How often should a woman over 40 lift weights?
Two to three strength sessions a week, spread out, is enough for most women over 40. Here is why, and how to keep those sessions working for you.
By Anna & Charlotte · MNU-Certified Nutritionists · Level 3 Personal Trainers
Published 21 October 2026
TL;DR
Two to three strength sessions a week is the answer for most women over 40. NHS guidance for adults is strength work on at least two days a week, covering all the major muscle groups, and Anna and Charlotte build in three. Before adding more, Anna and Charlotte suggest checking your training, protein, stress and sleep. Keep a record so you can do slightly more over time.
Key takeaways
- NHS guidance for adults is strengthening activity on at least 2 days a week, working legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms
- Spread the sessions out. Recovery is where the adaptation happens, so back-to-back days work against you
- A fourth session is rarely the first fix. Check training, protein, stress and sleep before adding more
- Progressive overload means a little more over time: a heavier weight, an extra rep, better technique or a harder version
- Book your workouts in the diary like any other appointment, and record your weights so you can see the progress
Two to three strength sessions a week is the answer for most women over 40, spread out so you are not lifting on back-to-back days. Everything else in this post is about making those sessions count.
How many strength sessions a week is enough?
Two is the floor and three is a good target.
In the UK, the NHS guidance for adults aged 19 to 64 says to do strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms) on at least 2 days a week. Weight training for women over 40 counts: lifting weights is on its list, alongside resistance bands, yoga and carrying heavy shopping. The NHS strength exercises page says the same thing in plainer words for its gentle at-home routines: try to do them at least twice a week.
So two is what the guidance asks for. Anna and Charlotte go to three. aceSTRONG is built around 3 workouts a week, over 12 weeks of structured, follow-along strength workouts. Three gives you regular practice at each movement without taking over your week.
Why spread the sessions out?
Because recovery is part of training, not a break from it.
Lifting on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday is not the same as Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Spacing sessions out gives you time to recover, so you arrive at the next one able to lift properly. Anna and Charlotte make the same point in their 29 September post: "your workout gives your body the stimulus, but recovery is where the adaptation happens." How a whole week fits together is covered in how a strength programme for women over 40 is structured.
Does doing more help?
Not necessarily, and Anna and Charlotte are blunt about it.
On 29 September they posted that before you do more, you should check four things: your training (is it heavy enough, and is it progressing?), your food (protein), your stress and your sleep. Their line: "More workouts aren't necessarily the answer. Training smarter, fuelling properly and recovering well might be."
If you are lifting three times a week and feeling stuck, a fourth session is rarely the first thing to try. Run through the four checks first. If protein is the weak spot, why 30g of protein at every meal is the place to start. If the weights themselves feel too light, how heavy dumbbells should be for women over 40 will help you choose.
More workouts aren't necessarily the answer. Training smarter, fuelling properly and recovering well might be.
How do you keep progressing so the sessions keep working?
By asking your body for a little more over time, and writing down what you did.
This is progressive overload, and Anna and Charlotte put it simply on 28 September: it "simply means gradually asking your body to do a little more." If you lift the same weights, for the same reps, in the same way, week after week, "eventually your body has no reason to adapt." Their examples of what a little more can look like:
- a slightly heavier weight
- an extra rep or two
- better technique or a fuller range of movement
- making an exercise more challenging
You do not need to make every workout harder, and you definitely do not need to add weight every week. But over time there should be progress. The NHS says something similar in its gentle at-home routines: build up slowly and aim to gradually increase the repetitions of each exercise over time.
That is why they ask you to record your weights, "so you can actually see that progress happening". A notes app or a pencil and paper both work. Without a record you cannot tell whether last week was harder.
How do you actually make the sessions happen?
By treating them like any other appointment.
On 15 October one of them wrote that you cannot expect to get stronger by exercising whenever you happen to find the time: "You have to make the time. And that means putting your workouts in your diary, just like you would any other appointment." They add that even as personal trainers they do this too, and if you ask them for a PT session when they have scheduled their own workout, the answer will be no.
Their challenge is to open your diary before the week starts and book in your workouts. Every one of them.
If you are not sure where to begin with the first one, where to start with strength training after 40 walks through it.
Where does aceSTRONG fit?
It takes the frequency question off your plate.
The questions Anna and Charlotte hear most are what weights to use, what exercises to do, how often to train and whether you are doing it right. Sometimes those questions are enough to stop a woman starting at all. aceSTRONG answers them for 12 weeks: 3 follow-along strength workouts a week, at home or in the gym, with guidance on how to progress your weights and a community of women doing the same thing. It is a £99 one-off payment. It is follow-along, so there are no live classes and no one watching your form in real time.
If you have an injury or a health condition, speak to your GP before you start lifting.
Frequently asked
How often should a 40 year old woman lift weights?
Two to three times a week. The NHS guidance for adults aged 19 to 64 is strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups on at least 2 days a week, and three workouts a week is what aceSTRONG uses.
How many days a week should a woman lift weights?
Two is the NHS minimum and three is a good target if you can fit it in. Put a rest day between sessions rather than stacking them back to back, and add a fourth only once the first three are consistently hard and you are recovering well.
Is it okay to start strength training at 40?
Yes. The NHS strength exercises page shows simple moves you can do at home and says to build up slowly, adding repetitions over time (its routines are gentle, mostly chair-based ones). If you have an injury or a health condition, check with your GP first.
