If You’re 40+, Don’t Make These Training Mistakes

If your body feels like it’s fighting you even though you’re showing up, it’s not a willpower problem—it’s a strategy problem. BTW I’m 51 now and work with lots of women 40+ so I am speaking from experience as a 40+ lifter and a 40+ coach.

Here’s the smarter approach that keeps you strong without the set backs, vicious cycles and burn-out.

The Vicious Cycle I See All the Time For Women 40+

• Mistake #1: “More is better.”
  Pushing every set to the limit, adding extra workouts, and chasing soreness as proof it “worked.” Short term: maybe. Long term: stalled progress, cranky joints, and nagging fatigue.
  

• Mistake #2: Strength without the support system.
  Strength improves when the “support beams” (mobility + stability) are solid. As we age, those beams naturally get weaker if we ignore them. The result? Stiff hips/shoulders, low-back tightness, and lifts that feel worse even when you’re trying harder.
  

• Mistake #3: Treating rest and recovery like an afterthought.
  Sleep, protein, hydration, stress—when these slide, your body can’t adapt to the work. You feel stuck, so you push harder… which digs the hole deeper.
  

• Mistake #4: Program hopping and mixed messages.
  Reels, challenges, random WODs—fun in the moment, but they pull you in ten directions. No clear progression = no clear results. Add in fitness “influencers” who write programs that crush 40+ lifters.
  

• Mistake #5: All-or-nothing weeks.
  You’re either perfect or “off the wagon.” The body over 40 does best with consistent, manageable training doses—wins that compound.

What Works Better After 40 (and Why)

• Go smarter, not harder.
  The goal is sustainable strength—feeling strong and moving well. That comes from balancing strength work with the right dose of mobility (keep your range) and stability (own your positions). When these three are in balance, you lift better, aches calm down, and progress becomes repeatable.
  

• Quality beats grind.
  Clean reps with control and good positions beat sloppy PRs. Your joints will thank you—and weird pains stop stealing your momentum.
  

• Consistency is the superpower.
  Short, focused sessions you can keep doing will always outperform heroic weeks you can’t maintain.
  

• Recovery is part of training.
  Enough protein, better sleep, simple walks for blood flow—none of this is flashy, but all of it is high leverage after 40.

How This Helps You Right Now

If you’ve been training hard and not feeling the return—more aches, less progress, low energy—it’s not a willpower issue. It’s a strategy issue.

When we rebalance your training around what your body needs at 40+ (strength plus mobility plus stability), you’ll notice:

• More confident, smoother lifts

• Less random soreness and “twinges”

• Better energy in and out of the gym

• Steady, believable progress you can stick with

As we all get older its not about just “trying harder” or “doing more”.

It’s about training smarter so that you can continue to train, to lift, to improve.

If you have been going hard and not seeing the results you deserve maybe you need to take your training in a different smarter direction.

Train hard, but train smart.

Coach Rob
Women Who Lift Weights

BTW if you are over 40+ and this e-mail has hit home with you in ways do me a favour and check out my 40+ STRONG program inside the WWLW App.

It will give you a better understanding of how to train as a 40+ lifter and combine strength with mobility and stability for maximum results in training and in life.