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Megan Hoover, DPT and Lindsay Brin, Exercise Science
Most women know strength training is good for aesthetics, many know it’s important for bone density. But consider this: strength training also helps us maintain a level where we can do all the things we love — for many years to come.
Plus, strength training betters our body composition (lose fat and increase lean tissue). While we usually default to cardio for fat loss – strength training is a real game changer for fat loss. It boosts your resting metabolism (BMR), so your body becomes more efficient at burning fat all day, not just during workouts. Especially after 35, when hormones make fat loss harder, strength training plus daily walking is the MVP.
For some, the word strength training defaults to the thought of bulky muscles. 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 those fibers grow through a process called hypertrophy. For women over 35, this kind of training is key to maintaining tone, improving metabolism, building strength and aging gracefully. Explore our Strength Training Guide for Women 35+.
Typically, muscle mass and strength increase steadily from birth and until 30 to 35 years of age. We don’t have to think about it much. 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.
The benefits of building and maintaining our muscular strength, especially over age 40, are many. Research shows aerobic exercise in isolation reduces your all-cause mortality by 16 percent and strength training only reduces it by 21 percent, whereas if you do both, you reduce your all-cause mortality by 29 percent. (source) Besides potentially living longer, here’s what else you can gain from resistance and weight training.
Around age 35, hormonal shifts — particularly in estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, 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.
When hormones shift, our bodies become more sensitive to inflammation, stress, and recovery demands. Traditional high volume or high intensity workouts that worked in our 20s and early 30s can now backfire — leading to longer recovery times, increased cortisol, and even muscle breakdown.
Instead, after 35, 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 35+.
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 grandkiddos) around the yard, running a marathon, or taking up powerlifting, your body has to be able to effectively manage and control your movement and positions. For me, when I strength train, my knees don’t hurt when I run.
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. For pregnant and postpartum mommas, this stability is extremely important to minimize back pain, diastasis recti, pelvic pain, and other musculoskeletal issues.
Additionally, as we age, women can be more susceptible to fractures due to osteoporosis. A broad strength training program, incorporating exercises that use multiple muscle groups and joints, is an important prevention method.
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. Sessions were under full supervision, 2x per week. These women were already diagnosed with osteopenia or osteoporosis, and 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 challenging loads 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 shows that even a few minutes of small jumps can strengthen bones at the hip and spine. The key isn’t big or high impact workouts; bones respond to quick, purposeful bursts of force through the legs.
What helps most is simply adding a little force each week. Add a few 20-second SIT sprints in a daily walk (once or twice per week) or a few minutes of small jumps. You don’t need separate programming, just tiny additions layered into what you already do.
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. Gasp! If you’re a little confused, or maybe just don’t believe me, search “10 pounds of muscle vs. 10 pounds of fat.” Surprised? The yellow fat tissue is chunky and lumpy. The beautiful muscle tissue is smooth and compact.
Increasing muscle decreases fat and minimizes future weight gain. When you exercise, you don’t turn your fat into muscle, you lose the fat. A body with more lean muscle has a higher resting metabolic rate — simply put, you burn more calories at rest when you have more muscle on your body.
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. You could even compare all of the body’s stored fat to a full gas tank. When we need gas (fat for energy), you can’t choose which part of the gas tank your gas comes from. It is removed from the tank as a whole. The same is true for excess body 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. They can help you identify a weakness or compensation pattern, and often the solution is strengthening exercises.
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.
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. Aim for:
• 3 sets per exercise (2 sets for beginners)
• 6–12 reps per set
• Use weights that challenge you by the last 1–3 reps
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. The goal is balance. The goal is making it fun. What is more enjoyable and what can you stick with?
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. Learn more about nutrition and weight loss after 40.
Sources
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
