Menopause exercise: what actually helps, and what doesn't replace strength training
Menopause exercise advice is full of 'do less'. Anna and Charlotte on why strength training comes first, and where walking and Pilates fit as extras.
By Anna & Charlotte · MNU-Certified Nutritionists · Level 3 Personal Trainers
Published 21 October 2026
TL;DR
Strength training comes first for menopause exercise. The NHS says adults should do strengthening activities on at least 2 days a week, and the Royal Osteoporosis Society says the best way to help bone strength is to combine impact and strength exercise. Walking and Pilates are good extras, but Anna and Charlotte say neither replaces lifting weights that feel heavy and progressing them.
Key takeaways
- The NHS menopause advice is regular exercise with a focus on weight-bearing activity, and it lists weightlifting as resistance exercise
- The Royal Osteoporosis Society says doing both impact and strength exercise is the way to help your bone strength
- Walking counts as impact exercise and fits on most days. Pilates counts as strengthening, but rarely loads you progressively
- Before adding workouts, check your training, protein, stress and sleep, the four checks Anna and Charlotte use
- This is general UK guidance. With a health condition, an injury or osteoporosis, ask your GP before changing how you train
Women over 40 have been given a lot of questionable exercise advice. Don't lift too heavy. Walking is enough. Pilates will keep your bones strong. Slow down as you get older. Anna and Charlotte put it plainly on Instagram on 23 September 2026: "We'd quite like to delete the lot."
So here is what the UK's main health sources actually say about menopause exercise, and where Anna and Charlotte, who coach women through it, land on the rest.
What do the NHS and the Royal Osteoporosis Society say about exercise?
Menopause is a natural stage that usually affects women between 45 and 55, though it can happen earlier. Perimenopause is the run-up to it.
On exercise, the NHS menopause advice is to exercise regularly, with a focus on weight-bearing exercise to build strength, to help guard against weaker bones. It names walking, running and dancing as weight-bearing, and weightlifting as resistance exercise. The same page lists sleep routines and keeping alcohol within recommended limits among the things you can do, because alcohol may affect your symptoms.
The Royal Osteoporosis Society is specific about bones. It describes impact exercise, such as walking, stair climbing, jogging or dancing, and strength exercise, which means moving your muscles against resistance to make them stronger. Its advice: the best way to help your bone strength is to do both.
This is general UK guidance, not advice for your own situation. If you have a health condition, an injury or osteoporosis, ask your GP before changing how you train.
Why does strength training come first?
Because it is the one most women are missing. The NHS physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64 ask for strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups on at least 2 days a week, alongside at least 150 minutes of moderate activity. Plenty of women do the second and never the first.
Anna and Charlotte's reasoning, from their 23 September 2026 post, is that as we get older, maintaining and building muscle becomes more important, not less. That means challenging your muscles, lifting weights that feel heavy, and keeping progressing. They are equally clear on the other half of the old advice: menopause doesn't mean accepting inevitable weight gain or becoming weaker. Women over 40 don't need to do less. We need to get stronger.
Progressing is the part that gets skipped. The same dumbbell for a year is still exercise, but it isn't progression. If you want the detail on how heavy and how often, we've covered it in how heavy dumbbells should be for women over 40 and how often women over 40 should lift weights. For the wider case, see why strength training matters more after 40.
Women over 40 don't need to do less. We need to get stronger.
Where do walking and Pilates fit?
As extras, not replacements. Anna and Charlotte's line is that walking is brilliant and Pilates can be brilliant, but neither replaces progressive strength training.
Walking earns its place on the evidence above: the Royal Osteoporosis Society lists it as impact exercise, and it sits comfortably alongside lifting, so it is easy to fit in on most days.
Pilates needs a little care. The NHS lists pilates, yoga and tai chi among examples of strengthening activities, so it counts towards your weekly total. What Anna and Charlotte are pointing at is the difference between moving your body and loading it progressively. Pilates is a good practice in its own right. It won't usually ask your legs, back and arms to lift something that feels properly heavy, and then a bit more next month. Neither source says Pilates alone is enough to keep your bones strong, so treat that line from the old advice with suspicion.
What should you check before adding more workouts?
Your training, your food, your stress and your sleep. On 29 September 2026 Anna and Charlotte shared those four checks, and their point was that more workouts aren't necessarily the answer.
- Training: are you lifting heavy enough, close to failure, and progressing?
- Food: are you eating enough protein? Their own rule of thumb is around 1.5 to 2g per kg of body weight a day. That is their guidance rather than an NHS figure, so check what suits you with your GP or a registered dietitian if you have a health condition.
- Stress: stress and hard training draw on the same recovery, so look at both.
- Sleep: the NHS suggests regular sleep routines during menopause, and drinking within recommended limits because alcohol may affect your symptoms. Anna and Charlotte add that alcohol can make already disrupted perimenopause sleep worse.
Their 19 October 2026 post is a fair reality check. Perimenopause and menopause can make things harder: hormone changes can affect sleep, appetite, energy and where we store fat. But we can't blame absolutely everything on them. What we eat, how much we move, how we sleep and how we manage stress still make a difference. Or, as they put it, your body responds to what you consistently do, not what you intended to do. We go into the weight side of this in perimenopause and weight gain: what you can control.
What does a week of menopause exercise look like?
A simple one. Two or three strength sessions, spread out so you recover between them. Walking on most other days. Pilates or yoga if you enjoy it. Enough sleep to make all of it worth doing.
That is the shape of aceSTRONG, Anna and Charlotte's 12-week strength programme for women in their 40s, 50s and beyond. You get 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. It is £99 as a one-off payment. It is a follow-along programme, so there are no live classes or one-to-one coaching built in.
If menopause is making things harder right now, speak to your GP about your symptoms first. Then pick two days this week, put them in the diary and make them strength days. Everything else is an extra.
Frequently asked
What is the best type of exercise for menopause?
The NHS advises regular exercise with a focus on weight-bearing activity and resistance exercise such as lifting weights, to help protect your bones. Anna and Charlotte put strength training first, then add walking or anything else you enjoy. If you have a health condition or an injury, check with your GP before changing what you do.
Does exercise make menopause better?
The NHS says exercising and looking after your mental wellbeing can help with symptoms, and advises regular exercise to help protect your bones. Symptoms differ from woman to woman, so talk to your GP if they are hard to live with.
How many days a week should a menopausal woman lift weights?
The NHS says adults should do strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups on at least 2 days a week. aceSTRONG is built around 3 follow-along strength workouts a week.
How many days a week should a menopausal woman exercise?
For adults aged 19 to 64, the NHS recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week plus strengthening activities on at least 2 days. Anna and Charlotte's view is that more workouts aren't necessarily the answer, so check your training, food, stress and sleep first.
