What Should Women 40+ Do Instead of Cardio, HIIT & Light Weights? Power-Focused Lifting in Menopause

Sims acknowledges that many women hear ‘lift heavy’ and picture an unapproachable powerlifting gym, but she clarifies that ‘heavy’ is relative. A 62-year-old who has never deadlifted shouldn’t load a bar with her body weight on day one. Instead, she should start with a movement assessment, perhaps using dumbbells or kettlebells, and only progress when movement quality and tissue tolerance allow. She emphasizes that the ability to build bone and muscle in response to loading doesn’t vanish after menopause; the body retains that capacity, but it requires a persistent, progressive stimulus. The goal is to establish a pattern of loading that the body can sustain for decades, preserving independence and metabolic health.

Sims frames perimenopause as the mirror of puberty: ovarian function unwinds, producing more anovulatory cycles and losing the rhythm of progesterone, while estrogen fluctuates erratically. Since every body system is influenced by these hormones, the loss affects brain, cardiovascular health, and especially skeletal muscle. Estrogen is directly tied to muscle contraction strength and power output. At the same time, ageing independently reduces the body’s sensitivity to protein and resistance exercise—a phenomenon of anabolic resistance. The workouts that once worked (20 g protein post-exercise, metcons, high-rep fatigue training) no longer create a strong enough adaptive signal. The body must perceive a genuine threat to invest in building muscle. A heavy, power-focused lift, executed with proper technique, sends a central nervous system alarm: the brain increases neurotransmitter release, recruits more motor units, and demands stronger actin-myosin binding. This novel stressor forces the muscle to adapt by adding contractile protein and, over time, lean mass. Sims also emphasizes that heavy loading stimulates bone formation through mechanotransduction, which is critical when estrogen’s protective effect on bone is disappearing. She wants women to adopt this style of training during perimenopause so it becomes ingrained before postmenopause, but she stresses that even a 62-year-old who has never lifted heavy can begin—starting with a relative load appropriate to her capacity and building progressively, much like any novice at any age. The overarching message: lifting heavy is essential, not optional, because it’s the most effective way to preserve muscle, bone, and metabolic health against the backdrop of hormonal ageing.