Menopause + Healthy Aging

How to Build Bone Density After 40: Lift Heavy, Then Jump (Free Workout Inside!) Nobody feels their bones getting weaker. That’s the problem. Osteoporosis is often called a silent disease because bone loss happens gradually, with zero symptoms, until a fracture or a bad fall makes it loud. And ladies, it starts earlier than you think: bone density typically begins declining in our 30s, and women can lose up to 20% of their bone density in the five to seven years around menopause as estrogen drops. I just released a brand new Bone Building Strength workout on Get Healthy U TV, and our members are loving it. So today I want to give you the why behind it: what actually builds bone, the two types of exercise that do it best, and a free workout so you can start this week. As a trainer in my 60s who’s 10 years post-menopause, this topic isn’t theoretical for me. This is my skeleton we’re talking about too. Your Bones Are Alive (and Listening) We treat our skeleton like scaffolding: it only comes up when something breaks. But your skeleton isn’t a fixed frame. It’s live tissue that tears itself down and rebuilds all day long, a turnover cycle scientists call remodeling. And here’s the part I love: like muscle, bone adapts to the stress you put on it. Force is the language your bones understand. Give them regular, challenging stress and they respond by getting denser and stronger. Give them nothing, and they quietly lose density year after year. Read this twice: your bones need stress to stay strong. Comfort isn’t their friend. This is the same reason building muscle after menopause matters so much. Muscles and bones are a team, and they grow stronger together. The 2 Best Ways to Build Bone Mass There’s a lot of noise out there, so let me simplify it. Two kinds of exercise build bone better than anything else: Lifting weights, with attention to the eccentric (lowering) phase Jumping That’s the list, and here’s why each one works. 1. Lifting Weights (Heavier Than You Think) When you strength train, your muscles pull on your bones through their attachments, and that tension under load is a direct signal to your body: build more bone here. The research is clear that the load itself is what matters most, so compound moves like squats, deadlifts, and overhead presses with progressively heavier weight are the gold standard for your skeleton. The eccentric part of each rep (the lowering phase) is a big piece of that signal. Think about the way down in a squat, or lowering a dumbbell back from a biceps curl. Your muscle is lengthening while it’s still under tension, which lets you handle serious force with control, and controlled force is exactly what tells your bone cells to get to work. So use it in real life: don’t drop through your lowering, own it. Take 3 controlled counts down in your squat, then stand up strong. Lower that overhead press like you mean it. Your muscles will feel it (hello sore glutes), and so will your skeleton. If you’re new to lifting or getting back to it, start with these strength exercises to prevent menopause muscle loss. Start where you are. Your bones don’t need you to be advanced, they need you to be consistent. 2. Jumping (Yes, You’re Allowed) Your muscles get stronger when you load them. Your bones get stronger when you land. Jumping, hopping, and plyometric moves send controlled force through your skeleton, and that impact triggers your body’s natural bone-building response (your hips respond especially well to it). I know what some of you are thinking: “Chris, I’m 55, I don’t jump anymore.” I’m going to lovingly push back on that. Unless you have a medical reason not to (more on that below), midlife is exactly when you should keep jumping, because it’s a skill and a stimulus you lose if you stop using it. You don’t need to leap onto a box. Small hops in place, a few jump squats, even brisk stair climbing counts as impact your bones can use. Warm up first (these warm up moves for middle-aged women are perfect), land softly with bent knees, and build up gradually. The Combo Is Where the Magic Happens You don’t have to choose between lifting and jumping, and you shouldn’t, because studies of postmenopausal women show the combination beats either one alone. That’s exactly how I built my new Bone Building Strength #1 workout on Get Healthy U TV: strength training with jumping in between. You lift with slow, controlled eccentric lowering, then you add short bursts of impact between strength moves. Your bones get both signals (tension AND impact) in one efficient workout, and honestly, it’s a blast. Our members are already telling me they feel stronger and more powerful. Want to try it free? Unlock the free bone-building workout here and do it with me this week! A Quick Word on Safety Most women benefit from bone-strengthening exercise, but if you’ve been diagnosed with low bone density or osteoporosis, have had a recent fracture, or struggle with balance, talk to your healthcare provider before adding impact work. A physical therapist can help you find safe, modified osteoporosis exercises. And if you don’t know your starting point, ask your doctor about a DEXA scan. It’s the standard bone density test, it’s quick and painless, and it’s typically recommended at 65 (earlier if you have risk factors like family history, smoking, low body weight, or long-term steroid use). You can’t manage what you haven’t measured. Feed Your Bones Too Exercise sends the build signal, but nutrition supplies the raw materials. Women over 50 need about 1,200 mg of calcium a day, plus vitamin D to actually absorb it: dairy, leafy greens, fatty fish like salmon, eggs, nuts, and beans all pull their weight. Magnesium and vitamin K support the crew too. And don’t sleep on protein. It builds bone

7 Things I Used to Be Obsessed With (That I’ve Happily Let Go of at 60) I’ve been in the fitness industry for almost 40 years, which means I lived through every questionable idea the 80s and 90s handed us. Step aerobics in a thong leotard. SnackWell’s cookies by the sleeve. Sweating to burn off every bite. I believed all of it. I taught some of it! And one by one, I’ve let it all go. So here are 7 things I used to be completely obsessed with that have no place in my life at 60, and what I do instead. If you’re still carrying any of these around, consider this your permission slip to set them down. 1. Endless Cardio (In the Name of Skinny) At 40, cardio was king and the goal was skinny, skinny, skinny. More miles, more classes, more burn, more everything. I watched that calorie counter like it was going to hand out a prize. Now I know better. Muscle is what keeps you independent, mobile, and metabolically healthy as we age, and endless cardio doesn’t build it. Strength training does. I still love my cardio (walking is my favorite), but lifting comes first, and the goal isn’t shrinking anymore. It’s being strong enough to hoist my granddaughter, my suitcase, and my own body off the floor for the next 30 years. Cardio is to live longer, strength training is to live stronger, and mobility training is to live pain-free. I wish someone had told 40-year-old me that skinny was never the prize. 2. Low-Fat Everything Raise your hand if you lived through the fat-free era. Fat-free cookies, fat-free yogurt, fat-free salad dressing that tasted like regret. Here’s what nobody told us: when they took out the fat, they filled the gap with sugar and refined carbs. We were never satisfied because we were basically eating dessert all day and calling it a diet. No wonder we were hungry an hour later. Now healthy fats are a non-negotiable in my kitchen. Avocado, olive oil, nuts, salmon, whole eggs (yolk included, thank you very much). Fat keeps me full, supports my hormones, and makes food taste like food. The low-fat phase can stay in the 90s with my scrunchies. 3. Avoiding Salt I spent years treating salt like the enemy, shaking my head at anyone who reached for the shaker. Then perimenopause hit, and I was dragging through mornings I used to bounce through. Turns out my body was low on sodium (yes, really!). As an active woman who sweats through workouts and teaches classes every week, I actually needed more salt, not less. I add my favorite LMNT electrolytes in my water, and my energy came back. One important note: if you have high blood pressure or your doctor has told you to limit sodium (some people are genetically salt-sensitive), follow that guidance. But for a lot of active midlife women, the decades-old fear of the salt shaker is doing more harm than good. 4. Skipping Rest Days No rest days. That was the badge of honor. If I wasn’t sore, exhausted, and signed up for two classes back to back, I wasn’t trying hard enough. What I know now: recovery isn’t lazy. It’s productive. Rest is when your muscles actually rebuild and your body cashes in on all that hard work. I take two full rest days a week now, and my workouts are better for it. My Oura Ring keeps me honest when I’m tempted to push through anyway. Read this twice: the workout breaks you down, the rest builds you back up. 5. Sugar-Free Everything Diet soda, sugar-free gum, those little pastel packets in everything. I thought I was being so good. Meanwhile, the fake stuff was giving me headaches. Once I cut way back on artificial sweeteners, the headaches eased up, and food started tasting right again. These days I’d rather have a little real sugar and enjoy it than a chemical imitation that leaves me with a headache and a craving. I keep an eye on added sugar (the American Heart Association suggests women cap it around 25 grams a day), but I don’t fear dessert. A real cookie, enjoyed at a table with people I love, beats a sugar-free anything eaten standing over the sink. 6. The Scale Being the End All, Be All For years, the number on the scale decided what kind of day I was going to have. Up a pound? Bad day. Down a pound, and suddenly I was a wonderful person. Nonsense. Here’s what I tell every midlife woman I train: in menopause, your weight can swing 3 pounds in a single day from hormones, sodium, stress, and sleep. That daily number is measuring water and chaos, not your worth or even your progress. I’d rather track things that mean something: how heavy I’m lifting, how my clothes fit, how I sleep, how much energy I have for my life. The scale gets a vote now, not a veto. Use these 5 powerful ways to track fitness progress that don’t involve the scale. 7. Fashion Over Function Younger me wore the cute shoes. The pointy, pinching, blister-making cute shoes, all day, because that’s what you did. At 60, I’ve flipped it: function over fashion, and I’m not willing to be uncomfortable or do damage to my feet for a look. The best part? You don’t have to choose anymore. My closet is full of shoes that are comfy, not frumpy: cushioned walking shoes I can log miles in, supportive sandals that still look great with a sundress, sneakers that go with everything. These are my favorite supportive comfortable sandals These are the most comfortable walking shoes for women over 50 These are 4 shoes I’ve walked 20,000+ steps in without foot pain Your feet have to carry you for decades. Dress them like you plan to keep using them. What I’m Obsessed With Now Protein at every meal. Lifting heavier than I

Grip Strength and Longevity: The One Thing That Reveals How Well You’re Aging (and It’s Not Lifting Weights) If you’ve ever wrestled with a jar of peanut butter and lost, keep reading. That little moment of frustration in the kitchen might be telling you something much bigger. Researchers now believe grip strength and longevity are so closely linked that your grip may be one of the best predictors of how well you’ll age. Better than your weight, and honestly, even better than how much you can bench press. As a trainer in my 60s, I love this news. Because you don’t need to be an athlete to have a great grip. Grip strength is about opening jars, carrying groceries in one trip, holding the railing on an icy Minneapolis sidewalk, and picking up a grandchild without a second thought. Real life stuff. So let’s talk about what the research actually says, how to test your own grip in under a minute, and the simple ways to build it starting today. What the Research Says About Grip Strength and Longevity And no, this isn’t one small study making headlines. Researchers have been landing on the same finding for over a decade. A landmark study published in The Lancet followed nearly 140,000 adults ages 35 to 70 across 17 countries. The finding? For every 5 kilogram (about 11 pound) decrease in grip strength, the risk of dying during the four-year follow-up went up 16%. The researchers concluded that measuring grip strength is a simple, inexpensive way to assess risk for all-cause death and cardiovascular disease. Read this twice: a 16% higher risk of death, tied to something you can measure at home with a $25 gadget. And a 2019 review in Clinical Interventions in Aging, which looked at decades of research, went so far as to call grip strength an “indispensable biomarker” for older adults. Doctors love this test because it’s simple. No treadmill stress test, no jumping, no athleticism required. Just squeeze. Why Your Grip Is a Window Into Your Whole Body Here’s the part I really want you to understand: it’s not the grip itself that keeps you alive. Nobody ever added ten years to her life by squeezing a stress ball on the couch. Your grip is a proxy. When your hands and forearms are strong, it almost always means the rest of you is strong too. When grip starts slipping (struggling with jar lids and bottle caps that used to be easy), it can be an early sign that muscle everywhere is quietly declining. And we lose muscle naturally as we age, roughly 3 to 8% per decade starting in our 30s if we don’t fight back. That’s why the answer to a weakening grip is NOT a hand exercise program but a whole-body strength program. The women I train who lift weights twice a week? Their grip takes care of itself. One caveat: a weak or painful grip can also come from arthritis or an old injury, so if squeezing hurts, get it checked out before you start training. The 1-Minute Test You Can Do Today Want to know where you stand? Try a dead hang. Grab a pull-up bar (a doorway bar works great), grip it with both hands, and let your feet come off the ground. Then just hang there. No pulling up required! Here’s what to aim for: Under 20 seconds: your grip needs work, and I’d bet your overall strength does too. No shame. Start where you are. 30 seconds: a solid baseline for women over 40. 60 seconds: excellent. A full minute of hanging is a fantastic marker of grip strength, shoulder health, and core strength all at once. The best part? The dead hang is both the test and the exercise. Hanging a few times a week decompresses your spine, opens up tight shoulders, and builds grip fast. If you want an actual number to track, a hand dynamometer is the same tool used in the research studies. You squeeze it, it gives you a reading in kilograms, and you can watch your number climb over time. I’m a data girl (my Oura Ring can confirm), so I love a measurable win. Grip Strength Tester, Hand Grip Dynamometer $25.99 Buy Now We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. 07/15/2026 09:05 pm GMT 6 Ways to Build Your Grip (and Your Whole Body) You don’t need a fancy program. You need a few moves done consistently. Here are my favorites: Farmer’s carry. Pick up a heavy dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand, stand tall, and walk 30 to 60 seconds. This is my number one. It trains grip, core, posture, and bone density in one move, and it’s exactly what carrying groceries asks of your body. Dead hangs. Covered above! Start with 10 to 20 seconds, build to a minute. Keep your shoulders pulled down away from your ears. Suitcase carry. A farmer’s carry with only one weight. Your core has to fight the urge to lean, so you get grip work and waist work together. Towel wring-outs. Soak a bath towel, then wring it out hard in both directions until your forearms burn. It’s old-school, and it works. Rows and deadlifts. Any pulling exercise where your hands hold the weight (dumbbell rows, deadlifts, lat pulldowns) builds grip automatically. Skip the lifting straps and let your hands do the work. Carry your own groceries. Seriously! Skip the cart when you can, carry the basket, take the heavy bag in one trip. Daily life is a grip workout if you let it be. Aim for grip work two or three times a week, tucked into the strength training you’re already doing. And if you’re not strength training yet, this is your sign. Strength training is healthcare, and after 40 it’s non-negotiable. Use my favorite strength training moves for women over 50 to get started! A Few Inexpensive Tools That Make It Easy You truly

How to Build Muscle After Menopause and Burn More Fat Menopause brings a wave of changes, some expected, some less so. One of the biggest challenges? Losing muscle mass and gaining unwanted fat. But here’s the good news: with the right approach, you can regain strength, build lean muscle, and fire up your metabolism well into your 50s, 60s, and beyond. I’m a personal trainer and health coach with over 35 years of experience. And let me tell you, there is a lot I do differently at 60 vs 40! I’ve been through menopause myself, and I know firsthand that staying strong is one of the best things you can do for your long-term health. Let’s break down what’s happening in your body and how you can take control with strength training, smart nutrition, and lifestyle shifts. Understanding the Physiological Changes of Menopause and Muscle Loss When a woman tells me it seems harder to keep muscle on after menopause, it’s true. But keeping a positive attitude, it’s not impossible. There are a few things that come to light at this time of life. Hormonal Shifts and Their Impact on Muscle Protein Synthesis As estrogen levels decline, muscle protein synthesis slows down. This means your body doesn’t rebuild and repair muscle tissue as efficiently as it used to. At the same time, progesterone and testosterone, two hormones that also play a role in muscle maintenance, shift, leading to an increased risk of muscle loss. The result? If you’re not actively strength training, you could be losing half a pound of muscle per year after 35! The Connection Between Menopause, Sarcopenia, and Osteoporosis Sarcopenia is the age-related loss of muscle mass, and it’s closely linked to osteoporosis. When muscles shrink, bone density tends to follow. The stronger your muscles are, the more they protect your bones, helping to prevent fractures and maintain independence as you age. That’s why weight-bearing exercises and resistance training are essential for keeping both your muscles and bones strong. Check out these 8 simple strength exercises to prevent menopause muscle loss. Increased Inflammation and Insulin Resistance: Barriers to Muscle Growth Menopause often brings low-grade inflammation, which can make it harder to build muscle and recover from workouts. Insulin resistance is another challenge, as shifting hormone levels can make it easier to store fat, especially around the belly, while making it harder to use glucose for energy. The key? Managing inflammation through exercise and an anti-inflammatory diet. How I Use Strength Training for Muscle Growth Post-Menopause There isn’t a short cut to maintaining muscle in menopause and there isn’t a pill you can take, you have to put in the hard work. Prioritizing Compound Exercises for Maximum Muscle Activation If you’re only doing isolated exercises (think: bicep curls or leg lifts), you’re missing out. Compound movements for muscle building like squats, lunges, deadlifts, and push-ups engage multiple muscle groups at once, helping you build strength faster and burn more calories. Check out the benefits of functional strength training and how it can keep you stronger in everyday life! Progressive Overload: The Key to Continuous Muscle Adaptation Your muscles need a reason to grow, which means gradually increasing the challenge. Whether it’s lifting heavier weights, doing a resistance band workout, increasing reps, or slowing down movements to create more time under tension, progressive overload when lifting weights is how you continue making gains. Optimal Training Frequency and Volume for Post-Menopausal Women The sweet spot? Resistance training at least 2-4 times a week, working each major muscle group at least twice. Recovery is just as important, so don’t forget rest days. See how I prevent joint pain during exercise in middle age. And don’t forget about cardio! Explore the differences between cardio vs. strength training, and how to find the right balance for your goals. Incorporating High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) for Fat Loss and Muscle Preservation HIIT isn’t just for younger athletes, it’s one of the best ways to maintain muscle and burn fat. The short bursts of intense work followed by rest periods help rev up your metabolism and preserve lean muscle while keeping workouts efficient. I love my moderate intensity daily walks for getting in steps and keeping active during the day but if you are capable, try fitting in one or two HIIT workouts per week. I also make sure to use a walking pad during my work day to get extra steps. Addressing Pelvic Floor Health and Core Stability in Strength Training A strong core is non-negotiable, especially post-menopause. Your core connects your upper body and lower body, supports balance, and protects your back. But one area that often gets overlooked? The pelvic floor. Many women experience a weakening of these muscles after menopause, leading to issues like urinary incontinence, cue the dreaded sneeze, laugh, or jump that results in an unexpected leak. The good news? You can train your pelvic floor just like any other muscle. Incorporating exercises like planks, deadbugs, and glute bridges helps build overall core strength, but adding in intentional pelvic floor activation, like Kegels, diaphragmatic breathing, and Pilates-based movements, can make a huge difference. Nutritional Considerations for Muscle Growth During and After Menopause What you put in your mouth in your midlife makes a big difference. Fueling for strength and better energy is key to your overall well being. You may not realize it yet, but food can help you manage menopause! Check out why: Prioritizing Protein Intake: Sources and Timing Protein is your best friend for muscle maintenance and recovery. Plus protein helps keep you feeling full. Aim for at least 20-30 grams of high-quality protein per meal from sources like lean meats, fish, eggs, Greek yogurt, and plant-based options like lentils and tofu. See how I get 30 gram of protein in every meal! Use my Free Protein Calculator to see exactly how much protein you should target for your weight and activity level. The Role of Carbohydrates and Healthy Fats in Muscle Recovery and Hormone Balance Carbs