If I had to share one piece of fitness advice for you, as a woman, of any age it would be get your strength training on. Cardio is great to improve heart health and keep your lungs healthy, but strength training is, in my opinion, the most important and effective form of exercise you can do as a woman regardless of your health and wellness goals.
Now, I normally don’t give fitness advice to anyone without asking questions to learn more about them and where they are in the moment. However, strength training is the universal form of exercise that everyone can benefit from no matter the age. And the great thing about strength training is that you can start a program at any age, experience level, and body size. I work with a wide array of clients including women who have zero experience with strength training, are currently active and want to level up, live in a bigger body, live in a petite body, and are in their 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s.
Before we dive into the meat and potatoes of this article, I want to share an incredibly inspiring video from YouTube about an 80 year old woman that can deadlift 255 pounds (more than I can at age 44!). She didn’t start lifting weights until she was 76. Go here to learn more about this incredible woman!
Okay, now that we’re inspired let’s dive into the juicy details of strength training at any age.
Strength Training In Your 20’s
It’s never too early to start a strength training routine. There are two important reasons to start a strength routine in your twenties: habit creation and bone mass. We’ll talk about the importance of both right now.
While creating new habits later in life is totally doable, it’s way easier to maintain habits as you age when you start early. I started lifting weights when I was in high school and have kept my strength party going in one form or another ever since. My women's strength training class in high school kickstarted my passion for health and fitness. Fitness more than overall health because, I’ll be honest with you, my fast food habit back then was not the healthiest. This is a story for another day (and maybe to be shared with a whiskey in hand).
On average, your bone mass peaks in your mid twenties so the more strength training you do, the healthier and more sturdy your bones will be as you age. Once you hit thirty, your bone density starts to gradually decline so it’s super important to do everything in your power to keep them strong. Healthy bones are less likely to break which means your chances of injury goes way down. Strength training along with impact movements such as jumping and proper nutrition help create strong bones.
Strength Training in Your 30’s
This is a decade that can be full of personal growth and opportunities. You’re no longer in your twenties and have (hopefully) learned from the mistakes you made in your younger years. This doesn’t mean that you won’t continue to make mistakes. I’m in my mid-forties and I still make mistakes, although different ones than back in the day.
Most women in their thirties know themselves at least a little bit better and have a clearer vision for what direction they want their life to go in than they did in their twenties (I know I did!).
Women are getting married and having babies later in life and a healthy body is more likely to grow a healthy baby. Getting pregnant can be a little challenging in your thirties since, according to biology, you’re past your most fertile reproductive stage in your life. Thankfully there are ways in which you can increase your chances of getting pregnant past your so-called prime, strength training being one of them.
One huge benefit of strength training is maintaining healthy insulin levels. If you’ve gone through my program, you’re already aware that insulin is the hormone that directs other hormones and nutrients where to go and what to do. It’s basically the hormone boss-lady in your body. Insulin plays a super important role in making sure you have just enough blood sugar running through you at once. If you have too much insulin too frequently and it has to move a lot of blood sugar around, it can cause weight gain, diabetes (which we all know isn’t good), and prevent you from ovulating (which is kinda important to get pregnant).
Even if you don’t want to have a baby in your thirties, creating a strength training routine that works for you can help you get good sleep, have consistent energy levels, improve your overall health, and prepare your body for the next biological phases: perimenopause and menopause. Now the strength party can really begin!
Strength Training in Your 40’s and Beyond
When you reach the beginning of your fourth decade on planet Earth (or maybe a few years prior), your body slowly starts to transition out of your reproductive years and into the final phase: post menopause. This biological process can take several years and every woman’s experience is different.
If you’re in your forties and you’ve never had a consistent strength training routine, now is the best time! I’ve had clients begin my fitness program in their forties with little to no experience with weights and within a few weeks they’re feeling more confident with their form and already feeling stronger. In fact, my expertise as a women’s health and fitness coach is working with beginners who want to add strength training into their movement routine but don’t know where to start. Strength training is a skill that can be learned and mastered no matter what your age.
If you’re a fitness enthusiast like myself and have been pushing dumbbells and kettlebells around for decades, you may notice a few changes before, during, and after your workouts. You might be unable to build (or maintain) muscle like you did in your twenties and thirties. This is because testosterone levels naturally go down as we age. This hormone helps build muscles so without it, your body isn’t able to do this as well. Estrogen plays an important role in maintaining muscle mass and what happens to estrogen as we age? Yup, you guessed it! It goes down.
Here’s the great news!
I don’t want you to finish reading this and think that once you’ve joined the Forties Club that you’ll get weaker every year for the rest of your life. Okay, I know this is a little dramatic but this is sometimes the mindset the we slip into when we learn about the aging process.
You don’t have to live out the second half of your life unable to get out of bed, off the toilet, or carry your own groceries. There are lifestyle habits you can implement to mitigate muscle loss and even gain muscle. Yup! You read that right. It is possible to gain muscle in your forties and beyond. You just need to make a few tweaks to how you gain muscle.
My top three tips for gaining muscle at any age are:
Get good sleep - Your body goes into repair mode when you sleep and this is the time when the human growth hormone increases, which is beneficial for muscle growth.
Consider taking a creatine supplement - While creatine is found in meat and seafood, supplementing with it can help with muscle recovery if taken after a workout and with performance if taken before a workout. Check out this short article from Harvard Medical School that talks about how it can help mitigate muscle loss as we age.
Eat enough protein - Eating enough protein for your body that supports the intensity of your workouts can be a game changer with building muscle. Muscles are made of amino acids and our body gets amino acids from protein to rebuild muscles.
Want to dive a little deeper into strength training?
Go here to check out my article about strength training and metabolism: 3 Reasons Your Hubby’s Losing Weight Faster Than You. You can also go here to check out my podcast episode here where I share 3 Tips to Get Comfortable with Strength Training.
Feeling inspired to build strength and confidence at any age—and want a coach who’s got your back every step of the way? Let’s do this together! Book your free call with me today and join a supportive, empowering journey to a stronger you.