Something shifts at 45. And it’s not what you’ve been told.
Yes, your hormones are changing. You may notice changes in your estrogen levels, and that muscle is becoming harder to hold onto1. Perhaps recovery is taking longer than it used to.
But here’s what the fitness industry has been slow to say out loud: this chapter, approached with the right knowledge and the right tools, is one of the most powerful windows for building lasting strength. Not in spite of the changes happening in your body, but because of what you now know about it.
Women over 45 who commit to strength training don’t just maintain their health – they actively build it2. Research shows that resistance training for women over 45 has been linked to improved bone density, sharpened insulin sensitivity, better cognitive function, and the development of lean muscle that acts as metabolic armor for the decades ahead2.
Yet, while the science is clear, women are still missing the full picture when it comes to menopause – and how resistance training can help you navigate these changes to set your body and mind up for success. Below, we’ll take a look at what’s actually happening in your body after 45, and why it’s crucial to understand it. Then, we’ll explore how Joi + Blokes – through its pioneering partnership with F45 Training – can help you do just that.
What starts happening in your body after 45?
As estrogen declines during perimenopause and menopause, a few things begin to happen:
- Muscle protein synthesis slows, making it harder to build and retain lean mass.
- Bone density decreases, raising the risk of osteoporosis.
- Insulin sensitivity can drop, affecting how your body manages blood sugar and stores fat.
- Sleep quality often changes, which directly impacts recovery and cortisol, your primary stress hormone3.
Some of these changes may sound alarming, but we have good news.
Resistance training is one of the most effective interventions known to science for addressing every single one of these changes. The benefits of muscle training include its ability to stimulate bone remodeling and rebuild insulin sensitivity, as well as preserve and grow lean muscle4. But is there a way to take your resistance workouts to the next level?
There is – by combining your training with an understanding of what’s actually happening inside your body. Whether it’s your hormone levels, your recovery markers, or your nutrient status, pairing your workouts with tailored insights into your body means your results won’t only improve – they’ll become predictable.
“Women over 45 are often told to accept fatigue, muscle loss, and changes in body composition as inevitable,” says Torrie Clontz, DNP, FNP, Clinical Team at Joi+Blokes.
“What we see clinically is that when women combine resistance training with a deeper understanding of their hormones, recovery, and metabolic health, they’re able to build strength, energy, and resilience in ways they didn’t think were possible.”
What this means in practice is that if you’re training the same way you did at 30 and wondering why results feel different, it’s not a willpower problem. It’s a biology problem. And biology responds to data. So – how can you effectively understand your biology?
This is where F45 and Joi + Blokes come in.
F45 delivers the programming: functional training that creates the progressive overload, metabolic demand, and community accountability that make consistency possible. Joi + Blokes delivers the biological intelligence: comprehensive diagnostic labs, a real clinical consultation (not a PDF, not a chatbot), and personalized protocols built entirely around your biomarkers, your symptoms, and your goals.
Want to learn more? As an F45 member, you can access 50% off lab testing and 50% off your first month of personalized supplements through Joi + Blokes.
Activate your exclusive offer now.
Strength is the single best investment in your long-term health
The research on functional and resistance training for women over 45 is unambiguous.
Building and maintaining lean muscle mass is one of the strongest predictors of long-term health outcomes5, more so than cardiovascular fitness alone. Muscle isn’t just aesthetic, it’s metabolic infrastructure. It’s what allows you to be strong at 60, move without pain at 70, and have the energy and clarity that most people assume they have to give up with age.
At F45, the model is built precisely for this kind of progressive, sustainable adaptation. With cardio, resistance, and hybrid sessions that create varied stimulus across 45 purposeful minutes, the programming gives your body the kind of training it needs to keep building – not only this year, but across decades.
But here’s what the research also shows: the benefits of strength training for women are profoundly shaped by internal physiology. You can show up consistently and train hard every week – but if your hormones, recovery systems, and nutrient levels aren’t working with you, you’ll be leaving results on the table.
“Functional training creates the stimulus for change, but personalized medicine helps women understand what their body needs to adapt and thrive,” continues Torrie Clontz of Joi+Blokes. “When you combine movement, community, and biomarker-guided care, you create a much more sustainable approach to long-term health and performance.”
The biomarkers that change everything
Most women over 45 have never had a comprehensive hormone panel. They’ve been told their results are “normal”, which really means within a broad population range, not optimized for performance, energy, or recovery.
But when you have this picture, you stop guessing. You start building with precision.
Read on to explore what this data can actually reveal.
Estrogen and progesterone
Declining levels affect not just mood and sleep, but muscle protein synthesis, fat distribution, bone density, and heart health. Understanding where you are in that transition helps you train and recover more effectively6.
Testosterone
Often overlooked in women, testosterone plays a direct role in lean muscle development, libido, energy, and mental drive. Low levels, even subclinical, can make it significantly harder to build strength, regardless of training volume7.
Cortisol
Chronically elevated cortisol disrupts your body’s homeostasis – the balance it’s constantly trying to maintain as it attempts to regulate stress levels, heart rate, and the ever-changing demands of our environment. Over time, this leads to slower recovery, drives fat storage around the midsection, and suppresses the anabolic hormones needed for muscle growth8.
If you’re training hard and not recovering well, cortisol is often the culprit.
Thyroid markers
Thyroid function affects metabolic rate, energy levels, and the body’s ability to utilize nutrients. Suboptimal thyroid function is common in women over 45 and frequently goes undetected on basic panels9.
Iron and ferritin
Iron plays a key role in oxygen transport, energy production, and endurance, while ferritin reflects the body’s stored iron reserves10. Low levels can contribute to fatigue, reduced stamina, slower recovery, and difficulty maintaining intensity during workouts, even before a true deficiency is diagnosed.
For women over 45, shifts in hormones, recovery demands, and overall metabolism can all affect iron status. Understanding both iron and ferritin levels can provide valuable insight into energy, performance, and your body’s ability to adapt effectively to training.
Vitamin D
Critical for bone health, immune function, and muscle performance, vitamin D deficiency is widespread and often invisible without testing11.
Inflammatory markers (hsCRP)
Chronic low-grade inflammation becomes more common during perimenopause and menopause, partly due to shifting hormone levels, changes in sleep quality, stress, and recovery demands. Over time, elevated inflammation can interfere with muscle repair, slow recovery between workouts, and make it harder for the body to adapt positively to training12.
This is where biomarkers like hsCRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein) become valuable.
Elevated hsCRP levels may indicate that the body is under ongoing physiological stress, even when symptoms are subtle. Women experiencing persistent fatigue, prolonged soreness, disrupted recovery, or difficulty progressing in training may unknowingly be dealing with higher levels of systemic inflammation.
Understanding inflammatory markers provides important context around how your body is responding to stress, exercise, sleep, and nutrition. Combined with the right recovery strategies, personalized clinical support, and a sustainable fitness routine, these insights can help create an environment where strength and resilience are easier to build and maintain.
What does personalized support look like in practice?
From personalized daily supplements and creatine to hormone optimization and ongoing coaching, tailored support looks different for everyone.
Hormone optimization
Supporting estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone to levels that are functional, not just “normal”, helps preserve lean muscle, protect bone density, stabilize mood and cognition, and keep metabolism working efficiently13.
Personalized daily supplements
These are built from your lab results, lifestyle, sleep patterns, and training load – not off the shelf. Think targeted support for recovery, energy, hormonal balance, and immune health, designed around your body specifically. All from a licensed clinician at Joi + Blokes, so you develop an understanding of what those results actually mean.
Creatine
Particularly relevant for women over 45, creatine benefits not only your strength and power output, but bone health, brain energy metabolism, and cellular function too. Research increasingly shows that women, especially post-menopause, synthesize and store less creatine than men, making supplementation especially meaningful in this life stage14.
Ongoing coaching
Your biology shifts. Your protocol should too.
That’s why the support Joi + Blokes offers isn’t a one-time snapshot, but an ongoing series of clinical follow-ups that evolve alongside you. This way, you’ll have an experienced professional with you on your journey – helping you stay motivated and avoid burnout.
How strength can compound as women age
The women who thrive in this chapter aren’t training more. They’re training smarter.
They’re showing up at F45’s group fitness classes: building lean muscle and pairing that effort with genuine insight into what’s happening beneath the surface.
They’re not training to chase the body they had at 30 – they’re building something more durable. They’re cultivating strength that protects their bones, fuels their brain, steadies their energy, boosts their endorphins, and carries them into the decades ahead with confidence.
This is what it means to train for longevity. Not surviving your workouts; investing in them!
As an F45 member, you can access 50% off lab testing and 50% off your first month of personalized supplements through Joi + Blokes.
Because your next chapter isn’t a slowdown. It’s the chapter where everything you’ve built starts to compound.
Ready to get started? Activate your exclusive F45 Training x Joi + Blokes offer now.
