This article is intended for education only and is not medical advice. Be sure to consult your medical professional before beginning any new training program. Also, listen to your body and don’t do something that doesn’t feel right.

In my last blog post, I shared three important types of cardo training to include in our weekly plans.

This week, we’re talking about strength training, which is also crucial for midlife+ women.

5 Reasons Strength Training is Non-Negotiable in Midlife

·         Helps maintain muscle mass: As women, we may lose as much 3-5 % of our muscle mass per decade, starting at age 30. By the time we reach age 60, muscle loss can accelerate to 1% per year. Intentionally engaging in strength training can lessen deterioration. When we lose muscle, we also lose strength, which inhibits our ability to do the things we want to do as we age, whether that’s climbing a mountain, safely navigating the stairs in our homes or carrying our own luggage when we travel.

·         Helps maintain bone density: Our bone density peaks in our late teens or early twenties. Then we start to lose it, with loss increasing after menopause because of reduced estrogen in our bodies. Did you know that a broken hip can be life threatening for older adults? Although estimates vary from 18-58%, a study published in the Annals of Geriatric Research and Medicine, found that 30% of older adults who fracture their hips will die within one year, and 40% will die within three years. Weight-bearing exercise, including strength training, helps preserve bone density, decreasing the likelihood of both falls and fractures.

·         Enhances metabolism: Strength training builds muscle, which boosts our resting metabolic rate, making it easier to maintain a healthy weight and body composition. This reduces our risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

·         Improves balance: While it’s important to train balance specifically, strengthening our muscles makes it easier to maintain our balance, so we are less likely to stumble and fall.

·         Boosts mental health: When we engage in strength training regularly and experience the effects of getting stronger, we are more confident and more capable as we move through life. This feels good, and we improve our chances of living independently.

What can we do?

There are many ways to strength train. Evidence shows that it pays to lift the heaviest weight that we can safely manage.

One good rule of thumb to test this is to lift a weight eight times. The last two reps should be very difficult, but you should be able to maintain good form. If it meets this criterion, it is probably about right for “heavy weight.”

There are other rep ranges that make sense, as well, depending on your goals, but it’s a good goal to include at least some training in this heavy range.

For the purpose of this blog post, I’m going to provide a template for five basic strength training exercises that can be modified and adjusted to help you progress. Certainly, there are many other great strength training exercises that you could include, but simpler is sometimes better, especially if it helps eliminate a barrier to getting started.

If you include these 5 exercises, even starting with body weight only, you will be off to a great start.

·         Squat

o   Setup: Stand with feet hip-width apart.

o   Action: Sit back like you're sitting in a chair, keeping knees over ankles. Return to standing and repeat.

o   Focus: Maintain a straight spine. Weight should be in your heels.

o   Progression: Start with a chair behind you; progress to holding dumbbells.

·         Push-up

o   Setup: Start with hands a little wider than shoulder width apart, on wall, counter or the floor.

o   Action: Lower body toward the surface, with using the strength of the chest and triceps.

o   Focus: Keep spine straight, core engaged and lower with control.

o   Progression: Start on a wall; progress to a counter, then knees on the floor and then to toes on the floor, listening to your body to know which is right for you.

·         Lunge

o   Setup: Start in a standing position.

o   Action: Step back a few feet with one leg, bending both knees to approximately right angles. Return to start and repeat with the other leg.

o   Focus: Keep core strong and spine straight.

o   Progression: Start with hands on the hips; progress to holding dumbbells.

·         Triceps Dip

o   Setup: Start with hands behind you on a bench, chair or the floor, fingers pointing forward or curling around the bench.

o   Action: Using strength in the backs of your arms and core, lower hips toward the floor. Press back to start and repeat.

o   Focus: Keep arms at approximately right angles.

o   Progression: Start with hips close to hands/bench; progress by moving feet farther away.

·         Calf Raise

o   Set up: Start standing on the floor or with the balls of the feet on a step.

o   Action: Lift your heels to rise up onto the balls of your feet. Lower to start and repeat.

o   Focus: Stand up straight and use calf strength to rise.

o   Progression: Hold on to a chair, table or wall for balance. Hold a dumbbell in one hand. Start with both legs. Progress to one leg at a time.

Putting It into Practice

·       Start with a level of difficulty that allows you to perform 12-15 repetitions with good form. If you don’t have that many in you at the start, work up to that many. Then, you could challenge yourself by moving from wall push-ups to counter push-ups, for example, or add weight. Eventually, look for a difficulty level that allows you to perform 6-10 reps with good form.

·       Start with one set of 12-15 and work up to 3 sets of 6-10.

·       Do this 2-4 nonconsecutive days each week.

Ready to Master Your Midlife Strength?

This basic plan is just the start. If you want a full training framework, click below to be the first to know when the Strong for Life: A Midlife Strength Workshop opens for registration!

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