Let’s be honest…

When you read “women over 40 need muscle” do you automatically think of some kind of hard core, push-to-her-limits weight lifter?

(And then think: “no, thank you!”)

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Hey, if powerlifting is your jam, rock on.  But for those of you who find barbells and weight plates intimidating, here’s some good news!

I’m here to tell you that the benefits of lifting weights can be enjoyed with good old-fashioned dumbbells or resistance bands. That’s right– you can lift weights right in the comfort of your own home without too much fancy equipment.

Need to know what to do? There are plenty of online workouts to help you build muscle using nothing but bodyweight and my favorite simple home gym equipment like a yoga mat, dumbbells, and bands.

Gaining Muscle After 40 Can Be Easier Thank You Think

A quality weight training session will do three things. It should:

1. boost your heart rate,
2. make your muscles pull on your bones, and
3. spur on your body’s human growth hormone production.

When you experience these three events, you can know that you’ve given your whole body a quality workout. No grunting or grimacing required! And anyone can fit exercise into a busy schedule once you know these secrets!

3 Reasons Building Muscle After 40 Matters– Especially for Women

1. WEIGHTS AND YOUR HEART

The objective of weight training is to increase lean muscle mass. Scientific studies show that your percentage of lean muscle mass inversely correlates to your likely incidence of heart disease. That means that the more lean muscle mass you have, the lower your likelihood of developing heart disease.

This is significant for women because heart disease is the Number One cause of death in women over 50. And as women age and estrogen levels decline through perimenopause and into the post-menopausal years, the risk for cardiovascular disease increases.

So women who build lean muscle through weight training help to buffer the natural increase of heart disease risk as they age.

2. MUSCLES AND YOUR BONES

When you think of your skeleton like a marionette, your muscles are the strings that pull on your bones. The stronger your muscles, the stronger your bones.

Women over 40 need muscle mass to preserve bone strength. Bone health is critical for overall quality of life after menopause. With fragile bones, your fracture risk is greater. And with fractures, your ability to move and live independently are compromised.

To protect your quality of life and bone health, work those muscles! And the more ways you can challenge your body, the more muscles you will use. The more muscles you use, the more ways your body pulls on your bones. The more ways your body pulls on your bones, the better for your bone health.

Think of it this way: have you ever been to an exercise class and then been SO SORE the next day in muscles you never knew you had? Yeah, find a way to work all those little muscles, and you’ll be more likely to be challenging your skeletal strength as well.

3. BALANCE YOUR HORMONES

If you’re a woman over 40, you’re probably tired of hearing about your hormones. Estrogen is the headliner, stealing the show from all of the other cocktail of hormones that are also affected by being in perimenopause.

But the one we don’t hear much about is testosterone. Yes, the male sex hormone.

All women have testosterone, and it contributes everything from libido to brain health to bone health to overall energy level. It is a real quality-of-life hormone, particularly for women who have high-stress lives. Managing your stress in perimenopause includes keeping your testosterone levels up.

The best way to encourage testosterone production is through stimulating the muscle building proteins in your body. Weight lifting requires this process, and testosterone is necessary for building muscle mass. The more often you challenge your body to build muscle, the more testosterone your body will get the message to produce.

Exercise is essential for women in perimenopause. It is critical, however, that women supplement their cardio training with strength training, too.

Building muscle after 40 has so many great benefits! A healthy heart, strong bones and balanced hormones all contribute to overall improved quality of life. And with improved quality of life, the opportunities of midlife and beyond are wide open to you!

The Well Balanced Women blog is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please discuss your health issues with a licensed medical practitioner.