If you’re over 40 and noticing that your arms don’t look or feel quite the way they used to, you’re not imagining it.
As we move through our 40s and into perimenopause and menopause, maintaining muscle and strength becomes increasingly important. That doesn’t mean you need to spend hours in the gym or do endless arm exercises.
In fact, if I only had 20 minutes to train my upper body, I’d keep it simple and focus on a handful of effective strength exercises.
These are the six exercises I would choose.
Why Strength Training Matters After 40
When we’re younger, we can sometimes get away with exercising without thinking too much about maintaining muscle.
But as we age, preserving muscle and strength becomes much more important.
Strength training can help us:
- Maintain and build muscle
- Improve strength and functional fitness
- Support healthy bones
- Make everyday activities easier
- Improve our ability to stay active as we age
And this is especially important during the menopause transition, when hormonal changes can contribute to changes in muscle and bone.
That’s why I don’t want women over 40 to focus solely on burning calories.
I want you to build something.
Muscle. Strength. Confidence. A body that can keep doing the things you love.
The 6 Exercises I’d Choose
You don’t need a complicated routine with 15 different exercises.
For this workout, we’re dividing the exercises into two simple circuits.
Circuit 1: Biceps + Shoulders
1. Hammer Curls
Hammer curls primarily target your biceps, while also involving the forearms and grip.
I love including different types of curls because we’re not just training for how our arms look — we’re training them to be strong.
Focus on: Keeping your elbows relatively close to your body and controlling the weight rather than swinging it.
2. Lateral Raises
Want to create more definition through your shoulders?
Lateral raises target the side deltoids, helping develop the rounded appearance of the shoulders.
This is one of those exercises where you don’t need a heavy weight to feel challenged.
Focus on: Slow, controlled repetitions rather than trying to lift as heavy as possible.
3. Biceps Curls
Then we go back to a classic: the biceps curl.
This directly trains the biceps and gives us another opportunity to work the front of the upper arm.
And don’t underestimate simple exercises.
You don’t need a fancy movement to get an effective strength workout.
Circuit 2: Triceps + Shoulders
4. Bent-Over Tricep Kickbacks
If you’re looking to strengthen the back of your arms, you want to train your triceps.
Kickbacks are a simple way to isolate the triceps while maintaining a bent-over position.
Focus on: Keeping your upper arm relatively still and extending your elbow rather than swinging the weight.
5. Shoulder Press
Now we’re bringing in a bigger movement.
The shoulder press works the shoulders and also involves the triceps.
It’s also a great example of training for something that has nothing to do with a mirror: being strong enough to push, press and reach overhead in everyday life.
6. Overhead Tricep Extensions
Finally, we’re finishing with an overhead tricep extension.
This gives us another way to challenge the triceps and rounds out our upper-body workout.
Together, these six movements give you a simple combination of biceps, triceps and shoulder work without needing a complicated gym routine.
But Can These Exercises Get Rid of “Bat Wings”?
This is one of the most common questions I hear from women over 40.
And here’s the important distinction:
You can’t choose where your body loses fat.
Doing more tricep exercises won’t specifically burn the fat from the back of your arms.
But strength training can help you build and maintain the muscle underneath, which can improve the overall appearance, strength and function of your arms.
That’s why I prefer talking about building strong, defined arms rather than trying to “get rid of” a particular body part.
How Often Should Women Over 40 Strength Train?
There isn’t one perfect number that works for everyone.
But resistance training should be a regular part of your fitness routine as you move through your 40s, 50s and beyond.
And you don’t need every workout to be an hour long.
A focused 20-minute workout can be a great option when you’re short on time — especially when you’re consistent with it.
Twenty minutes done consistently is far more valuable than an hour-long workout you never get around to doing.
Ready to Do the Full 20-Minute Workout?
I’ve taken these six exercises and turned them into a complete 20-minute upper-body workout for women over 40.
You can follow along with me from home and train your biceps, triceps and shoulders without needing a complicated routine.
If you’re over 40 and want to build strength, maintain muscle and feel strong in your body, this is a great workout to add to your routine.
And remember:
We’re not exercising because we’re trying to get our younger bodies back.
We’re training because we want to be strong for the body we’re in now.
Let’s get stronger together. 💪