#56: The 6 Biggest Fitness Mistakes Women over 40 Make

As we go through menopause our bodies change in a significant way. That's why our favorite diet and exercise regimens stop working for us. 

But there is too little information out there about what women should be doing INSTEAD of all the cardio that they've been told to do all their lives. 

This episode discusses the 6 biggest mistakes women make with their fitness: 

1️⃣ Allowing perfection to stand in the way of getting started

2️⃣Dieting without strength training 

3️⃣ Chasing quick fixes rather than lifestyle changes

4️⃣ Avoiding strength training like the plague

5️⃣ Doing random workouts expecting to get toned up

6️⃣ Wanting strength training to be more entertaining

You'll learn: 

✨ Why strength training is essential even if you're NOT interested in building muscle

✨ Why staying on the diet rollercoaster is harming your body composition

✨ How long it realistically takes to transform your fitness lifestyle

Enjoy the show!

x Lynn

Transcript

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#56: Biggest Fitness Mistakes Women over 40 Make

[00:00:00] Welcome to 40+ fitness for women. I'm Lynn, your host, and I am a certified menopause fitness coach helping women over 40 get their bodies back.

So in today's podcast, we are going to talk about some of the biggest mistakes that I see women over 40 making with their fitness. And Let me tell you, I made all these same mistakes two once upon a time, and it's not that You know, you've been doing things wrong all along. It's just that you have this fundamental change that has happened to your body or is happening to your body as you go through perimenopause into postmenopause, which requires in a way for you to start doing things a little bit differently.

So if you are one of those women who has noticed that your tried and true exercise [00:01:00] and diet routines are not working for you anymore, then listen up because you may be making one of these mistakes.

 And I wanted to start by just sharing how this has been working for me, because I really think this is something which is achievable for all women who are in perimenopause and menopause. So for me, I started to change my fitness habits only when I really noticed that my body was not looking like it used to.

Where I was gaining the weight around my midsection and I had already lost significant muscle tone. And I've told that story on the podcast before so I won't go into that now. But it took me, you know, months Right. To get to the point where I wanted to be. And it was really last at the beginning of last summer.

So summer of [00:02:00] 2023, where I was like, Oh my God, here I am right. At the point where I am so happy with how my body looks, how my body. Feels and I mean like to the touch and also how it feels to move, how I'm not like sore. I don't have like cramps in my back like I used to and all these things. So I achieved that, you know, where I want to be.

And I've been maintaining that like we're talking as far as maintaining my muscles and even building more muscle and also maintaining my body fat, you know, at the level that it was at. So I lost weight last spring. And then. Also being able to maintain even, you know, my scale weight, since I know for a lot of people, that is, you know, kind of a big deal.

We've been taught that for so, so long. My scale weight has been able to be maintained. [00:03:00] And the funny experiment that I now have had going on for the past six weeks is that I had some minor surgery. In January and in mid January, and that meant that I needed to stop all of my cardio, even walking for a little while after that.

And then I've been allowed to go back into the weight room in the past few weeks, but only for my lower body. So essentially what I'm telling you is I've gone from having my consistent training program to really being able to do very little of it, but what is really truly interesting here is that I have not gained weight in these six weeks and, I think that's just some kind of evidence that I'm, I'm like, I've hit the lifestyle groove, you know, [00:04:00] where things are staying good, even when I.

have to be imperfect. And in fact, this groove, uh, I think has been a longer term groove. I think I mentioned in a last episode that I've been eating significantly more than usual ever since November, right? Because of the Christmas season, holiday season, having birthdays, all kinds of things where, like, my weekly calorie amount was just much higher than it normally is, and my weight hasn't budged. I haven't gained weight due to that. So, so, you know, I just want to somehow say that when you get the formula right, when you really start working with your body and meet it, where It is at and learn those skills. It just makes it all so much easier. You don't anymore have to be in a [00:05:00] rollercoaster dieting, doing very restrictive things, doing a ton of this, that, and the other.

When you start building these good habits and spending your, training time or your exercise time in the optimized way for this. Part of your life. And I actually, it was just thinking that I'll do an episode on what I would do if I only had three hours to spend a week exercising and what I would do if I only had four hours.

So, uh, subscribe. So you don't miss that one, but in any case, so let's get to the point of this show, which is the biggest fitness mistakes that I see women over 40 making. And I see these all over the place. I see it on social media. I see it in, in groups. I see it from like what women are following. I see it in my own, clients and my friends, you know, all around me.

And, uh, and so, so I just feel like this is, this is my episode to be like, please, please, please [00:06:00] wake up, wake up. 

All right. So the first huge mistake that I see women doing or making is not starting. I mean, how many times have you sat down with a woman over 40 who's like, Oh my God, I hate the way I look. I hate this weight gain.

I, I. You know, I, I hate what's going on with me. My clothes don't fit all those kinds of complaints that they're having. And then they don't do anything about it. Right. And I think one of the big reasons that they're not doing something about it is because it just feels so overwhelming. It feels like. You know, you go online, you start Googling, what, what should you do?

Even if you listen to my podcast, I mean, there is a ton of stuff here that like you should, you should do, even though I'm really trying to break it down to like, Hey guys, let's simplify this because in the end it's not rocket science, but sometimes it can feel really overwhelming. And especially if you have a busy life, you have all kinds of, it's [00:07:00] full on.

I totally get it. But the thing is that you should start because really. Even if you were to do one weight training session a week or spend one hour a week weight training, so two 30 minute sessions, that is so much better than doing nothing. Because when you do nothing, you allow your muscles to continue to disappear because of aging.

Right. And especially around menopause that can increase So, you know, get started even those baby steps. And I think it was so well said by one of my clients. She was like, this is great because she would want to go full out. So she like jumps all in, you know, 120 percent when she wants to do something new. And then she does that for a [00:08:00] few weeks and then she jumps all out because it's just too much.

And, and I think that's one of the biggest mistakes is thinking that you need to jump all in in order to get started. Absolutely. You do not need to jump all in to get started. You can start. Slowly, and that is going to make a difference. It is absolutely going to make a difference. And if you have the one thing that you can start with, uh, fitness wise, exercise wise is start with the weight training because your muscles in the end are really the key to keeping your body fit and functional as you age.

And ladies, here is where I'm really trying to make it super simple for you. I have my online program where I give you everything you need, right? You can get started at home with simply dumbbells, just dumbbells. You don't need anything more than that. A little bit of space. I do say, [00:09:00] yeah, get a yoga mat because it might be more comfortable than lying on the floor, but you can use a rug, you know, whatever, a towel and a chair that you can hold on to for balance.

And I think all of us have maybe a kitchen chair or something, even a wall, wall can work in some cases. So I try to make that super duper easy for you to get started. And even the price tag is like nothing, right? It's 197 US dollars you get like the whole kit. Plus I've actually just updated this kit to include that you get to go into a Facebook group.

So private Facebook group with me and I'll answer all your questions. If you have questions about your form, post a form video, be like, Hey, am I doing this right? All your questions. There are no dumb questions. There are so many questions in the beginning. I know there are because my clients ask me all the questions.

And that's the place where you can also ask me all the questions. And you [00:10:00] can start with, you know, as little as two days a week training at home. You can also do four days a week or three days a week. So there are the options, but please. If you haven't gotten started, that is the first. baby step that you can make.

So get on that. Right. Okay.

Second mistake that I see people making is that they start with the dieting and they're doing the dieting without lifting weights. And I think this is something I was just talking to one of my clients about this, that so many people in her town are taking the shot, right? They are using the diet. Uh, injections to cut out their appetite so that they eat less.

So they lose weight, please, please, please recognize that if you go on a diet, in other words, you go into a calorie deficit. What is [00:11:00] happening there is that you're not feeding your body enough that it can do its daily stuff. Right? And therefore, since you're not giving it external fuel, it is taking internal fuel.

And what can it take from internally? It can take from your, fat stores, or it can take from your muscle. And if you're not weight training while you're dieting, then 25 to 30 percent of the weight you lose is going to be coming out of your muscles.

You do not want to lose. your muscles. Your muscles are the things that keep you mobile. So you need to be weight training at the same time. So if you are on a diet right now, then I'm looking at you, I'm talking to you that get a weight training program and get started.

Do yourself that favor because in the end, the result that you want, [00:12:00] visually is most likely a toned, lean, athletic, you know, trim looking body and not just skinny fat. Right. Right. So, and what is giving body shape and interest and curves and whatever. A lot of that is muscle okay, So if you're dieting, start weight training.

Great. So that was number two.

Mistake number three, and I get it. We all, all, all want the magic pill, the one secret, the quick fix, and people are chasing it. So they're doing that with diet pills, with diet injections. All these things, 12 week plans, fasting, you know, whatever, these crazy things. And in 12 weeks, for example, if you go on a diet, yes, you can lose weight.

That scale will [00:13:00] show weight loss. But then what happens when you stop that crazy thing that you're doing for those 12 weeks in order to get that weight loss? When you stop, your weight slowly starts to go back up. And if you've gone on that diet and you haven't been lifting weights, then you're losing fat and muscle.

And then when you start to gain the weight back up, if you're still not lifting weights, then you're not gaining that muscle back, right? You're gaining mostly. fat when you're going back up. So as you yo yo diet, doing these quick fixes, you know, to lower your weight and then gradually increasing your weight again, after you come off that quick fix, you're actually wreaking havoc on your body composition.

So please. Cut that out. What is much better is to think about it like it is a 12 month journey, at least that you're going to go on and you're [00:14:00] going to change these habits. So if you go back to the little story that I told in the beginning, yeah, I did not transform overnight. But the beauty of it is that because I made fundamental changes to the way that I'm living and training I Don't have to you know have this kind of up and down and up and down I just have a body that looks good feels good and Works well all the time for the rest of my life.

That's the plan. So stop with the quick fixes Let's get you a lifestyle change so that it's like a forever change. And you don't need to be focusing and thinking about food all the time and obsessing about the scale.

The fourth mistake that I see women make is avoiding weight training. Women. would really rather spend four hours a week in some aerobics class, [00:15:00] sweating their, you know, guts out, whatever, really pushing themselves than spending two hours in the weight room. I don't know.

There's something like fundamentally that's blocking women from feeling brave enough to do that. And I, I, I do get that going to the weight room is intimidating. I certainly was not like jumping into the weight room when I first started weight training, even though I have done so much weight training in my life earlier, like before I had my kids.

So it wasn't like it was a totally strange environment for me. But when you're not feeling good about how you look and you're like, You can't see a single muscle on you when you're like lifting a weight, then I get it. It's intimidating. So start at home. You can totally start at home. Start at home with dumbbells.

Doing it half an hour, twice a week, an hour, twice a [00:16:00] week, whatever you have time for. Get started, okay? And please don't be afraid of it.

And I see that women are like going towards the weight training by, okay, I'm going to join a body pump class, or I'm going to join a. Whatever, some kind of, uh, group fitness class where there are the dumbbells and there's a teacher there who is instructing you the whole way. And that feels more comfortable to go there, surrounded by a bunch of women and you have the familiar format of. The class, but that is not going to bring you the same results because to build muscle, you need to be progressively overloading your muscles. So challenging them a little bit more and a little bit more and a little bit. More and a little bit more over time. So while those classes where you have the dumbbells, yes, if you've done nothing with any [00:17:00] weights, then yes, you're going to see a little bit of strength improvement, but that's going to stop pretty quickly.

In fact, I did body pump classes for years. And I mean, I have said before that this is one of the kind of biggest waste of time because I was thinking, Oh, I could go back to the weight room. Oh, but no, you know, I'm, I'm lifting weights in body pump class. And, and it's so much more fun because it's with the music and I love to dance and I love the choreography and, and there's the teacher and it just was like easier to get into the moment.

But you know, I was working for, for years with five kilogram. dumbbells, like on my bicep curls in body pump class. And those were big dumbbells there. No other women were using the five pounders or I'm in the five kilo dumbbells. And then when I went into the weight room, it did not take me very long before I'm training with the 10 kilos.

Okay. I mean, that's a significant amount [00:18:00] stronger and my arms started looking like I was doing something. Okay.

And one thing that I'm actually adding to my online program is that I will record one session of training at home. So I'll like set up the video and. Do the exercises kind of with you like a group class where I'm doing the reminding of keep your elbow here or remember your knee or remember your foot and whatever.

So you could follow it like group fitness class, and let's see if that helps women to feel more comfortable doing the exercises. So. Yeah, that's going to be an interesting experiment.

Number five is doing random workouts. So and this actually ties into number six also and into number four. So doing these random workouts. So actually when you're in a group fitness class, it is a little bit like a [00:19:00] random workout because what they do a lot of times is they switch out what they're doing each time because people want entertainment and all that.

So they're a little bit different. each time. And you have the same kinds of things online. Oh man, there's fitness influencers, you know, for women who every day they have a different like, Oh, let's work the abs and whatever. And they're doing these, um, combo moves with the dumbbells and train, you know, doing this exercise session.

And they have so many followers, so many views. Women really love those, but please understand. Please understand that though there are the dumbbells in there, and though if you've done nothing before, you will notice that you get stronger. It is going to feel like a hard workout because, you know, it's long and you're moving your body.

Of course, it's going to feel like a workout, [00:20:00] but it is not going to do the same thing as Real strength training does as far as like the benefits for your body as That weight training brings like the specific benefits of weight training, which is making you stronger Not just your muscles, but also your bone density Taking care of your tendons and your ligaments because those start to get more frail as you go through menopause and the estrogen levels drop and getting your joints feeling better and all these kinds of things that come from the heavy strength training.

So these kinds of, um, lightweights fun exercises, it is not the same thing. So same kind of thing that I was talking about with the body pump kind of applies to those, the online or the in class. It's all in the same category. And I consider those exercise and to a lot much [00:21:00] larger degree to be like an aerobic form of exercise.

That's not really, it's not strength training. okay, They say, we'll work your whole body. Hmm. Yeah. Your whole body is going to move, but just like you work your whole body when you're in yoga class or you work your whole body when you go swimming, it's not strength training. Okay. All right. So just clarifying, sorry if I'm like sounding like a broken record, but I just feel like.

Yeah.

And then kind of the final thing, and that's very much wrapped up in these previous two is the desire for exercise to be some kind of entertainment. I cannot tell you, I wish I had like a dime for each time I've heard that, Oh, weight training is not really my thing. Or, you know, it's not fun. Or I like the social part of being in the group fitness classes and, [00:22:00] you know, I've tried it and I didn't like it.

And it's not about. Sorry, it's not really about liking in the end. I mean, if you like to be able to live independently, if you like to be able to get up off the toilet, if you like to be able to travel and you need to be able to pick up that suitcase, if you like to be able to go grocery shopping and bring your shopping in, if you like to be able to do those things and you want to be able to do them when you're, you know, in your sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties. Then you need the strength training. All right. That is your ticket to living a long, independent life. And yoga is not going to give you the same thing. You know, your group fitness classes are not going to give you the same thing. Right. I mean, I love yoga. I think it is such mindfulness. It feels good in the body.

And one day when I have more time, I will start doing yoga [00:23:00] more again. But right now I'm really focusing on keeping my body fit for the decades ahead.

There are so many things in life that you do, which you might consider boring, but you know, you need to do them. And strength training is one of them the same way that you brush your teeth, or you take a shower. Oh, I don't know if there's anybody else out there who, if I never had to wash my hair again, I would be so excited because I just hate washing my hair.

Detangling it, all the things, you know, doing all the shampoo, conditioner, the rinse takes a while, drying it, all that. If I never had to do it again, I'd be happy. But that's part of maintaining myself. I have to do it. I have to do it. And tooth brushing. It's not fun, but I do like having fresh breath. I do like having my own teeth, all those things.

And weight [00:24:00] training. Yeah, there are days when it's not fun to go there. But I love the fact that my body looks and feels great and that I know that I'm staying strong and fit for the future and a little personal anecdote here. So some of you may have heard me talk about this guy that I'm dating now, who is My senior.

So I'm 52 years old and he's 61. And let me tell you, I've always dated men that are younger than me, except for my ex husband. He was older than me, but, but since my divorce, the men have always been younger than me. And that's been for a reason, because I feel like. Older men are just kind of, yeah, they're past their prime.

And I hate to say it like that, but they're really, some of them have really aged mentally, right? They're just old men. And this guy, holy cow, he's been weight training for a [00:25:00] long time and he is just very. Muscled and also between, you know, the ears, he, his attitude is very youthful in that sense. I mean, he is a mature man, you know, an adult, all those things.

I'm not saying that he's like a man child, definitely not, but he likes to go out dancing or traveling or whatever, go to, go to, uh, various music concerts and that kind of thing. And, uh, And I really was, uh, you know, this, him being so much older than me was very much of a issue. But then I realized that, you know, he's taking such good care of his body that I do trust that he's going to be able to keep up with me much longer than maybe even some of the younger guys who are doing zilchola, right?

Who are just sitting on the couch, working, coming home and on the couch. So anyway, that [00:26:00] was just a little aside, 

to recap the biggest mistakes that I see 40 plus Women making the biggest one is not starting the weight training because they just feel overwhelmed by the whole thing and they don't know where to get started.

They think, Oh, I got to do a hundred percent or nothing. No, you don't. You can start even once a week. Is going to be better than nothing twice a week, definitely better than once a week, because you do want to be challenging each of your muscle groups twice a week for better results. But even if you can just do once a week, that is, that's a hundred percent more than what you're doing right now.

So get started. I have my programs. I've priced them to make them accessible for everybody. Okay.

Dieting without lifting, you are wreaking havoc on your body composition, because if you're not lifting, you are losing not just fat, but also muscle.

Third is chasing quick fixes. So you do these 12 week [00:27:00] diets without weight training, you lose the weight and then what happens is you start gaining it back as soon as you stop doing whatever that thing is. And that leads to this up and down pattern instead of thinking of this as, Hey, in the next year.

I am going to transform what I'm doing. I'm going to learn the habits that I need to be doing in my forties, fifties, and beyond to maintain my body and my body composition and body weight and all the things like to do those bigger transformations, lifestyle changes. It's, you're just going to be so much happier the year from now, you will thank you for getting started now on this kind of longer journey.

avoiding strength training, okay, so really, it is the consistent strength [00:28:00] training with weights, applying progressive overload, which is going to give you all those benefits, which help you to maintain your body. And I'm not talking just about your muscles, but also helping with bone density, and Your tendons, ligaments, joints, 

all the benefits that weight training has to offer is when we're talking about actual strength training with applying progressive overload. So it's not random workouts. It's not those classes where you're waving small weights around. Those are two different things. So I think that's one thing women really, and I didn't get it either.

So I'm sorry. I don't want to sound like I'm attacking because I misunderstood that too. I've been an athlete my whole life. And I thought Body pump classes was taking care of my muscles. I did not understand that until I [00:29:00] started to really study this stuff. It's not the same. So if you take nothing else away from this whole episode, that understand if you're going to body pump class or some class at your gym or following some fitness influencer, who's doing these workouts with weights, think of that as your cardio and then go strength train also.

Okay.

And remember that it doesn't all need to be entertainment. Strength training is really at its best when you're doing the progressive overload, and you can only progressively overload when you are doing the same things over and over again, adding weight, adding reps the same way that you probably are.

Okay. If you've ever been a jogger, they're probably okay with running kind of the same routes day in day out week in week out. Yeah. You might have your shorter route, your longer route, your winter route, your summer route, but it's not like every time you're expecting that, Oh my God, this running experience [00:30:00] needs to be totally different from last time.

Right? So think about weight training that same way. Each weight training experience does not need to be a unique experience. It is something you do. And I tell you, it feels really good actually when you get to know your program and you can go into the weight room or at home, whichever you're doing, but it just, you know, it just flows because you know what you're doing next, you know what you, you know, did last time and all that.

It feels good. And this is something so many of my clients have said they start liking it when they get to the point where they don't have to. Think about it so much where it feels comfortable, where they feel like, okay, I've done this before. I can do it again. Okay.

All right, so that actually turned into a little bit longer episode than I expected, but remember, if you are ready to get started, then I do have the Kickstarter programs, and they are priced [00:31:00] so reasonably, you get my help, plus The whole kit of everything that you need to get started at home or at the gym.

So check them out. And if you have any questions, if you're concerned, are these appropriate for me? Are they not appropriate for me? Then, you know, send me a message through Instagram. Love to hear from you guys. I really, really do. So with that, I will leave you till next week and wish you happy training.

#56: Biggest Fitness Mistakes Women over 40 Make