Are you considering getting a PT? Or maybe you have one and you’re not seeing any results? If so, you’re not alone. Here’s why personal training doesn’t work for women over 40.
It’s super common for women in their 40s and 50s to opt to work with a personal trainer to lose some weight. However, in our experience, it usually ends up with these women either seeing no results in the mirror, or gaining back the weight as soon as they stop working with the PT.
If this has happened to you – you’re not alone. Both of these can be extremely frustrating, and this can leave many women feeling trapped and unable to lose weight, no matter what they try. This then spirals to living in elasticated waistbands and not enjoying beach holidays or shopping for clothes…
This is never a nice situation to be in for anyone! Now, some women are able to see fantastic results from personal training – and there are some good things about them which we will cover later. However, for women over 40, they can often deliver poor results. This is mainly because the learning that personal trainers undergo doesn’t specifically cover how to train women in their 40s and 50s – which can require a completely different approach.
To give you the facts, we’ve revealed the truth about why personal training doesn’t work for women over 40. Instead, we tell you what you can do instead to drop 1-2 dress sizes before summer.
Personal training is rarely tailored for women over 40
In most cases, personal training isn’t suited property for women in their forties and fifties. This isn’t the fault of PTs, as they don’t get any training on this – even with the best PT courses! They’re taught to help the generalised population, not women in their forties.
Personal training doesn’t work for women over 40 due to the topics taught. More specifically, most PTs learn:
- HIIT training
- Cardio
- Circuits
- Lifting weights in a gym
- Spinning
- Generic diet plans
These workouts and diet methods can work for men and women in their 20s and 30s, however – in our experience – they don’t work well at all for women over 40 with stressful jobs and busy personal lives.
Women’s bodies change dramatically over 40
The science behind this is only found in the most up-to-date scientific literature, which most trainers don’t even know is out there.
At Trinity, we’ve spent the past 8 years studying how to help women in their forties. More specifically, we’ve worked with over 6,500 clients to create the best possible system; our Fit Over 40 method.
So, what changes for women over 40?
There are a number of factors which need to be considered by women over forty when it comes to weight loss. We outline these in our Fit Over 40 method, so our clients can see the results they deserve.
Stress Response
Stress is helpful in short bursts, but it becomes harmful when levels are high most of the time. Additionally, your stress response increases with age, and it’s 3x more impactful for women than for men.
Chronically high cortisol (stress) levels can cause leptin resistance, insulin resistance and thyroid deregulation. This makes it easier to gain weight and harder to lose it if cortisol levels are not managed correctly. This is something most personal trainers don’t take into account.
Hormonal changes around menopause
As you age, you’re more sensitive to certain foods, drinks and lifestyle habits which most PTs also don’t focus on. Common PT strategies include HIIT training/circuit training, which are highly stressful for the body. This spikes cortisol levels through the roof.
Additionally, these methods are high impact, which increases joint aches and makes pains worse. Eventually, this puts people off exercise and stops them being consistent.
Starvation diets or elimination diets (e.g. no carbs)
Just like high-impact exercising, elimination diets are highly stressful for the body. The body senses it’s starving, spikes cortisol levels and holds onto fat. This sends cravings through the roof!
Also, they can be very inflexible, making it exhausting and impossible to fit around real life. Most people give up after a few months at best. And, if you can’t keep it up long-term, the results will only ever be temporary.
Often only focused on training (counting reps)
Focusing too much on your training ignores the bigger issue, which is often eating or drinking the wrong things/too much. A couple of glasses of wine or mindlessly eating a sharing bag of chocolate is way more calories than a 30-45 minute workout!
The expense of personal training
Getting a personal trainer is a lot of money to spend on someone to supervise you doing workouts. Instead, we recommend you deal with everything holistically, including your exercise, nutrition and mindset.
Only when all three of these are right for you and your body, will you be able to lose weight quickly and easily as a woman over forty.
What do we recommend?
The most important thing for women over forty is to have an approach which takes their age and changing hormones into account.
You need to do low impact workouts which are effective for fat loss, but don’t over-stress the body. You need a flexible nutrition approach, taking your current situation into account which is easy to stick to long term.
In our Fit Over 40 method, we include mindset coaching to help you stay motivated during the programme, but also show you how to stay motivated long term. Our Fit Over 40 program is designed to be the ideal programme for women over 40 looking to drop 1-2 dress sizes in 12 weeks!