Can strength training for women over 40 still change your life? It can, and the sooner you begin, the more you gain. Learn how muscle protects your energy, balance, and independence through menopause and beyond. From push and pull to hinge and carry, simple moves make everyday life easier.
Host Jenn Trepeck sits down with Jeanne Phares, a retired CPA, certified health coach, and leukemia survivor who rebuilt her body after a stem cell transplant. Together they discuss strength training after 40, why losing estrogen changes the game, and how sleep, recovery, and protein make every workout count.
What You Will Learn in This Episode:
✅ Why it is never too late to start strength training in your 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond, and how a flywheel habit beats motivation.
✅ How the push, pull, squat, hinge, and carry build functional movement for longevity and fall prevention.
✅ What estrogen loss does to muscle and why protein, water, and fiber needs rise with age.
✅ How to choose the correct weight, train at home with exercise bands, and protect recovery through sleep.
The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast, hosted by Jenn Trepeck, explores real-life wellness and weight-loss topics, debunking myths, misinformation, and flawed science surrounding nutrition and the food industry. Let’s dive into real-life wellness and weight loss, including drinking, eating out, and skipping the grocery store.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Why women fear bulky muscles from strength training and how the testosterone myth keeps them stuck
2:00 From CPA to health coach, a Leukemia diagnosis and stem cell transplant shaped Jeanne’s work with women in midlife
4:54 Why strength training matters most for women in midlife and the role menopause plays in muscle building
10:20 Begin today and build a habit, not motivation, and track real progress with strength measurements instead of the scale, which cannot show how much muscle you gain
11:50 The push, pull, squat, hinge, and carry framework for functional body movement and connect workouts to real goals and layer on protein-forward nutrition, plus water and fiber
14:05 Build a flywheel system instead of an eight-week program, adding recovery and sleep to protect muscle
17:30 How strong muscles prevent falls in women over 60 and why longevity matters more than building big muscles
23:41 How to lift the correct weight, how to avoid injury, and how to choose a midlife trainer
26:32 Home gym basics for beginners, from light weights and straight exercise bands to body weight workouts on a yoga mat
27:58 Squat form made simple, using a chair, cushion, and mirror to modify the move safely at any mobility level and how to balance your routine across all five functional movements
30:15 Real exercise examples for the push, pull, squat, hinge, and carry, from rows to deadlifts and suitcase carries
32:33 The carry, grip strength as a leading indicator of longevity, and lifestyle choices that support strength training and prioritizing recovery
33:30 Rest days and active recovery, why rest days are not cheat days and Jeanne’s pre-workout practice of gratitude, showing up for yourself, and dynamic stretching before lifting
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
💎 A simple habit beats motivation, so start today and let momentum do the work, with no need to wait for Monday.
💎 Lifting weights will not make you bulky, because women carry a fraction of a man’s testosterone, and strength training is what creates a toned look.
💎 Putting yourself first is not self-care indulgence. Protecting your body protects your independence and the people who rely on you.
💎 A short gratitude ritual and a dynamic warm-up before each session remove hesitation and help you show up for yourself.
ABOUT THE GUEST:
Jeanne Phares is the founder of Sage Lifestyle Collective, a publishing imprint and coaching brand for women in midlife and beyond. A retired CPA with over 40 years of personal strength training experience and a certified Health and Wellness Coach, Jeanne brings a rare blend of financial expertise, lived experience, and evidence-based health knowledge to everything she creates.
Through Sage Lifestyle Collective, Jeanne publishes books across women's health, personal finance, retirement planning, and gift categories, with titles spanning strength training, menopause and perimenopause, and money management for women. Her catalog reflects a single conviction: midlife is a season of agency and reinvention, not decline.
Beyond publishing, Jeanne developed the 8-Week Sage Strength Transformation Program, a coaching program centered on progressive strength training, protein-forward nutrition, sleep and recovery, and cortisol management for women navigating perimenopause and menopause. She also coaches women 40 and older directly, helping them build strength, confidence, and a healthier relationship with their changing bodies.
Jeanne is a passionate speaker and podcast guest who loves talking with groups about strength, health, and reinvention in midlife. Sharing this message with women who need to hear it is some of the work she finds most rewarding.
Based in Los Angeles, Jeanne is a mother of two daughters and considers Sage Lifestyle Collective a generational legacy project. When she isn't writing or coaching, you'll find her strength training, reading, sewing, or studying French.
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QUOTES:
7:58 “I believe the difference between knowing what to do and doing it is understanding why.” – Jenn Trepeck
9:16 “Estrogen is muscle protective. When you don’t have estrogen, you don’t have that, and we start losing muscle in our 30s.” – Jeanne Phares
9:52 “The changes in hormones make it more challenging to build the muscle, to maintain the muscle that you have, to break down the protein that you’re eating, even to absorb all of those nutrients.” – Jenn Trepeck
12:47 “If you want energy, start to strength train. If you want to feel good in your body and have confidence, start to strength train. – Jeanne Phares
36:11 “Those recovery days or those rest days, that’s the moment for the cardio, the yoga, some of the other types of movement that maybe isn’t as weight- or resistance-focused.” – Jenn Trepeck
45:42 “It is never too late to start strength training. You can make gains, and they are absolutely worth the effort.” – Jenn Trepeck
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