Yes, lifting weights is important to see results as you reach menopause and declining oestrogen levels accelerate muscle and bone loss, but thinking you have to lift as heavy as humanly possible every time you attempt to train can be counterproductive. It can put you off training at all, so etch this into your brain in black marker pen: you don’t have to.
As 58-year-old fitness coach and nutritionist Theresa Moloney says on Instagram, regularly lifting enough to challenge yourself – not to your max, but with noticeable resistance – is enough to see results. Especially if you want to build your arms.
‘Want sculpted arms after 50? Stop thinking you have to lift heavy in every workout,’ Moloney explains. ‘The secret isn’t lifting the heaviest weights you can lift. It’s consistently training your muscles, using the right amount of resistance, and progressively challenging yourself over time. Some workouts I lift heavier. Some workouts I focus on control, range of motion and really feeling the muscle work.’
As a Pilates instructor, I can explain: control matters because it keeps your muscles under tension for longer, without letting momentum take over, so your muscles are forced to work harder. A full range of motion also helps you maintain good form and challenges your muscles for longer as you perform each move for longer than if you only lowered the weight, say, half of the way down. Lifting as heavy as you can often means that you naturally let momentum take over and your form suffers, so you’re essentially cheating the exercise.
Then there’s the fact that if you lift as heavy as possible in every session, you’ll likely need longer recovery time and more frequent rest days – doing less but more often can be more effective.
With over 25 years of experience training women through perimenopause, menopause and midlife, Moloney has fine-tuned the best routine to build muscle without overdoing it. ‘This is one of my favourite workout combinations,’ she says, speaking of the four exercises she swears by. Find the moves below, along with why Moloney finds them so effective, how heavy to lift, and how many reps and sets to do.
4 best arm exercises
Weights to use: 2 x 2-3kg dumbbells
Do: 6-12 reps of each exercise x 3 sets
Bicep curl + overhead shoulder press 
- Moloney says: ‘Start with a bicep curl into overhead shoulder press. This targets your biceps, your shoulders, and gives you that strong upper body look.’
- How to do it: Stand tall with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing forwards. Curl the weights towards your shoulders, then press them overhead. Lower back to your shoulders, then slowly straighten your arms.
Single-arm lateral raise 
- Moloney says: ‘Next, one arm lateral raise. This targets your shoulders and gives you that beautiful arm shape.’
- How to do it: Stand tall with a dumbbell in one hand. Keeping your arm slightly bent, raise the weight out to the side until it reaches shoulder height, just slightly in front of your shoulder line. Slowly lower.
Straight arm kickback
- Moloney says: ‘Next it’s a straight arm kickback. Slow and controlled, pause at the top and squeeze.’
- How to do it: Hinge forwards from your hips, keeping your back flat and arms straight. Drive your arms backwards behind you, squeezing your triceps, then return to the starting position.
Single-arm overhead tricep extension
- Moloney says: ‘Finish it off with a single-arm overhead tricep extension. Remember to lock that elbow out and keep it forward.’
- How to do it: Hold one dumbbell overhead with your elbow bent and pointing towards the ceiling. Straighten your arm to press the weight up, then slowly bend your elbow to lower it behind your head.
As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism.
After earning a first-class degree in journalism and NCTJ accreditation, she secured her first role at Look Magazine, where she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!
Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red. Today, she oversees all fitness content across Women’s Health online and in print, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, which showcases the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise.
She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how. Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.