24/08/2026
Why muscle mass matters more as women age 💪🏼
When we talk about ageing well, we often focus on weight, skin, hormones or how we look.
But one of the most important things we can protect as women is our muscle mass.
We naturally begin to lose muscle as we get older, and around menopause the decline in oestrogen can make maintaining muscle and strength more challenging. Menopause is also a time when bone loss accelerates, increasing our risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis. (PubMed Central (PMC))
And muscle isn’t just there to make us look toned.
Muscle is metabolically active tissue. It plays an important role in how our bodies use glucose and respond to insulin. As oestrogen falls through menopause, insulin sensitivity can also change — another reason why maintaining muscle and staying active becomes increasingly important. (PubMed)
But for me, one of the biggest reasons to build and preserve muscle is much simpler:
Independence.
We want to be able to:
✨ Get ourselves out of a chair without struggling
✨ Get up from the floor
✨ Carry our shopping
✨ Lift things around the house
✨ Climb stairs
✨ Maintain our balance
✨ Catch ourselves if we stumble
✨ Continue travelling, working and doing the things we enjoy
We don’t suddenly need strength when we’re 75 or 80.
We need to build and protect it before we get there.
Resistance training — whether that’s weights, machines, resistance bands or bodyweight exercises — is one of the best tools we have for maintaining strength as we age. Research in older women shows resistance training can improve strength and physical function, including walking and chair-stand ability. (PubMed)
And then there’s creatine.
Creatine isn’t just for young men in the gym. Research in older and postmenopausal women suggests that creatine, particularly when combined with resistance training, may provide additional benefits for muscle strength and lean mass. It isn’t a replacement for exercise — it works alongside it. (PubMed)
Protecting our muscles also goes hand-in-hand with protecting our bones. Strong muscles, weight-bearing activity and resistance training all become increasingly valuable as our oestrogen levels fall and our risk of osteoporosis rises.
So as we get older, perhaps the goal shouldn’t simply be:
“How little can I weigh?”
Maybe a much better question is:
“How strong can I stay?” 💜
Because ageing well isn’t only about living longer.
It’s about staying strong enough to keep living your life on your own terms.
Glow & Thrive with Nina ✨