Why Women Over 40 Need to Stop Exercising Just to Burn Calories

For decades, women have been taught to think about exercise in terms of calories.

How many calories did I burn?

How long was I on the treadmill?

Did I sweat enough?

Did I do enough cardio?

But as we move through our 40s, 50s and beyond, there is something far more important to think about:

What am I doing to protect my strength, muscle, bones and ability to move well as I age?

Exercise can certainly help with weight management, but your workouts should be doing much more for you than simply burning calories.

Your Body Changes as You Age

Getting older does not mean becoming weak or giving up the activities you love. But maintaining muscle and strength becomes increasingly important as we age.

Muscle-strengthening exercise can help maintain or increase muscle mass and strength, while regular physical activity also supports our ability to perform everyday activities. (CDC)

For women, this is one reason exercise after 40 should not revolve exclusively around cardio or trying to burn as many calories as possible.

We should be training for the body we want to have 10, 20 and 30 years from now.

Strength Training Changes the Goal

Instead of asking:

“How many calories did I burn?”

Try asking:

“What did I make stronger today?”

Strength training challenges your muscles to work against resistance. That resistance can come from dumbbells, kettlebells, resistance bands, machines or your own body weight.

And you don’t have to become a powerlifter or lift extremely heavy weights to benefit.

Resistance should be appropriate for your current fitness level, and progression can happen gradually.

In fact, current physical activity recommendations don’t tell adults to choose between cardio and strength training. Adults are encouraged to get aerobic activity and perform muscle-strengthening activities at least two days each week. (CDC)

Cardio Isn’t the Enemy

This isn’t an article telling you to stop walking, running, cycling, dancing or taking cardio classes.

Cardiovascular exercise is important.

The problem comes when cardio becomes your entire fitness program because you believe burning calories is the primary purpose of exercise.

A well-rounded fitness routine can include:

Strength training

Cardiovascular conditioning

Balance

Mobility

Core strength

Flexibility

Recovery

As we get older, this combination becomes increasingly valuable. For adults 65 and older, current guidelines specifically recommend a combination of aerobic activity, muscle strengthening and balance activities. (CDC)

Stop Letting the Scale Determine Whether Your Workout “Worked”

You can have an incredibly productive workout without burning an enormous number of calories.

You may spend a session practicing squats, strengthening your back, improving your balance, working on your core or progressively increasing the weight you can safely lift.

The scale may never tell you what happened during that workout.

But your body will.

Maybe carrying groceries becomes easier.

Maybe getting off the floor isn’t as difficult.

Maybe you can lift something you couldn’t lift six months ago.

Maybe your balance improves.

Maybe stairs don’t feel as challenging.

Those are fitness victories too.

And ultimately, they may become some of the most important ones.

Exercise for Your Future Self

At 25, your fitness goal might have been fitting into a certain pair of jeans.

At 45, 55 or 65, your perspective can become much bigger.

You are building a body that you want to continue living in.

You want strong legs that can carry you up stairs.

Strong hips and glutes that support your movement.

A strong upper body that allows you to lift and carry things.

Good balance.

Mobility.

Endurance.

Confidence in what your body can do.

That is a very different goal from simply trying to burn off what you ate yesterday.

You Don’t Have to Be “In Shape” to Start

One of the biggest misconceptions about group fitness and strength training is that you need to get in shape before you walk through the door.

You don’t.

Your starting point is simply your starting point.

Two women can perform the same exercise using different weights, different ranges of motion and different intensities and both can be working appropriately for their individual fitness levels.

Exercise doesn’t have to be a competition.

The goal is progression.

Women Over 40: Train for More Than Calories

Keep walking.

Keep dancing.

Keep taking the cardio classes you enjoy.

But make room for strength.

Challenge your muscles.

Work on your balance.

Maintain your mobility.

Build your endurance.

And stop measuring the success of every workout by how many calories your watch says you burned.

Your workout isn’t simply about burning calories today.

It’s an investment in what you want your body to be capable of tomorrow.

At Body Blast Fitness Studio in Taunton, Massachusetts, we believe women of all fitness levels should have access to coached, progressive exercise that helps them become stronger and more confident in what their bodies can do.

Whether you’re beginning exercise for the first time, returning after years away or simply ready to change the way you train, you don’t have to figure it all out on your own.

Train for strength. Train for movement. Train for your future.