Why aren't more women over 50 strength training?

For a long time, I struggled to train consistently.

As I moved from late perimenopause into post menopause, the way I had always trained just stopped working for me. I couldn’t sustain it. I was tired, recovery felt harder and, eventually, I stopped.

In January this year, I realised that couldn’t continue. My friend Rachel, who is also a women’s coach, was running a small female-only group PT class for six weeks, so I signed up.

Very quickly I realised I wasn’t in quite such bad condition as I’d initially thought. My strength was still there, but my cardio had definitely taken a hit.

Around the same time, I’d seen that a huge new gym had opened near me.

I’d always been under the impression that these massive franchise gym spaces weren’t for me. But there was one major difference with this one: it wasn’t a typical commercial box gym. It’s independent, thoughtfully designed, and it shows.

Even so, it took me from February until late April to actually walk through the doors and buy a day pass to give it a go.

I knew the way I used to train was behind me.

I went in understanding that I was approaching this as a woman in her late 50s, and my non-negotiable was protecting my muscles and strength. I now train twice a week and, when time and energy levels allow, I go three times.

I don’t train fasted. If I can’t make a session one day, that’s okay - I’ll go on another day. I’m no longer trying to force my training into a routine that doesn’t fit the rest of my life or beat myself up over it.

This isn’t about willpower. I know how to train and I know what I’m doing. It was about finding a way of exercising that suited me now. Something that didn’t leave me fatigued, ravenously hungry and dealing with awful muscle soreness for days afterwards.

But during this journey, I also started noticing something else. So many women over 50 aren’t doing any form of strength or resistance training at all.

And as a Gen X woman, I found that really interesting. Why aren’t more of us strength training?

I don’t think it’s as simple as women not wanting to exercise.

Many of us grew up at a time when fitness for women was largely about cardio, dieting, losing weight and making ourselves smaller. Strength training, particularly for ordinary women who weren’t athletes or bodybuilders, simply wasn’t part of the conversation.

Then there’s knowing where to start.

For some women, the problem isn’t that they haven’t tried. It’s that nobody has ever properly shown them how to strength train.

They may have been given a few exercises, handed a resistance band or shown how to use a machine, but without really being taught technique, movement patterns or how to progress safely.

That matters, because if you don’t understand how to move well under load, it is very easy to get hurt, lose confidence and decide that strength training simply isn’t for you.

That is very different from somebody simply not wanting to exercise.

Sometimes the issue is that women have been encouraged to “do some strength work” without being given the knowledge and support to actually do it well.

And by our 50s, life is hardly empty of other demands. Work, family, caring responsibilities, menopause, poor sleep and changing energy levels can all be competing for the same bit of time.

So perhaps the question isn’t, “Why don’t women over 50 strength train?”

Perhaps it’s, “Has anyone ever actually shown them how to start in a way that feels manageable?”

Now the conversation is changing.

I’m not going to bore you with lots of facts and statistics, but there are a few worth knowing because they help explain why looking after our strength matters and why it is never too late to start.

Strength training can help us protect bone density, maintain muscle and support our metabolism as we age. Just as importantly, it can help us keep doing the everyday things we often take for granted, getting up from the floor, carrying shopping, climbing stairs and staying independent for longer.

The point isn’t that every woman over 50 needs to suddenly become a gym person or start lifting huge weights.

It’s that strength is something we can actively look after.

And sometimes starting doesn’t mean going back to what you used to do. It means finding a way of moving and training that works for the person you are now.

Over to you: How has your relationship with exercise changed over the years? What’s held you back from strength training in the past? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone, and it isn’t too late to start.

If you’d like to know more about Making Sense of Fitness After 50,
WhatsApp me for a free, no-obligation chat.