June 19, 2025, 11:02 am | Read time: 7 minutes

Muscle loss, a slowing metabolism, and a decrease in bone density: A woman’s body begins to change after age 40. To maintain their fitness level, it’s important for women in this stage of life to make some adjustments to their training. In addition to strength training, flexibility exercises become more crucial. A personal trainer explains how an effective workout plan for women over 40 can look.

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Maintaining the Status Quo – What Those Over 40 Need to Focus On

There are various reasons why women should adjust their training after age 40: For one, flexibility gradually changes, and hormones also play a significant role. The decrease in estrogen production can accelerate bone density loss and reduce muscle mass. Women often experience a gradual slowing of metabolism and a decrease in muscle mass at this age.

Hormones can also affect metabolism and lead to a redistribution of body fat. While prevention is the focus for those in their 30s, for those over 40, the focus shifts to maintaining the status quo. After 40, it’s more about maintaining functionality and managing existing health conditions.

“I’ve noticed several differences in training between the age groups of 30s and 40s,” says Anna Rogalev, a personal trainer in Düsseldorf, in a conversation with FITBOOK.

Ensuring Muscle Maintenance, Preventing Bone Loss

The hormonal changes that women over 40 often experience—many show early signs of perimenopause—not only lead to changes in hormone levels. The metabolism and muscle structure are also affected. “This makes adjusted training necessary,” explains Rogalev. She focuses on strength training with women over 40 to ensure muscle maintenance and prevent bone loss. “I have a client who noticed during training that she wasn’t as resilient as she was in her 30s. We integrated strength training twice a week. After a few months, she not only noticed an improvement in her strength but also felt more energetic and stable,” describes the personal trainer.

»Women Over 40 Often Experience a Slowing Metabolism

After 40, burning calories isn’t as easy as it was in younger years. Rogalev: “When women reach their fifth decade, they often experience a slowing metabolism and a decrease in muscle mass.” This leads to lower calorie burning. Besides the decrease in muscle mass, there’s another factor. “Hormonal changes can also affect metabolism.”

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»Boost Metabolism with Smaller, Protein-Rich Meals

We know: Training is only effective and good if the diet is right. For this reason, Rogalev not only makes adjustments to training for her clients but also focuses on diet. “I changed a client’s diet. We opted for smaller, protein-rich meals throughout the day, which helped boost her metabolism and avoid cravings.”

This Training Combination Is Recommended for Women Over 40

When it comes to the type of training, the personal trainer makes a clear recommendation: “I recommend a balanced combination of strength, flexibility, and endurance training.” This combination is crucial to counteract age-related physical changes and promote fitness and health in the long term. Flexibility is often neglected throughout life. “That’s a mistake,” Rogalev tells FITBOOK. “Flexibility training is especially important because it helps prevent injuries and improve overall mobility.” It also helps keep muscles “supple,” which can reduce the risk of muscle injuries.

Improved flexibility also makes everyday movements easier and helps maintain “independence in old age.” Regular flexibility training can also maintain joint mobility and help reduce joint pain.

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Incorporate Enough Time for Stretching After 40

Rogalev describes a specific situation from her daily life as a personal trainer: “One of my clients came to me after she pulled a muscle playing tennis. We integrated regular flexibility training, focusing particularly on the lower extremities and the back.” The client experienced improvements in her mobility and a reduction in discomfort during sports and daily life “in no time.” “I think you can easily integrate flexibility training into your routine by allowing enough time for stretching at the end,” encourages the expert.

Training Strategy After 40 – What It Should Look Like

Exclusively for FITBOOK, personal trainer Anna Rogalev has formulated a training strategy for women over 40. In short, the recommendation is: strength, cardio, flexibility. How often and how intense each training should be is explained here.

Strength Training

Rogalev: “It’s important that every woman over 40 structures her training plan and regularly reviews and adjusts it. For example, strength training should be a regular part of it, as it helps increase muscle mass and boost metabolism.” Ideally, there should be at least two to three strength training sessions per week. The focus should be on the body’s major muscle groups.

Cardio

“In addition to strength training, complementary endurance training is essential to strengthen the cardiovascular system. Activities like jogging, cycling, or swimming should be integrated into the week. Ideally, on days when no strength training takes place,” says the expert. She recommends about 150 minutes of moderate endurance training per week for women over 40.

Avoid Long-Distance Running on Hard Surfaces

Now the caveat. “One of the most common risks I see in my practice is joint injuries, especially in the knees or hips,” Rogalev notes. This is because joints lose flexibility with age, and cushioning decreases due to bone loss. Rogalev recommends avoiding high-impact activities like long-distance running on hard surfaces. Instead, women over 40 should opt for swimming or cycling for endurance training, as these activities are less stressful on the joints.

Yoga and/or Pilates

“For flexibility training, yoga and Pilates are two wonderful options to promote flexibility and strengthen the core.” Rogalev advises women over 40 to do this at least twice a week.

What an Ideal Weekly Plan Looks Like

With one of her mid-40s clients, Rogalev implemented it as follows: “We integrated strength training on Mondays and Fridays, she went to yoga on Wednesdays, and she cycled a lot on the remaining days.” This plan not only helped the woman lose weight and build muscle mass after six months, but her flexibility also improved. In the end, all plus points for a better quality of life. “I am convinced that a good training routine that considers all these elements allows women over 40 to stay active, healthy, and energetic for a long time,” the expert is convinced.

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Caution After 40: These Risks Threaten During Training

In addition to the mentioned joint injuries, muscle strains are another risk during training after 40, according to the expert. “As we age, muscles become less elastic and more prone to injury. To counteract this, it’s advisable to warm up well beforehand,” says Rogalev.

In general, the recommendation for all fitness beginners—regardless of age—is to seek advice from a personal trainer or fitness coach to establish a suitable structure and create an individual training plan that works for them personally.