Strength Training for Women Over 35: Why It's One of the Best Things You Can Do for Your Body
If you’re a woman over 35 and your idea of getting fit still involves eating less and doing more cardio, I want to introduce you to a different approach:
Get strong.
Strength training is at the heart of what I do with my online coaching clients, whether their goal is fat loss, changing their body shape, feeling fitter or simply being able to handle everyday life more easily.
And no, lifting weights won’t suddenly make you “bulky”.
What Is Strength Training?
Strength training simply means working your muscles against resistance.
That resistance could come from:
- Dumbbells
- Barbells
- Kettlebells
- Resistance bands
- Gym machines
- Your own bodyweight
The aim is to gradually challenge your muscles more over time – something known as progressive overload.
You don’t have to be lifting enormous barbells in a gym to benefit from it.
Why Is Strength Training Important for Women Over 35?
Maintaining muscle becomes increasingly important as we get older.
And strength training isn’t only about what you see in the mirror.
Being stronger can make everyday things easier – carrying shopping, lifting children, climbing stairs, gardening or hauling your suitcase into an overhead locker.
It can also support bone health, physical function and your ability to remain active as you age.
I don’t want my clients to just lose weight.
I want them building bodies that are strong and capable too.
Can Strength Training Help With Fat Loss?
Yes – but perhaps not in the way Instagram would have you believe.
A strength workout doesn’t need to burn hundreds and hundreds of calories to be worthwhile.
Its job is to provide a stimulus to your muscles.
If you’re trying to lose body fat, your nutrition creates the calorie deficit, while resistance training and adequate protein help you retain as much muscle as possible.
That’s an important distinction.
Your workouts don’t need to be punishment for what you’ve eaten.
Will Lifting Weights Make Me Bulky?
This is still one of the biggest concerns I hear from women considering strength training.
Building significant amounts of muscle takes time, appropriate nutrition and progressive training.
You don’t accidentally wake up looking like a bodybuilder because you started using heavier dumbbells.
What many women actually mean when they say they want to look more “toned” is that they’d like to have some visible muscle while reducing body fat.
And resistance training is exactly what helps build that muscle.
How Often Should Women Over 35 Strength Train?
You don’t need to train every day.
For many of the busy professional women I coach, three well-programmed strength workouts per week work brilliantly.
And they don’t have to last an hour.
Depending on your experience and goals, 30-minute sessions can be incredibly effective when they’re properly structured.
The best programme isn’t the one that looks most impressive on paper.
It’s the one you can consistently follow.
Can You Strength Train at Home?
Absolutely.
Some of my clients love the gym. Others have absolutely no desire to set foot in one.
Both can get stronger.
A set of dumbbells and resistance bands gives you a huge number of options for home strength training.
I’ve actually put together a list of the equipment I recommend if you’re not sure where to start.
👉 See my recommended home workout kit
The Most Important Thing? Progression
Doing the same workout with the same weights forever won’t give your body much reason to adapt.
Over time, we want to progress.
That might mean:
- Increasing the weight
- Completing more reps
- Improving your technique
- Increasing your range of motion
- Progressing to a more challenging exercise
You don’t need to change your workout every week to “confuse” your muscles.
You need to get better at the exercises you’re doing.
Ready to Start Getting Stronger?
If you’ve spent years jumping between diets and random workouts, strength training can completely change your relationship with exercise.
Instead of exercising simply to make yourself smaller, you get to focus on what your body can DO.
And getting stronger is incredibly satisfying.
If you’d like a bespoke strength programme built around your goals, lifestyle, available equipment and experience, that’s exactly what my 1:1 online coaching provides.
