A personal trainer says: ‘This is the one move women over 40 should do’

At any age, workouts should be simple, efficient and progressive rather than about doing more. But as we age, muscle mass and bone density begin to decline, so it’s even more important to focus on maintaining strength, muscle and healthy bones.

Although I recommend the five “big lifts” to most people, there’s no rule about which exercises you should and shouldn’t do; it’s about what works best for you. That said, if I had to pick one move for women who want to build leg strength and promote healthy aging, it would be a compound exercise that targets multiple joints and major muscle groups, building strength, balance and muscle.

Read on to find out which move I’m recommending as a personal trainer.

Women over 40: Try this strength exercise

The foot-elevated sumo squat is a mouthful, but efficient for your muscles, strength, joint mobility and balance.

It trains the lower body, specifically the glutes, with a focus on the outer glutes, or gluteus medius, quads, adductors, hamstrings, hips, calves, core, and, to a lesser degree, your shoulders and arms (to hold the heavy weight in your hands). At heavier loads, it can build forearm strength and improve grip, which is a key indicator of longevity.

Having your feet elevated increases range of motion and, therefore, time under tension; this means the muscles stay contracted for longer, and you can improve mobility as you move through the “normal” end range to lower the weight below your feet.

How to do foot-elevated sumo squats

I demonstrate the foot-elevated sumo squat position using just bodyweight above, but once you have the form mastered, add weight.

• Place yoga blocks or barbell plates wider than shoulder-width apart and stand on them with your toes pointed slightly outward. The more plates you add, the harder the exercise becomes
• Hold a weight between your legs with arms extended, gripping it with both hands
• Engage your core and look forward
• Send your butt back and lower into a deep squat, keeping your chest lifted and back straight
• Lower until your thighs are at least parallel or until the weight touches the floor between your feet
• Pause at the bottom, then drive up to stand, squeezing your glutes as you extend your hips and knees.

What are the benefits of sumo squats for women over 40?

As we age, especially when we’re looking at our 40s, 50s and beyond, sarcopenia (muscle mass loss) begins to accelerate, and we can also begin to experience a loss in strength and bone density — this happens differently for everyone, and some women will find they can train the same (or very similar) into these years without having to adapt much. Others may not.

Something I do see changing? Balance. When we lose strength and muscle, areas like mobility and balance are also impacted, which become very important for boosting longevity and keeping us independent into the later years.

Strengthening the lower body, maintaining balance, boosting mobility and improving bone health and lean muscle mass should be a priority, and the foot-elevated sumo squat can do all of these things. Plus, it recruits your core muscles, and a strong core is essential for healthy aging, especially if you plan to lift or exercise generally well into your 70s and 80s.

I also tell clients I train to think about their relative strength versus absolute strength. Absolute strength refers to the most you can lift; relative strength refers to how strong you are compared to your weight and size. This is what I encourage women to think about — some I know can lift over their own bodyweight, slowly progressing their gym routines to keep them challenged as they build.

In short, it's not always about the maximum you can lift at any given time.

You can progress to heavier and heavier loads or adapt your sets and reps as you get stronger. You could also add more plates under your feet so that you have further to travel with the weight, increasing range of motion even more.

I would recommend using one of the best kettlebells to begin with, as they are easier to grip using an overhand position with your hands. You can also hold one end of a dumbbell, which is slightly harder to grip as the weight increases.

Reasons to add the foot-elevated sumo squat to your routine

Training every muscle group is crucial for healthy aging, but leg strength matters because it indicates overall health and a lower mortality risk. You use your legs to walk, climb, run and perform daily tasks, so staying balanced and mobile means navigating exercise and activities better.

Another reason to strengthen your leg muscles is that there are large and powerful muscle groups in your lower body, like the glutes and quads. Lean muscle is more metabolically active than fat, so the more muscle you have compared to fat as you get older, the healthier your metabolism and the higher your ability to burn calories. That's why the myth that cardio always burns more calories than weight training is just that, a myth.

Finally, the sumo squat with elevated feet encourages a much fuller range of motion, moving the weight below your feet so that you can sit into an even deeper squat position. The more stretch tension you can apply and load to a muscle, the better for hypertrophy and muscle activation.

Activities like strength training, walking and running all apply a type of stress to bones, too, and we know that applying a good amount of load to bones is what helps them rebuild strong.

You might be wondering why I'm only signaling to women. I'm not, this exercise has many benefits for men too, but let's focus on the over 40 demographic of women for one moment.

Perimenopausal and menopausal women go through a lot, including a huge fluctuation and general change in hormone production, such as reduced estrogen. The research indicates estrogen directly impacts musculoskeletal function, affecting the structure and function of tendons, muscles, bones and ligaments.

Its presence and production can help improve strength and muscle mass, and the collagen found in connective tissue. In your tendons and ligaments, estrogen plays a role in decreasing stiffness and even supports muscle repair.

Even if you don't plan to build much more muscle, maintaining what you do have is crucial for healthy aging and keeping you strong and injury-free.

Ready to get started? Aim for 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps, then either increase the weight or play with your rest periods, reps, or plate load over time. I also recommend focusing on eccentric lifting, which means slowing down the time it takes to lower into the squat, increasing overall tension on the muscles.

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