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Exercises

Strength training for perimenopause: heavier, simpler, 2 to 3 days

Published October 29, 2026

Strength training for perimenopause works best built on a few heavy compound lifts: a deadlift (trap bar or Romanian), a squat or leg press, a hip thrust, a press (dumbbell bench or shoulder press), a pull (lat pulldown or row) and a heavy carry. Lift 2 or 3 days a week, take the main lifts to 5 to 8 reps with 1 to 2 reps left, and do the rest in the 8 to 12 range. That is heavier than most toning classes, and it is the part that builds strength. The same plan carries on through menopause and after.

  1. Trap Bar Deadlift Quads, Glutes
  2. Goblet Squat Quads, Glutes
  3. Leg Press Quads, Glutes
  4. Hip Thrust Glutes
  5. Flat Dumbbell Press Chest
  6. Lat Pulldown Lats
  7. Seated Cable Row Upper Back, Lats
  8. Farmer's Walk Forearms, Traps, Shoulders

Deadlifts and hinges

Hinges load your hips, hamstrings and the full length of your back through your legs. The trap bar deadlift is the lift to take heavy, the Romanian deadlift adds hamstring work at moderate weight, and the hip thrust loads the glutes without loading your spine much.

Glutes, quads and back, deadlift

Trap Bar Deadlift

Quads, Glutes

It is the heaviest lift you can learn quickly: the weight sits at your sides and your back stays more upright than in a straight-bar deadlift. Sets of 4 to 8 reps with real weight are the core of the gym plans.

How to do it

  1. Step inside the trap bar with the handles beside your feet.
  2. Push your hips back, bend your knees, and grip the handles.
  3. Flatten your back, take the slack out, and stand up by pushing the floor away.
  4. Lower under control. Each warm-up set adds weight toward your working sets.

Cues

  • Push the floor away
  • Flat back
  • Slack out before you pull

Common mistakes

  • Yanking the bar off the floor: pull the slack out first.
  • Rounding the back as the weight climbs: hold the ramp until the setup is solid.

Swap for: Barbell Deadlift, Romanian Deadlift, Kettlebell Deadlift

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Hamstrings and glutes, hinge

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Hamstrings, Glutes

The RDL teaches you to hinge with a flat back and builds the hamstrings at a moderate weight. It is the home deadlift and a second hinge in the gym.

How to do it

  1. Stand hip-width apart with a dumbbell in each hand resting against the front of your thighs, palms facing you.
  2. Push your hips straight back and let your torso fold forward, knees softly bent, the dumbbells brushing your legs.
  3. Lower until the dumbbells pass your knees and you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings, with your back still flat.
  4. Drive your hips forward to stand back up, squeezing your glutes at the top, and repeat.

Cues

  • Hips back, not down
  • Dumbbells slide down your legs
  • Flat back, chin tucked

Common mistakes

  • Bending the knees into a squat so the dumbbells go lower: the depth comes from the hips, and most people stop just past the knees.
  • Rounding the lower back at the bottom: end the rep where your back stays flat, and lighten the load if that is high.

Swap for: Single-Leg RDL, Dumbbell Good Morning, Kettlebell Deadlift

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Glutes, loaded hip extension

Hip Thrust

Glutes

The hip thrust lets you load the glutes heavily with your upper back on a bench, so there is little load through your spine. It suits days when your back feels stiff.

How to do it

  1. Sit with your shoulder blades against the long side of a flat bench and roll a padded bar over your hips.
  2. Plant your feet flat about hip width apart, close enough that your shins are vertical at the top.
  3. Drive through your heels and lift your hips until your torso and thighs form a straight line.
  4. Hold the top for a second with your chin tucked, then lower your hips most of the way down and repeat.

Cues

  • Chin tucked, ribs down
  • Shins vertical at the top
  • One-second squeeze

Common mistakes

  • Arching your lower back to get higher: stop when your hips are level with your knees and squeeze your glutes there.
  • Feet too far out, which turns it into a hamstring exercise: bring them in until your shins are vertical at lockout.

Swap for: Dumbbell Hip Thrust, Smith Machine Hip Thrust, Dumbbell Glute Bridge

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Squats, leg press and step-ups

Squatting patterns load your thighs and hips with your body upright. The goblet squat is where to learn and the home main lift, the leg press is where you can go heaviest with your back supported, and the step-up trains one leg at a time.

Quads and glutes, squat

Goblet Squat

Quads, Glutes

Holding the weight at your chest keeps you upright and makes depth easy to find. It is the main squat in the home plan and the warm-up squat everywhere else.

How to do it

  1. Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell vertically against your chest.
  2. Sit down between your knees, elbows inside them at the bottom.
  3. Stand up tall.

Cues

  • Elbows nudge the knees out at the bottom.
  • Chest stays up behind the weight.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the weight pull you forward.

Swap for: Bodyweight Squat, Barbell Back Squat

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Quads and glutes, machine press

Leg Press

Quads, Glutes

The leg press lets you train your legs heavy without balancing a bar, and you can rack it at any point in the rep. It is the heavy squat pattern in the gym plans.

How to do it

  1. Sit in the machine with your whole back against the pad and your feet hip-width on the platform.
  2. Release the safety handles and bend your knees, bringing the platform toward you under control.
  3. Lower until your knees are bent to about 90 degrees or a little deeper, without your lower back curling off the pad.
  4. Press the platform away until your legs are nearly straight, and repeat.

Cues

  • Lower back stays on the pad
  • Whole foot pushes
  • Stop just short of locking out

Common mistakes

  • Going so deep that your hips roll up off the seat: stop where your back stays flat.
  • Snapping the knees straight at the top: keep a soft bend.

Swap for: 45-Degree Leg Press, Hack Squat, Barbell Back Squat

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Quads and glutes, single-leg

Step-Up

Quads, Glutes

Stepping onto a bench trains each leg alone and copies stairs and getting up from the floor. Start low and raise the box as you get stronger.

How to do it

  1. Stand facing the bench with two dumbbells.
  2. Place one whole foot on the bench.
  3. Lean forward a little and push through the top foot to stand up on the bench.
  4. Bring the other foot up only to touch, then lower it back to the floor.
  5. Finish all reps on one leg before switching.

Cues

  • Whole foot on the bench
  • Push through the top heel
  • Lower slowly, do not drop

Common mistakes

  • Pushing off the floor with the back foot: that halves the work. Keep the trailing foot light.
  • Using a bench so high that your knee is far above your hip: you will rock instead of step.

Swap for: Barbell Step-Up

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Presses

One horizontal press and one overhead press per week cover your chest, shoulders and triceps. Dumbbells let each arm find its own path, which is often easier on the shoulders than a barbell.

Chest, shoulders and triceps, press

Flat Dumbbell Press

Chest

The dumbbell bench press is the main upper-body push in the gym plans. Each arm moves on its own path, so a weaker side shows up and catches up.

How to do it

  1. Lying on a flat bench, hold two dumbbells above your chest.
  2. Lower the bells to the sides of your chest with elbows at about 45 degrees.
  3. Press them back up over your shoulders.

Cues

  • Shoulder blades pinched.
  • Control the lowering.

Common mistakes

  • Flaring the elbows straight out.

Swap for: Push-Up, Barbell Bench Press

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Shoulders and triceps, overhead press

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Shoulders

Pressing overhead builds the shoulders and triceps, and seated on a sturdy chair it needs no bench at home.

How to do it

  1. Set a bench upright or one notch back from vertical, sit with your feet flat, and rest a dumbbell on each thigh.
  2. Kick one knee up at a time to bring the dumbbells to shoulder height, then set your back against the pad.
  3. Turn your elbows slightly forward so they sit a little in front of your torso, palms facing forward or angled in.
  4. Drive both weights overhead on a slight inward arc until your elbows are straight, keeping your ribs down and your back on the pad.
  5. Lower slowly until the dumbbells are around ear height or a bit below, then press again.

Cues

  • Ribs down, back on the pad
  • Elbows a little forward
  • Press up and slightly in

Common mistakes

  • Arching your lower back off the pad to finish reps: that turns it into an incline press, so lighten the weight and keep your ribs stacked over your hips.
  • Flaring the elbows straight out at shoulder height: bring them a little forward so the shoulder joint stays comfortable at the bottom.
  • Stopping each rep well above your ears: lower to around ear height so the delts work through a full range.

Swap for: Machine Shoulder Press, Arnold Press, Landmine Press

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Rows and pulldowns

Pulling builds your upper back and lats, the muscles that hold your shoulders back. Match your pressing sets with pulling sets every week.

Lats, vertical pull

Lat Pulldown

Lats

The pulldown trains the large back muscles with a weight you choose, and it progresses in small steps. It is the main pull in the gym plans.

How to do it

  1. Set the thigh pad so your legs are locked under it, then stand up and take the bar a little wider than your shoulders, palms forward.
  2. Sit down with your arms fully stretched overhead and lean back only slightly.
  3. Pull the bar to your upper chest by driving your elbows down toward your hips.
  4. Let the bar rise until your arms are straight and your shoulders lift toward your ears, then pull again.

Cues

  • Elbows to your back pockets
  • Bar to the top of the chest
  • Let the stack lift you at the top

Common mistakes

  • Leaning far back and rowing the bar to your stomach: stay nearly upright so it remains a vertical pull.
  • Stopping with the arms still bent at the top: the stretch overhead is half of what makes the pulldown work.

Swap for: Assisted Pull-Up, Single-Arm Lat Pulldown, One-Arm Dumbbell Row

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Upper back and lats, horizontal pull

Seated Cable Row

Upper Back, Lats

The seated row trains the muscles between your shoulder blades, and the cable stack moves in small steps. Pair it with every press day.

How to do it

  1. Sit at the cable row with your feet on the platform and knees slightly bent, holding a close-grip handle with your arms straight.
  2. Sit tall with your chest up and let the cable pull your shoulder blades forward a little.
  3. Row the handle to your lower ribs, driving your elbows back past your torso.
  4. Return it under control until your arms are straight and your shoulders reach forward, then repeat.

Cues

  • Sit tall, no rocking
  • Handle to the belly button
  • Shoulders reach at the front

Common mistakes

  • Rocking back and forth to move the stack: your torso should stay close to upright throughout.
  • Shrugging the handle up toward your neck: pull your shoulders down before the elbows bend.

Swap for: Chest-Supported Row, Single-Arm Cable Row, Barbell Row

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Lats and upper back, one-arm row

One-Arm Dumbbell Row

Lats, Upper Back

With one dumbbell and a chair you can row heavy at home. Supporting yourself with one hand keeps your lower back out of the lift.

How to do it

  1. Put one hand and the same-side knee on a bench, or your hand on a chair seat with both feet on the floor, so your back is flat.
  2. Hold a dumbbell in the other hand with your arm hanging straight.
  3. Pull your elbow back toward your hip until the dumbbell reaches your ribs.
  4. Lower it until your arm is straight again, finish all reps, then switch sides.

Cues

  • Elbow to your hip
  • Back flat as a table
  • Full stretch at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Twisting your chest open to lift the dumbbell higher: keep both shoulders level.
  • Shrugging the shoulder up toward your ear: pull the elbow back, not the shoulder up.

Swap for: Band Bent-Over Row, Dumbbell Bent-Over Row, Seated Cable Row

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Heavy carries

Picking up heavy dumbbells and walking loads your whole body, from grip to feet, in the way daily life does. Two or three sets at the end of a session is plenty.

Grip, core and traps, carry

Farmer's Walk

Forearms, Traps, Shoulders

Carrying the heaviest dumbbells you can hold trains grip, posture and your whole trunk. It is the easiest exercise here to make heavier week by week.

How to do it

  1. Pick up two heavy dumbbells with your back flat.
  2. Stand tall with your ribs down and walk with short, quick steps.
  3. Set the weights down with a flat back when the time or distance is up.

Cues

  • Ribs down
  • Crush the handles
  • Quick steps

Common mistakes

  • Letting the shoulders round forward.
  • Walking so slowly the dumbbells start to swing.

Swap for: Dumbbell Suitcase Carry, Dumbbell Single-Arm Overhead Carry

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Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in.

Session 1

New to lifting, at home, two days

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets22 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Flat Bench

You are in perimenopause, new or returning to strength training, and you have a few pairs of dumbbells at home and two sessions a week.

Two full-body sessions of 11 sets give each major muscle 6 to 9 sets a week. The first four weeks keep 2 to 3 reps in reserve while you learn the lifts; after that, the goblet squat and Romanian deadlift move to 2 reps in reserve.

Session A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Goblet Squat2 warm-up sets first 3 × 8–12 3 2 min
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
One-Arm Dumbbell RowPer arm. 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Farmer's WalkSteps. Heaviest pair you own. 2 × 30–40 2 90 s

Open Session A in the session builder

Session B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift2 warm-up sets first 3 × 8–12 3 2 min
Step-UpPer leg. 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
One-Arm Dumbbell RowPer arm. 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 2 × 8–12 2 90 s

Open Session B in the session builder

How to run it
Leave two or three days between Session A and Session B, such as Monday and Thursday. Add a walk on other days if you feel like it.
How to progress
Reps first, then load: when every set reaches the top of the range at the planned reps in reserve, go up a dumbbell size. Once your heaviest pair is easy for goblet squats and RDLs, it is time for a gym or heavier weights.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

In the gym, three days with heavy main lifts

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets39 a week
  • Per workout~45 min
  • EquipmentTrap Bar, Dumbbells, Flat Bench, Cable Row +3

You have some lifting experience, you have a gym, and you want a plan that takes the big lifts heavy three times a week.

Each day opens with one heavy lift for 4 sets of 4 to 8 reps, then two or three lighter lifts for 8 to 12. That is 13 sets per session and 39 a week, with every major muscle trained two or three times.

Day A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Trap Bar Deadlift3 warm-up sets first 4 × 4–6 2 3 min
Flat Dumbbell Press1 warm-up set first 3 × 6–10 2 2:30 min
Seated Cable Row 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Step-UpPer leg. 3 × 8–10 2 90 s

Open Day A in the session builder

Day B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Leg Press2 warm-up sets first 4 × 6–8 2 3 min
Dumbbell Shoulder Press1 warm-up set first 3 × 6–10 2 2:30 min
Lat Pulldown 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Hip Thrust 3 × 8–12 2 2 min

Open Day B in the session builder

Day C
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift2 warm-up sets first 4 × 6–8 2 2:30 min
Flat Dumbbell Press 3 × 8–12 2 2 min
One-Arm Dumbbell RowPer arm. 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Farmer's WalkSteps. 3 × 30–40 2 2 min

Open Day C in the session builder

How to run it
Train three non-consecutive days, doing A, B and C in order. On a low-energy day, keep the heavy lift and stop after it if you need to.
How to progress
Heavy lifts go up when all 4 sets hit the top of their range with 2 reps in reserve; the rest use double progression. If a heavy lift stalls for three sessions, take 10 percent off and build back up.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Two short heavy days when sleep and energy are unpredictable

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets26 a week
  • Per workout~45 min
  • EquipmentTrap Bar, Dumbbells, Flat Bench, Lat Pulldown +3

You already lift, but broken sleep and up-and-down energy make long or frequent sessions hard to keep up.

Two 40-minute sessions of 13 sets keep every big lift in your week: about 11 sets for legs and hips and 6 for each upper-body pattern. Short, heavy and simple is easier to keep doing on a bad week than a longer plan you skip.

Heavy A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Trap Bar Deadlift3 warm-up sets first 4 × 4–6 2 3 min
Flat Dumbbell Press1 warm-up set first 3 × 6–10 2 2:30 min
Lat Pulldown 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Hip Thrust 3 × 8–12 2 2 min

Open Heavy A in the session builder

Heavy B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Leg Press2 warm-up sets first 4 × 6–8 2 3 min
Dumbbell Shoulder Press1 warm-up set first 3 × 6–10 2 2:30 min
Seated Cable Row 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Farmer's WalkSteps. 3 × 30–40 2 2 min

Open Heavy B in the session builder

How to run it
Pick any two days that are not back to back, with a couple of days between. After a poor night's sleep, train anyway and aim for 3 reps in reserve instead of 2.
How to progress
Log the reps in reserve honestly on every set. Topping the range at the target means more weight next time; on low-energy days, repeat the last weight rather than pushing. RIRLift sets the next session's weight from what you logged.
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Make it fit you

Questions

What type of strength training is best for perimenopause?

Heavy compound lifts done 2 or 3 times a week: deadlifts, squats or leg press, hip thrusts, presses and rows. Take the main lifts to 5 to 8 reps with 1 or 2 reps left in the tank and add weight over time. Light circuits with high reps are a fine start but should not be the whole plan.

How many days a week should a perimenopausal woman strength train?

Two or three. Two full-body days covers every muscle twice; three lets you add more sets. More days than that rarely helps when sleep and recovery are unpredictable.

How many times a week should a 45-year-old woman lift weights?

Two to three times, with at least one rest day between sessions that work the same muscles. Consistency over months matters more than the exact number.

Is it safe to lift heavy during perimenopause?

Heavy is relative: a weight you can lift 4 to 8 times with good form and 1 or 2 reps to spare. Build up to it over a few weeks of lighter sets while you learn each lift, and keep the warm-up sets before the first heavy lift.

Does strength training for menopause look any different?

Not much. The same lifts, rep ranges and weekly frequency work before, during and after menopause. Adjust the sets and reps in reserve to how you are sleeping and recovering.