How to Start Lifting Weights After 50: 3 Things You Must Know

How to start lifting weights after 50 doesn’t have to feel confusing or overwhelming.

If you’ve been told to just “eat less and exercise more,” and it’s not working anymore… there’s a reason for that.

After 50, your body responds differently. Muscle becomes one of the most important parts of your metabolism, your energy, and your long-term health.

In this video, I walk you through 3 simple things to understand before you start strength training so you can feel more confident, avoid injury, and actually stick with it.

You might notice how much easier this feels once you see how simple it can be.

Inside this video:

• Why you will NOT get bulky from lifting weights
• How muscle supports your metabolism, bones, and energy
• The easiest way to start strength training at home

If you’ve been waiting for the “right time” to begin, this is a simple place to start.

Links:
Grab my 10-minute strength workouts here: https://www.camoyler.com/meno-minis

Watch this next: https://youtu.be/CvHL7IEpHEA

Chapters:
00:00 Starting Strength Training at Home
04:17 Positive self-talk for weightlifting
06:22 Benefits of strength training

Transcript

0:00

Hormones change your body in midlife. You know, more fat, less muscle. You already know this, and for years, diet culture told us that the answer to this problem was, you know, just eat less and exercise more. But here's the thing. Doing more of the same while your metabolism is, like, hitting a wall in midlife is just a recipe for tighter clothes and less health. Because, you know, after 50, women can lose about 1% of muscle each year if they're not using them. That adds up really fast. And muscle is actually what keeps your metabolism working for you. So if you're not lifting weights, your health is going to keep sliding, and those clothes are going to keep getting tighter. So you may be asking, how can I possibly start lifting weights without this fear that I have of being injured or. Or this massive overwhelm? Like, where do I even start? Well, I'm gonna show you exactly how to start strength training from your own living room, because that's how easy it can be. Hey, there. I'm Cam Allen, and I am a menopause health and fitness expert with a side of NLP master Coach in my back pocket, which means I help women with their language and how they talk to themselves. I help women in their 50s stop fighting all the changing hormones and feel their strength without being wiped out face down on the couch with a bag of chips, because I've been there, and it's no fun. I've helped thousands of women help simplify their fitness, and today, I'm going to help you do the same. So if you've been feeling stuck or maybe a little unsure where to begin, you might notice how much easier this is once you see how it's broken down. So let's dive into three things I want you to know before you start lifting weights with confidence, because confidence is what you're going to get. First of all, we have to talk about the B word. Bulking. I hear it all the time, Cam. I don't want to look like a bodybuilder. I don't want to get bulky. Well, let me say this plainly. In your 50s, your body does not have the hormone environment to accidentally bulk up. That level of muscle takes very specific training, very specific eating, like measuring every single thing that goes in their mouth. I know other health coaches that have a history of doing those bikini things or being a bodybuilder, and I've heard their stories years and hours and measuring everything. We women lifting a couple times a week, we're not going to get bulky. Actually, our muscles are going to get tighter. We're going to feel stronger and we're going to feel more solid in our body. We are not going to look like a bodybuilder, and we are not going to get bulky. I want you to think of lifting weights as not the giant, very loud, look at me diesel truck at the stoplight. You know, the one where the little guy is driving this humongous truck and it's so loud you can't even hear your music. Oh, no, that is not what we're doing. Instead, I want you to think of lifting weights as like tuning up the engine to your sports car. Because that's what we are. We're sports cars. So when you lift weights, you're telling your body, hey, stay firm and stay strong. I need you stick around. You are important to me. You might even notice, like, how that feels in your body when you think it or say it. I'm building strength instead of I'm trying not to get bulky. Feel the difference? Test it for yourself. So in step one, I want you to think about how you think about lifting weights and what that actually does for you. And I'm starting here because that little voice and that little nonstop self talk are actually directions for your subconscious mind. And your subconscious mind runs 95% of your body. Your subconscious mind is, like, very obedient and follows your directions perfectly. So how you talk to yourself absolutely matters how you show up in the real world. In fact, I find that many women will say, I'm going to do this exercise, but then their self talk is the opposite. Your body's going to follow your self talk. Your subconscious mind runs the body. And if your self talk is not encouraging you to lift weights, you're not going to lift weights. That's why a lot of women will get started and then something will happen and they'll stop because their mind and their body are not on the same page and they're not aligned. So start there. What do you really think about lifting weights? What does that little voice say to you? Can you change it to something more healthy and more helpful? We know that muscle is really important in midlife, so can you say something to yourself to encourage yourself to actually go lift weights? That's where I would start. And also, you're not going to turn into a bodybuilder and you're not going to get bulky. No, no, no. You're just finding up your fine sports car. Point number two, hormone bodyguards. Let's move to the physical body. I want you to think of your muscle as, like, hormone bodyguards. They're like the bouncers during menopause, we know that estrogen drops and estrogen actually protected our bones and our brain and our metabolism and even where our body stores fat. Have you noticed where your body stores fat is different now that you're post menopause compared to when you were younger? So when your estrogen goes down, your body needs a new form of support and that's where muscle comes in. Honestly, muscle is not just for looks. However, that is a nice, like, side effect. It is an active part of your body that actually manages all kinds of things in your health, like blood sugar. It helps support, support your bones, it gives you energy and confidence in your posture. All of that is because of muscle. Strength training has been shown to help slow your bone loss and improve insulin sensitivity, which basically means how your body handles carbs. So when you lift weights, you're not just working out. You're actually like building this protection and better health. You're creating support from the inside out. The difference between feeling fragile and hunched over. Have you ever seen a hunched over person? And feeling capable and upright and like having energy for your day and for your life? And when you start to see it that way, lifting weights stops feeling like something, like extra and scary and I don't know what to do. And it starts feeling like something that actually has your back. And literally it has your back because your bones are going to stay strong. That's a big deal. And here's the best part about strength training. You do not need a gym membership and you certainly don't need an hour. Most women get stuck because they have to go, like all in, all of it right away. All or nothing. Sign up for the latest boot camp, whatever the latest challenge is. But the real thing, the real change happens when you make it so easy. Like it's so easy to start. It's almost like tricking your brain into saying, yes, I have the time and I have the energy for a short workout. And that's the secret. I call the menopause minis. These are 10ish minute strength workouts. And that's it. Research shows us that even short strength sessions done a couple times a week can build your strength and improve your muscle. Because the secret is being consistent. Because you can do this in your living room, in your pajamas, with a pair of dumbbells, or even with a pair of water bottles. And here's what I want you to notice. When something feels doable, you actually do it. You're showing your brain that this is doable and it's possible for me, and you're forming like a new way of thinking about exercise. So we're back to the brain part again. And we know that consistency beats intensity every single time here. So if you can give yourself 10ish minutes while your coffee is brewing or before you hop in the shower, you're already doing something that's moving the needle when it comes to midlife and your metabolism. So now knowing why you need to start is step one, knowing how to turn this into something that gives your energy back. That's where things really start to change. So I put together a video that breaks down my full approach to strength training after 50 in a way that is so simple and so realistic. Go ahead and click right here and watch what's next. And let's keep this going. And be sure to hit subscribe so you never miss another episode.