Working out!

 🏋️‍♀️ Strong, Fit, and Thriving: Workout Plans for Women After Menopause

 

Menopause isn’t the end of feeling strong, energized, and fit—it’s the beginning of training smarter. As hormones shift, your body’s needs change—but with the right workout plan, you can build strength, burn fat, boost energy, and feel incredible in your own skin again.

 

This guide is your starting point for creating an effective, balanced workout routine that targets every major muscle group, improves cardiovascular health, and includes mind-body recovery.

Why Your Workout Needs a Menopause Makeover

After menopause begins, it’s common to notice changes in:

• Muscle tone and strength
• Bone density
• Metabolism
• Joint comfort
• Belly fat and insulin sensitivity

 

The key to turning the tide? A mix of targeted strength training, low-impact cardio, and mobility-enhancing movement like Pilates or yoga. Together, they help combat age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia), prevent injury, improve mood, and stabilize hormones.

 

💪 Strength Training: Your Muscle-Sculpting Foundation

 

Lifting weights is non-negotiable after menopause. You don’t need to become a bodybuilder, but you do need to challenge your muscles regularly to keep them strong, functional, and metabolically active.

 

Here’s a full-body strength plan that targets everything you need (you’ll add the workouts in each category):

Glutes & Legs

• 🦵 My Go-To Leg Day Workout (Home or Gym Friendly)

 

When it comes to building strong, sculpted legs after menopause, I keep my workouts effective, varied, and equipment-flexible. These are my go-to exercises that I rotate through at the gym or at home, depending on the day. Most of them use bands, kettlebells, barbells, or ankle weights—simple tools, serious results.  Honestly, I don’t always do all of these exercises.  Sometimes time is not on my side and I have to do an abbreviated version.  Also on gym days I do a gym version of this workout.  So further down I will post the gym machines I use for glutes and how many reps and what weight I use.  If you’re just starting out, or haven’t worked out in a while start smaller.  Use less weight and do fewer reps.  Work yourself up.

 

Now here’s a breakdown of my leg-focused routine that I do at home:

 

GLUTE ACTIVATION (200 Reps Total)

Wake up those glutes! Activating before lifting helps maximize mind-muscle connection and prevents the quads from stealing the show.  I do this whether I’m at the gym or at home.

 

• ✅ 20 Banded Crab Walks
• ✅ 20 Banded Standing Kickbacks
• ✅ 20 Standing Banded Donkey Kicks
• ✅ 20 Banded Glute Bridges
• ✅ 20 Banded 1-Leg Glute Bridges
• ✅ 20 Banded Bridge Abductions
• ✅ 20 Banded Clamshells
• ✅ 20 Donkey Kicks (no band)
• ✅ 20 Swimmers

🔹 Quads, Hamstrings & Glutes

• Sitting Quad Curls — 25 each leg with resistance band or heavy ankle weight 
• Lying Hamstring Curls — 25 each leg with heavy band or ankle weight
  
  
• Banded Clamshells — 25 each leg using a heavy resistance band
  
  
• Weighted Donkey Kicks — 25 each leg using 25 lb dumbbell or ankle weight
  
  

 

 

🔹 Lunges & Squats

 

 

• Forward Elevated Lunges — 25 each leg using barbell with 20 lbs
  
  
• Stationary Lunges — 25 each leg at 24–30 lbs
  
  
• Lateral squats — 25 each leg at 24–30 lbs 
  
  
• Elevated Reverse Lunges — 25 each leg at 24 lbs 
  
  
• Kickstand Squats — bodyweight or weighted (YouTube demo available)
  
  
• Heel-Elevated Squats — 25 reps with 30 lbs (heels propped for extra quad focus)
  
  
• One-Leg Squats — 25 each leg (challenging but amazing!)
  
  
• Sumo Deadlifts — 25 reps at 25 lbs
  
  

 

 

 

🔹 Calves & Isolation Moves

 

 

• One-Leg Calf Raises — 25 each leg with 20 lb kettlebell
  
  
• Standing Banded Side Leg Lifts — 25 each sideicks
  
  
• Standing donkey kicks — 25 each leg
  
  
• Step-Ups — 25 each leg with 20 lb kettlebell
  
  
• Standing Glute Kickbacks — 25 each leg (band or cable optional) 
  
  

 

 

🏋️‍♀️ Notes:

 

 

• Mix and match depending on your time and energy.
• Adjust weights based on your level, but form is more important than heavy lifting.
• These exercises help tone glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, and core while improving stability and metabolism.
•  

Whether I’m at home with my bands or at the gym with a barbell, this leg day workout keeps me strong, grounded, and ready to take on the week.

 

 

 

🔥 The Ultimate Home Glute Workout: No Gym, No Excuses 🔥

 

Whether you’re post-menopause, pre-brunch, or just want to feel stronger and more sculpted, this at-home glute workout will activate, strengthen, and shape your backside with serious intention. No fancy gym needed—just a resistance band, kettlebell or dumbbells, and the will to feel that burn. 🍑

 

This workout is a mix of banded activations, kettlebell or barbell lifts, and finishing burners that target every angle of your glutes—gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus. If you’ve ever said “I want to lift and shape my butt,” this is your plan.

 

💥 Tip: Use a medium-resistance loop band and focus on form—not speed.  I used a cloth band becaase they don't roll on me.  These are the ones I use but there are others .

Arena Strength

 

🔹 STRENGTH SETS: Kettlebell & Dumbbell Glutes

 

Time to lift heavy and push those glutes to grow. Start with what you have—dumbbells, kettlebells, or even a backpack filled with books.

 

·        🏋️‍♀️ Bulgarian Split Squats – 25 each leg @ 20 lb kettlebell 

·        🏋️‍♀️ Single Leg RDLs – 25 each leg @ 20 lb kettlebell 

 

·        🏋️‍♀️ Kettlebell Swings – 25 @ 20 lb 

 

·        🏋️‍♀️ Kettlebell Sumo Squats – 25 @ 20–26 lb 

 

·        🏋️‍♀️ Kettlebell Goblet Squats (heels elevated) – 25 @ 20–26 lb 

 

 

 

🔹 BARBELL & DUMBBELL POWER MOVES

 

 

If you’ve got a barbell or heavier weights, now’s the time to really challenge those glutes.

 

·        💪 Dumbbell RDLs with Resistance Band – 25 @ 15–20 lb

·        💪 Barbell Good Mornings – 25 @ 30 lb

·        💪 Barbell Sumo Squats – 25 @ 36 lb

·        💪 Barbell Back Squats – 25 @ 36 lb

·        💪 Barbell RDLs – 25 @ 36 lb

 

 

 

 

 

🔹 GLUTE BRIDGE + HIP THRUST POWER COMBO

 

 

This is where we really build volume and power. Hip thrusts are king for glute development!

 

·        🔥 Frog Pumps – 25 @ 40 lb

·        🔥 Elevated Dumbbell Glute Bridges – 25 @ 40 lb

·        🔥 Standard Glute Bridges – 50 @ 40 lb

·        🔥 Barbell Hip Thrusts – 60 @ 46 lb

·        🔥 Hip Thrust Pulses – 40 @ 46 lb

 

 

💡 Don’t forget to squeeze at the top of every bridge and thrust! That pause is everything.

 

 

 

 

GLUTE BURNOUT: FINISH STRONG

 

 

No workout is complete without a finisher to make sure you’re walking funny the next day (in the best way possible).

 

• 🔥 Body weight or light weight squats to failure.

 

 

 

✅ 

Total Volume, Maximum Glute Gains

 

This program combines muscle activation, strength work, and metabolic finishers to hit your glutes hard from every angle. Repeat this workout 2–3 times a week and combine it with a solid nutrition plan and recovery routine for the best results.

 

Save this workout. Share it. And don’t forget—strong glutes support your spine, stabilize your hips, and make you feel powerful in and out of your jeans.

 

Let’s build that 🍑 together!