”, as opposed to “what can’t I do?”
Mistake #6: Not Taking Into Account Health Status
Exercise for weight loss and toning is one thing. Exercise to for a specific condition is another.
For instance, one of our clients, Milan, was already fit, strong, and exercising 3-4 days per week. But still had high blood pressure. That’s because his exercise wasn’t geared towards lowering blood pressure. It was geared towards gaining strength. But the two are very different goals. There needs to be specificity in exercise prescription. Once we adjusted his program to be more geared towards high blood pressure reduction, his blood pressure normalized.
Ditto for exercise for osteoporosis, or diabetes, etc. It’s one thing to exercise for weight loss and toning. It’s another thing to exercise for a specific health goal.
Strength Training for Different Goals
Probably the single biggest factor that will determine your strength training program isn’t your age or sex. It’s your goals.
There are different parameters based on what you’re trying to do.
- If your goal is fat loss, then check out my article on that topic.
- If your goal is muscle gain, it will require different numbers of repetitions, different rest periods, a different strength training to cardio ratio, and a different diet.
- If your goal is to improve a chronic condition, it depends on the condition – high blood pressure, osteoporosis, diabetes, osteoarthritis, etc. Different conditions require different exercise programs. What’s good for osteoporosis (jumping, for instance) will make osteoarthritis worse. Like I said, I’ve written entire books detailing the exact exercise prescriptions for those different conditions.
- Sport: are you using your strength training to get better at a certain sport? Are you trying to be a better golfer? Tennis player? Dragon boater? Something else? Different sports require different strength training programs.
- Life: or is it none of the above, and you’re just trying to make your regular daily life easier? Are you having a hard time getting off the ground? Want to be able to do your housework, with energy left over? Does your lower back get tired making the bed? Do your legs get tired shovelling snow? You can tailor a strength training program to make your life outside the gym easier.
Specific Exercises
I realize that you probably wanted to just find out “what exercises should I do?”, but got way more than you bargained for, so let’s go over the actual exercises.
Here are the exercises that I craft most of my clients’ routines around:
Yes, there are exceptions, and there are variations, but if you use these as the staples of your routine, you won’t go far wrong.
Now, if you want a strength training program that is tailored to your body, we have a special program for women over 40. It’s called “Fit, Feminine, and Over 40.” It’s a personal training program (both in-person and virtual) that combines exercise and nutrition. If you want to see whether you qualify for that program, just respond to this email with the words “Fit, Feminine and Over 40” in the subject line.
