Is There a Best Exercise Routine for Women over 40?
Before answering if there is a Best Exercise Routine for Women over 40, let’s first break down what happens to our bodies as we age. Women naturally experience changes in body composition over time, including:
- Loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia)
- Changes in body fat distribution
- Increased fat accumulation
- Decreased bone density
Understanding these changes is the first step in choosing the best exercise routine to maintain strength, health, and confidence at any age.
How Aging Affects Women’s Fitness & Body Composition
1. Muscle Loss (Sarcopenia) & Strength Decline
Sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass, typically accelerates after menopause. Sarcopenia is a progressive condition, and by the time women reach their 60s and beyond, it can lead to:
- Reduced muscle size and strength.
- Increased risk of injury and falls.
- Increased body fat and body fat percentage.
- A slower metabolism, making fat gain more likely
2. Body Fat Accumulation & Distribution Changes
Estrogen plays a role in regulating fat distribution, particularly in where fat is stored. As estrogen levels decline during perimenopause and menopause, women tend to experience a shift in fat storage patterns, with an increase in abdominal fat. This can in turn increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. To be clear, menopause does not necessarily cause weight gain, but it can be associated with a shift in where fat is stored.
While menopause itself does not directly cause weight gain, women are more prone to weight gain due to:
- Slowing down and moving less
- Lifestyle choices (this can include anything from food choices, alcohol consumption, being more sedentary, etc)
- Slower metabolism and hormonal changes
3. Bone Density Loss & Osteoporosis Risk
Estrogen plays a role in maintaining bone density and creating new bone, which is why there is potential of increased risk of bone density loss for some post-menopausal women. This can eventually lead to osteoporosis, but as we’ll get into, lifestyle factors play a key role in mitigating this risk.
Additionally, while bone health and muscle mass are distinct, they are interconnected. Muscles and bones work together to support movement and balance, and muscle loss can exacerbate the effects of bone loss.
Can We Prevent These Changes?
The good news is that while our bodies undoubtedly change as we age, we can mitigate a lot of it through lifestyle choices, including a good exercise routine, coupled with good nutrition. However, the idea that there needs to be an exercise routine designed specifically for women over a certain age is not quite true. At TWW we don’t create programs based on age, instead we focus on coaching the individual – as we would a person of any age.
The reality is that, as with so many things in life, the fundamentals don’t change: the exercise habits that keep us healthy throughout life – weight training, cardio and mobility work – are the same ones that will keep us healthy and strong as we age.
If we had to point out a difference, it’s that the basics become even more important as we age. Here’s why:
Weight Training for Women Over 40 & Beyond
As we explained above, one of more significant things that can happen as we age is the potential of accelerated rate of muscle loss and bone density loss. Weight training – along with a high protein diet – can slow down, and even in many cases reverse, both muscle loss and bone density loss.
This is why we recommend every woman weight train anywhere from 3-5 times a week, with most women in our program training 4-5 times per week, in all rep ranges and with a variety of exercises. We adjust programming based on a clients goals and needs – not based on their age.
Here are examples of some of the top exercises we recommend to develop both upper body and lower body strength.
Upper Body:
- Vertical pushing exercises like the barbell press or the dumbbell shoulder press.
- Horizontal pushing exercises like push-ups and the bench press.
- Vertical pulling exercises like the lat pull down and the pull-up.
- Horizontal pulling exercises like a seated row or a dumbbell row.
Lower Body:
If we had to pick only 3 lower body exercises that together would efficiently target all the muscles of the lower body, they would be:
- Squats: the barbell squat is a great one, but any squat pattern, like the leg press or hack squat machines, will do.
- Romanian deadlifts
- Hip thrusts
Cardiovascular Training for Heart Health & Fat Loss
One of the leading causes of death for older women is cardiovascular disease, and one of the top five risk factors is living a sedentary lifestlye. According to the American Heart Association, 30 minutes of exercise a day – be it swimming, biking, running, or anything that keeps your heart rate up – can be enough to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Mobility & Flexibility: The Secret to Moving Pain-Free
Mobility refers to the ability to move a joint through its full range of motion. It’s what allows you to perform daily activities like squatting, bending and lifting. As we age, we tend to lose this range of motion, mainly due to inactivity and the stiffening of connective tissues. While weight training improves functional mobility, it can further be improved by adding specific mobility work before your training session. This will keep you moving well, and also prepare you for heavier lifting.
Here are a few mobility exercises for Best Exercise Routine for Women over 40 and we love to include in our clients programs:
We hope this helps clarify things, and that it sets you on your path to ageing well. While it’s true that our bodies change as we age, it’s also true that the right lifestyle adjustments can help mitigate a lot of these changes. We have a lot of power in deciding how it is we want to age.
Take the Guesswork Out of Your Fitness Journey!
At The Wonder Women (TWW), our expert coaches take a personalized, science-backed approach to help you build strength, maintain muscle, and optimize your health—no matter your age. With customized training, macro-based nutrition, and expert guidance, we take the overwhelm out of fitness so you can focus on getting results that last.
Stronger. Healthier. More Confident. That’s what we do.
Ready to take control of your fitness? Apply now for our 12-Week Impact Coaching Program and let’s create a plan designed just for you!
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Sources:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8595144/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3790210/#:~:text=Findings,were%20cardiovascular%20diseases%20and%20cancers.