In honor of Menopause Awareness Month, I’m sharing my personal story of perimenopause and hormone replacement therapy.

This is part two of my two-part series on HRT. If you haven’t yet listened to part one, Perimenopause and HRT my personal story (episode 139), please start there first.

In this episode, I talk about what it was really like — the symptoms I experienced, how life changed after starting treatment, and how hormones have affected my strength training, body composition, energy, motivation, and overall quality of life.

This isn’t a medical lecture, and I’m not selling anything. My hope is that if you’re struggling with similar symptoms, this helps you realize you’re not alone — and that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

You don’t have to just live with it or accept that “this is how life has to be.” There are options, there is help, and you can feel like yourself again.

Enjoy the episode

x Lynn

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• Get started with my beginner-friendly Learn to Lift programs here >>
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For years, I had no idea what was happening to me. I was falling apart, and had no idea why.

I thought this was just how life was when your marriage wasn’t great and you were juggling kids and a demanding job.

I knew I was going through menopause, but neither I, nor the doctors who were treating me, realized that my changing hormones were wreaking havoc on my life.

In this episode, I’m sharing my real story of how that unfolded: how I spent years in the dark, struggling with symptoms I didn’t understand, and how things finally began to turn around with HRT (though that did not always go so smoothly either!).

I’m sharing this in hopes that at least one person will recognize their own struggles in my story, and get help faster than I did.

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Support the show

• Get started with my beginner-friendly Learn to Lift programs here >>
• Join my monthly membership here >>
• Download my free guide to working with your menopausal body >>
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Starting strength training can feel confusing with so much conflicting advice online. In this episode, I answer the questions women most often ask when they’re just beginning their lifting journey after 40.

You’ll learn:

• If women over 40 can build muscle without a calorie surplus
• Whether one set of dumbbells is enough to get started
• How often to switch exercises for real results
• What to prioritize if you only have an hour to exercise

Resources mentioned: 

Progressive overload: Episode #114

Adjustable dumbbells I recommend

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• Get started with my beginner-friendly Learn to Lift programs here >>
• Join my monthly membership here >>
• Download my free guide to working with your menopausal body >>
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Want to start strength training but worried about getting hurt? 

In this episode, I share my tips for starting safely. These are drawn from guiding women through my programs plus lessons from my own experience starting in menopause.

 The goal: get strong, stay safe, and keep making progress you can feel.

You’ll learn:

• Why I recommend starting with 2–3 sessions per week
• The exercises I wouldn’t program for a beginner
• How to master form before you lift heavier
• How to handle modifications and injuries without losing momentum

Resources mentioned: 

• Episode on grip strength: Episode #93 

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• Get started with my beginner-friendly Learn to Lift programs here >>
• Join my monthly membership here >>
• Download my free guide to working with your menopausal body >>
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This episode is a little different — I’m sharing a clip from one of my recent masterclasses where I busted some of the most common myths about strength training.

These myths hold so many women back from building the strength, muscle, and confidence they want in midlife. In this episode, I explain why they aren’t true — and what to do instead.

The 5 myths I bust in this episode:

1. Soreness and “feeling the burn” mean you had a good workout
2. Light weights and high reps will “tone” your muscles, while heavy weights make you bulky
3. Combo moves give you more bang for your buck
4. Constant variety is better than repeating the same exercises
5. Any workout “with weights” builds muscle

Come listen to why these don’t hold up and the smarter ways to train instead.

If this helped you, share it with 2 friends:  that’s how the show grows!

Resources mentioned:

• Past episode on progressive overload: Episode #114

Send me your thoughts 😃

Support the show

• Get started with my beginner-friendly Learn to Lift programs here >>
• Join my monthly membership here >>
• Download my free guide to working with your menopausal body >>
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter>>
• Follow & chat with me on Instagram: befitafter40_withlynn/

Not all workouts build muscle even if they feel hard.

In this episode, I look at ways to tell if your training is actually helping you build muscle and strength or just making you sweat.

You’ll learn:

• Why soreness, sweat, and ‘feeling the burn’ don’t mean you’re getting stronger
• 4 real signs your workouts are building strength and muscle
• How to track your workouts (and why that matters more than you think)
• Red flags that your current routine might not be effective at building muscle & strength
• What to change if you suspect your workout is not effective

If you're not seeing results — or you're wondering whether your strength training is actually working — this episode will help you know what to look for, and what to do next.

Resources mentioned:

• Episode #121: Are You Strength Training or Just Working Out with Weights? >
• Episode #106: How to take form videos > 
• Free strength training tracker >
• How to take progress pictures > 
• Flip stick (to stick your phone onto various surfaces) > 
• Learn to Lift Programs > 

Send me your thoughts 😃

Support the show

• Get started with my beginner-friendly Learn to Lift programs here >>
• Join my monthly membership here >>
• Download my free guide to working with your menopausal body >>
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter>>
• Follow & chat with me on Instagram: befitafter40_withlynn/

If you’re a woman in your 40s or 50s thinking about starting strength training (or trying to figure out why it’s not working the way you hoped), this episode is for you.

At 49, I realized that the workouts I’d been doing for years - BodyPump, bootcamp, and follow-along "strength training" videos - weren’t enough to build real muscle or get the toned, athletic look I wanted.

In this episode, I share:

• The biggest mistakes I made when I first tried to build muscle in midlife
• What finally made a difference (and why my results came faster once I changed my approach)
• How you can skip the trial-and-error and start seeing better results now

If you’re still stuck doing random workouts or not sure what “proper strength training” actually looks like, listen in — and then join my free Lift-Off! 🚀 challenge  to try it for yourself.

Resources mentioned:

• Join the free challenge > 
• Learn more about the Midlife Fat Loss Formula > 

Send me your thoughts 😃

Support the show

• Get started with my beginner-friendly Learn to Lift programs here >>
• Join my monthly membership here >>
• Download my free guide to working with your menopausal body >>
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter>>
• Follow & chat with me on Instagram: befitafter40_withlynn/

If you want to stay active, independent, and thriving into your 50s, 60s, and beyond — the type of exercise you do matters.

In this episode, I walk you through the three types of exercise every woman should include in her routine: strength training, cardio, and balance.

These three types of movement work together to help you protect your body, keep you functional, and enjoy the lifestyle you want for the decades ahead.

You’ll learn:

• Why having a “bank of muscle” is essential for aging well and staying independent
• The simple sprint interval training formula
• How to sneak in balance training without adding anything extra to your to-do list

Enjoy the show!

Resources mentioned:

• POD67: Sprint Interval Training
• POD90: Balance

Send me your thoughts 😃

Support the show

• Get started with my beginner-friendly Learn to Lift programs here >>
• Join my monthly membership here >>
• Download my free guide to working with your menopausal body >>
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter>>
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Feeling confused about what “lifting heavy” really means?

Social media is full of advice — one post says women in midlife must lift heavy. The next warns us not to. So… what’s the truth?

In this episode, I get personal and real about a question I hear all the time: How heavy do I actually need to lift?

I walk you through the three biggest factors that influence how much weight you should be using — and spoiler: it’s not about keeping up with what you see on Instagram.

You’ll hear:

• Why it’s not useful to compare your strength to someone else’s (including mine!)
• The difference your background and history with strength training can make
• The role of genetics, body fat percentage, and lifestyle choices in how your results show up
• My recommendation for when to go up in weights

Enjoy the show!

Send me your thoughts 😃

Support the show

• Get started with my beginner-friendly Learn to Lift programs here >>
• Join my monthly membership here >>
• Download my free guide to working with your menopausal body >>
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter>>
• Follow & chat with me on Instagram: befitafter40_withlynn/

Vacation season is here - and with the kids around and more fun things to do, you want to enjoy it all. But what should you do about strength training?

In this episode, I discuss your options:

1. Take a break from training

If you decide to take time off, I share tips for how to get back on track after your vacation ends - without guilt or overwhelm.

2. Scale back your workouts

Learn how to adjust your routine so you're still stimulating your muscles and maintaining momentum, even with a lighter schedule.

3. Train with resistance bands

If you’re traveling and don’t have access to weights, I explain how to use resistance bands to challenge your muscles effectively.

Whatever you do, remember that strength training is a long-term commitment, and learning to adapt your routine during life’s busy seasons is part of what makes it sustainable over the decades ahead.

Enjoy the show!

Send me your thoughts 😃

Support the show

• Get started with my beginner-friendly Learn to Lift programs here >>
• Join my monthly membership here >>
• Download my free guide to working with your menopausal body >>
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter>>
• Follow & chat with me on Instagram: befitafter40_withlynn/