Last year, I glommed onto a trend that is sweeping women of a certain age in the U.S.: I became a woman who lifts.
Admittedly, describing myself as such feels like an overstatement of my fitness level. Seven months in and I still can’t do a pull-up while my dumbbell incline press tops out at 18 kg. But I am a regular at a women-inclusive gym that has nary a stair stepper or treadmill and is purely focused on helping women get strong.
This middle-aged woman has perhaps a more modest goal: not to get weak as I grow older. Women’s current obsession with lifting coincides with a push to better meet their needs during the menopause transition. As recently as 2020, less than a quarter of women in midlife were getting in enough strength training. Yet maintaining muscle mass is vital for healthy aging.