The Positive Changes Strength Training Creates

When most people think about strength training, they think about shrinking their body.

But some of the most powerful changes that happen in the gym have nothing to do with losing body fat.

1. Your Insurance Policy Through Menopause

From our mid-30s onward, we naturally begin to lose bone density. During menopause, that rate accelerates dramatically due to the drop in estrogen. Research shows women can lose up to 10% of their bone mass in the first five years after menopause.

That loss isn’t just a number on a scan. It increases the risk of osteoporosis and fractures (particularly in the hips, spine and wrists).

Strength training directly stimulates bone formation. When muscles contract against bone under load, it signals the body to lay down more bone tissue. This mechanical stress is exactly what bones need to stay strong. Unlike walking or light cardio, progressive resistance training provides the intensity required to meaningfully slow (and in some cases improve) bone density.

In other words, every squat, deadlift and press is an investment in your future independence.

2. The Anti-Ageing Organ We Don’t Talk About

After age 30, we lose approximately 3–8% of muscle mass per decade. This process, known as sarcopenia, speeds up after 50. Less muscle doesn’t just mean less strength. It affects:

• Metabolism

• Balance and coordination

• Joint stability

• Insulin sensitivity

• Daily function

  
  

Muscle is metabolically active tissue. It plays a critical role in blood sugar regulation and long-term metabolic health. As we age, maintaining muscle becomes one of the strongest protective factors against frailty. Strength training is the most effective intervention we have to combat muscle loss. Not walking. Not stretching. Not light resistance bands done occasionally.

Progressive overload (gradually increasing weight or resistance) is what tells the body to adapt and maintain muscle. For women navigating hormonal changes, this becomes even more important. Lower oestrogen levels can accelerate muscle loss, making consistent resistance training a non-negotiable for long-term health.

3. Joint Health and Pain Reduction

There’s a common misconception that lifting weights is “bad for your joints.”

In reality, appropriately programmed strength training improves joint integrity.

Here’s why:

• Stronger muscles reduce load on joints

• Resistance training improves tendon strength and stiffness

• It increases synovial fluid circulation, nourishing cartilage

• It improves movement patterns

Many women experience new aches during perimenopause - including frozen shoulder, tendon pain or unexplained joint stiffness. Hormonal shifts can affect collagen production, which impacts connective tissue. Strength training stimulates collagen synthesis and strengthens the tissues that support joints.When done correctly, lifting weights doesn’t grind your joints down - it builds the scaffolding around them.

4. The Shift That Matters More Than the Scale

Body composition refers to the ratio of muscle to fat in the body. Two women can weigh exactly the same, but look and function completely differently based on how much muscle they carry. Strength training improves body composition by increasing lean muscle mass - even if body fat stays relatively stable. This means:

• Firmer, more supported posture

• Greater strength without size obsession

• Improved metabolic flexibility

• Better functional capacity

Many women notice their body “feels” different before it looks dramatically different. Clothes sit better. They recover faster from busy days. This is recomposition, and it often happens without dramatic scale changes. Chasing weight loss alone ignores one of the most important markers of health: lean mass preservation.

5. Confidence and Physical Autonomy

Strength training changes how you move through the world. Stronger glutes and back muscles improve posture. Stronger shoulders improve overhead function. Stronger legs reduce fall risk. But beyond the physical changes, there’s a psychological shift.

When you prove to yourself that you can lift heavier than you thought possible, carry your own luggage, move furniture, or hike confidently - your relationship with your body changes.

It becomes less about shrinking and more about capability.

For women who have spent decades being told to take up less space, this is powerful.

6. Training For Lifespan

Research consistently links muscular strength to lower all-cause mortality. Not body weight. Not dress size. Strength.

Grip strength alone is considered a strong predictor of longevity and functional independence in later life. When we train for strength, we are training for:

• Fewer falls

• Faster recovery from illness

• Greater independence in older age

• Reduced risk of chronic disease

This is not aesthetic training. This is life-span training!

The Bigger Picture

Fat loss might be a goal for some women and that’s okay. But if that’s the only lens through which we view strength training, we miss its real power. Strength training builds bone density during menopause. It preserves muscle mass as we age. It protects joints and connective tissue. It improves body composition beyond the number on the scale. It supports long-term independence and resilience.

Your body is not just something to reduce. It’s something to reinforce.

Your coach & friend,

Maddy