Menopause and Strength Training: Why Lifting Weights Matters More After 50

Molly Clark 25/08/26

As an osteopath and strength and conditioning coach, I often hear how much people’s lives can be impacted as they move through menopause. Despite menopause affecting a significant proportion of the population, there is still a surprising lack of awareness, understanding and conversation around it.

While menopause is most commonly experienced by women, not everyone who experiences menopause identifies as a woman, and experiences vary significantly between individuals. For this reason, I’ll generally refer to people experiencing menopause, while acknowledging that much of the available research specifically studies women.

Changes such as feeling weaker, recovering more slowly, changes in body composition, or experiencing new aches and pains can occur around this time. While some changes are part of ageing and the menopausal transition, there is plenty we can do to support our bodies.

One of the most effective tools we have is strength training.

What is menopause? Menopause is a natural biological transition associated with the end of menstrual cycles and is clinically recognised after 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period, when there isn’t another medical or physiological cause. In Australia, the average age of natural menopause is around 51 years.

Hormonal changes, particularly declining estrogen, can influence bone, muscle, metabolism and connective tissue. During and after the menopausal transition, we can see changes including:

Reduced muscle mass, strength and power

Accelerated bone loss

Changes in body composition

Reduced balance and physical capacity

Changes in joint and musculoskeletal symptoms

Increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures

Why should I strength train? Strength training means working your muscles against resistance, whether that’s dumbbells, barbells, machines, resistance bands or your own body weight.

As we age, maintaining strength and power becomes increasingly important for bone health, balance, mobility and independence. Strength training helps maintain muscle and physical capacity while providing our bones with an important mechanical stimulus.

Think of strength as something you’re investing in now for the decades ahead.

Why should I be concerned about bone density? This is a big one.

Bone isn’t a static structure. Bone is living, adaptable tissue that continually responds to the demands we place on it.

Throughout life, old bone tissue is broken down and replaced with new bone. Estrogen plays an important role in regulating this process.

As estrogen levels decline around menopause, the balance between bone breakdown and formation can shift. As a result, bone loss can accelerate, particularly during the menopausal transition and early postmenopausal years.

Over time, this can contribute to osteopenia and osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is sometimes called a “silent disease” because you generally can’t feel your bones becoming less dense. For many people, the first indication that their bones have become significantly weaker is unfortunately a fracture.

Common sites for osteoporotic fractures include the:

Wrist

Spine

This is where bone health becomes about much more than a number on a scan. A fracture later in life can have significant consequences for mobility, confidence, independence and overall quality of life.

So, can exercise actually make bones stronger? In short, yes. Bone is living tissue that responds and adapts to mechanical loading through an ongoing process called bone remodelling.

When we lift weights or perform impact exercise, forces travel through the skeleton. Bone cells detect these forces through a process known as mechanotransduction, which helps stimulate bone adaptation.

Importantly, bone responds particularly well to sufficiently challenging loads and higher rates of loading. This is why progressive resistance training and appropriately prescribed impact exercise can be particularly valuable for maintaining and improving bone health.

What about walking, Pilates and swimming? Walking, swimming, cycling, yoga and Pilates all have important health benefits, including cardiovascular fitness, mobility, balance and movement control.

However, different types of exercise create different adaptations. If your goal is specifically to improve muscle strength and provide a strong stimulus for bone, these activities alone may not provide sufficient progressive loading.

You don’t need to replace them. Add strength training alongside them.

Where appropriate, some form of impact or power-based exercise, such as jumping, hopping or other progressively loaded movements, may also provide an additional stimulus for bone and help maintain power as we age.

How much strength training should I be doing? Current exercise guidelines recommend muscle-strengthening activities on at least two days per week. For people navigating menopause, two to three well-designed strength sessions each week can be a great target.

A program might include:

2–3 strength sessions per week

Training the major muscle groups

An emphasis on large compound movements

Approximately 2–5 sets per exercise

A combination of repetition ranges, including heavier sets of around 3–6 repetitions where appropriate

Adequate rest between heavier sets

Gradually increasing resistance as you become stronger

You don’t need to start by lifting heavy. If you’re new to strength training, building technique and tolerance first is important before progressively increasing load.

Your exact program will depend on your training experience, goals, medical history and current physical capacity.

Consistency, adequate intensity and progression are key.

Don’t be afraid to lift something challenging!

One thing I commonly see in strength training is underloading.

This can come from a lack of confidence, uncertainty around technique, previous experiences with pain or simply never having been taught how to lift weights.

But you are often stronger than you think!

Progressive overload simply means gradually increasing the challenge as your body becomes stronger. You don’t need to lift as heavy as possible, but don’t be afraid to appropriately challenge your body, particularly when you have someone guiding your progression.

For muscle, bone and strength to adapt, we need to provide the body with an adequate stimulus.

What if I already have osteopenia or osteoporosis? Having reduced bone density doesn’t automatically mean you should avoid strength training. In fact, research has shown that appropriately prescribed high-intensity resistance and impact training can improve bone density and physical function, including in postmenopausal women with low bone mass.

However, this type of training needs to be appropriately prescribed and progressed. Exercise selection may need to be individualised if you have osteoporosis, previous fragility fractures, significant pain or other medical conditions.

This is where professional guidance can be particularly valuable.

The take-home message – Menopause is a natural stage of life, but losing strength and physical capacity doesn’t have to be accepted as inevitable.

Strength training can help maintain muscle, support bone health, improve balance and power, and keep you doing the things you love as you get older.

I particularly love seeing people who may never have considered themselves “gym people” discover strength training and realise what their bodies are capable of. Beyond the physical benefits, lifting weights can build confidence, a sense of achievement and trust in your body.

You aren’t training just for your body today. You’re building strength and capacity for the rest of your life.

If you’re unsure where to start, have concerns about your bone health, or want guidance with your current training, reach out or book an appointment. We can help you find an approach that feels achievable, appropriate and sustainable.