Strength Training for Menopause: A 2-Day Plan

The short answer: strength training during menopause helps protect bone and muscle, and it’s safe for most people, including many with osteoporosis. The Royal Osteoporosis Society recommends strength exercise on 2 to 3 days a week, 8 to 12 reps per set, building to 3 sets. Add impact work on most days and balance work at least twice a week, and eat enough protein.

New to lifting? Strength training for beginners covers the basics. This guide is about what menopause changes and why.

Does strength training help menopause?

Yes, strength training helps during menopause, mainly by protecting bone, muscle and everyday strength. A 2024 review in Climacteric linked falling estrogen to loss of muscle mass and bone density. The NHS lists the menopause as a risk factor for osteoporosis.

Reviews of resistance training in postmenopausal women show real benefits, with some honest limits:

Review	What it found
Sá and others, Menopause, 2023 (12 trials, 452 women)	Better functional capacity and bone density, and fewer hot flashes; low to very low certainty
González-Gálvez and others, Climacteric, 2024 (12 trials)	Clear gains in physical fitness; effects on bone density still debated
Zhao and others, 2025 (17 trials, 690 women)	Bone density improved at the lower spine, upper thigh bone and hip; heavier training (70% of max or more) showed clear effects at the hip

For the wider case for keeping muscle, see how to keep muscle as you age.

Can weight training reverse osteoporosis?

Weight training can improve bone density a little, but it doesn’t replace osteoporosis medicine. The best-known trial is LIFTMOR, published in 2018. It put 101 postmenopausal women with low bone mass through 8 months of either supervised heavy lifting and impact work or a gentle home program. The lifting group trained twice a week for 30 minutes, doing 5 sets of 5 reps at more than 85% of their one-rep maximum.

LIFTMOR result after 8 months	Heavy lifting and impact	Gentle home exercise
Lower spine bone density	+2.9%	−1.2%
Thigh bone (femoral neck) density	+0.3%	−1.9%
Height	+0.2 cm	−0.2 cm
Adverse events	One minor back spasm	None reported

A follow-up found no spinal fractures from the training and a better upper-back posture. But every session was closely supervised. The Royal Osteoporosis Society is clear: exercise is not a replacement for osteoporosis medicine if you have a high chance of broken bones.

How often should menopausal women lift weights?

Lift on 2 to 3 days a week, with at least a day’s rest between sessions. That’s the Royal Osteoporosis Society’s advice, and it matches the NHS call to work all major muscle groups on at least 2 days a week.

Type	How often	How much
Strength	2 to 3 days a week	20 to 30 minutes; 8 to 12 reps, building to 3 sets
Impact (no spinal fractures)	Most days	Build to 50 moderate impacts, such as jumps, skips, jogs or hops
Impact (spinal fractures or many broken bones)	Most days	Build to 20 minutes of low impact, such as walking
Balance	At least 2 days a week	Build toward every day if you can
Back strength	At least 2 days a week	3 to 5 reps, each held 3 to 5 seconds

Sources: Royal Osteoporosis Society and the 2022 UK consensus statement "Strong, steady and straight."

What is a good strength training program for menopause?

A good program covers four movement patterns each session: squat, hinge, push and pull. That’s how the Royal Osteoporosis Society builds its plan, adding a lunge or step once or twice a week. Do the two days below with at least a day between them.

Pattern	Day A	Day B	Sets x reps
Squat	Sit-to-stand from a chair	Goblet squat with one dumbbell	1 to 3 x 8 to 12
Hinge	Hip hinge holding dumbbells (Romanian deadlift)	Glute bridge	1 to 3 x 8 to 12
Push	Wall push-up	Overhead press with dumbbells	1 to 3 x 8 to 12
Pull	Band row	One-arm dumbbell row	1 to 3 x 8 to 12
Lunge or step	Step-up onto a stair	Reverse lunge, holding a wall	1 to 3 x 8 to 12 each leg
Back	Lying back raise	Lying back raise	3 to 5 holds of 3 to 5 seconds

Start with 1 set. Pick a load where 8 reps with good form feels like work. If you can do 12 and keep going, go heavier. If you can’t reach 8 cleanly, go lighter. That’s the Royal Osteoporosis Society’s rule. Our beginner dumbbell workout shows how to do each dumbbell move.

On other days, add impact and balance. Try heel drops or small hops in sets of 10, and balance moves such as heel raises, standing on one leg or a heel-to-toe walk, holding a counter if you need to.

Can you lift weights with osteoporosis?

Yes, most people with osteoporosis can lift weights safely, says the Royal Osteoporosis Society. There’s no set weight that is safe or unsafe. How you lift matters more than how much you lift. A few rules make a big difference:

Get steady first. If you’re unsteady on your feet, start with balance exercises before impact or heavier strength work.
Bend from the hips. Sit-ups, toe touches and the Pilates roll-down put pressure on the spine. Use a hip hinge with a straight back instead.
Put it down if your back strains. Go lighter or fix your technique.
Check first if you’ve had spinal fractures or many broken bones, or are recovering from one. Talk to your doctor or a physical therapist before you start.
Stop for chest tightness, dizziness, severe breathlessness, nausea, clamminess or any pain. Feeling a bit stiff for a few days afterward is normal.

Joint pain making you hesitate? Our guide to menopause joint pain explains why strength work is the first thing experts suggest for it. The Royal Osteoporosis Society says impact work may not suit painful knee arthritis, so lean on strength exercise if that’s you.

Is strength training better than cardio for menopause?

You need both, because they do different jobs. The NHS recommends 150 minutes of moderate activity a week plus strength work on 2 days. For bones, the Royal Osteoporosis Society notes that swimming and cycling are good for fitness but aren’t impact exercise, because the water or bike holds your weight. Brisk walking, stairs, dancing and tennis load your bones as well.

How much protein do you need during menopause?

Protein feeds the muscle you’re training. The 2026 Manno review in the journal Menopause recommends enough protein to help prevent muscle loss. The PROT-AGE expert group recommends at least 1.0 to 1.2 grams per kilogram of body weight a day for people over 65, and 1.2 or more for those who exercise. People with severe kidney disease may need to limit protein, so ask your doctor. Work out your own number with our protein calculator, then spread it out using protein per meal.

Want a full week laid out? See our 3-day strength training plan for women, with sets, reps and rest for each move.

Your next step

Put two sessions in your calendar this week, on days with a gap between them, and do Day A with 1 set of each move. Add a set each week until you reach 3. If you want your meals to keep up with your training, the Menopause Meal Plan below plans four weeks of high-protein eating for you.

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Quick questions

Can you build muscle after menopause?

Yes, you can build muscle after menopause. Reviews of trials in postmenopausal women found resistance training improved strength and physical function. Progress comes from gradually lifting more over time, eating enough protein and training on 2 to 3 days a week. Starting with bodyweight moves and light dumbbells is enough to see change.

Is weight training good for menopause?

Yes, weight training is good for menopause. It helps protect the bone and muscle that falling estrogen puts at risk. In the LIFTMOR trial, supervised heavy lifting raised lower-spine bone density by 2.9% in 8 months in women with low bone mass, while a gentle home program saw it fall by 1.2%.

Can you do strength training for menopause at home?

Yes, strength training for menopause works at home. The Royal Osteoporosis Society says resistance can come from your body weight, a resistance band, dumbbells or household items such as filled water bottles and food tins. Do one squat, hinge, push and pull move each session, 2 to 3 days a week.

How heavy should you lift with osteoporosis?

There’s no single safe weight with osteoporosis, according to the Royal Osteoporosis Society. Start with a load you can lift easily, even your body weight, then build up gradually. Aim for 8 to 12 reps with good technique. If your back strains, put the weight down and go lighter or fix your form.

Is high-impact exercise safe with osteoporosis?

Moderate impact, such as small jumps, skips or jogging, is enough for bones, and the Royal Osteoporosis Society doesn’t specifically recommend high impact. If you’ve had spinal fractures or many broken bones, stay with low-impact activity such as walking, and ask your doctor or physical therapist before building up.

Does strength training help hot flashes?

It might, but the evidence is weak. A 2023 review in the journal Menopause found resistance training may reduce how often hot flashes happen, but the certainty of the evidence was low to very low. The stronger reasons to lift during menopause are bone, muscle and everyday strength.

This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have osteoporosis with spinal fractures or several broken bones, are recovering from a fracture, have heart, joint or kidney problems, or have had falls, talk to your doctor or a physical therapist before starting. Exercise does not replace any osteoporosis medicine you’ve been prescribed.

Strength training for menopause: the bone and muscle evidence, a 2-day plan and how to start safely