Liz Earle, 62, completely changed her body with strength training – here are her tips for getting started
With so much (often contradictory) information online about strength training and what it should look like, the idea of it can feel overwhelming. So, to cut through the noise, midlife health and wellbeing guru Liz Earle has some straight-talking tips to help women get started and reap all the long-term health benefits strength work has to offer.
An abundance of research shows how valuable strength training is – at any age, but particularly as we age. In fact, a recent study of more than 5,000 women aged 63-99 published in JAMA Network Open found that greater muscular strength was associated with a significantly lower risk of death, with the researchers concluding that ‘strength and promoting its maintenance are instrumental for optimal ageing.’
Indeed, now 62, Liz, whose new book How to Age will hit shelves this month, explained in a recent YouTube video that she felt she ‘needed to start [strength training] not for aesthetics, but for long-term health – to stay strong, to stay mobile, and really importantly, to stay independent.’
‘Once I began, I noticed not only my strength improving – which you’d expect – but my body composition changing, too, because I was building lean muscle. I lost fat, and I just felt so much more powerful in my body,’ she added.
1. Start light and build gradually
While Liz follows progressive overload – gradually increasing weight or reps over time, which is crucial for building muscle – she highlighted just how gradual that can be.
‘It’s actually taken me four or five years to work up to squatting with 22kg [dumbbells] in each hand, doing maybe two or three sets of 25 repetitions,’ she said. ‘For hammer curls, I’m using 7kg dumbbells for two or three sets of 25 reps, but I actually started with just 3kg, doing a few [reps and sets].’
2. Bodyweight counts
However, ‘You can get started without any weights at all,’ she flagged. ‘I love including push-ups – never thought I’d say that, but it’s true. They are technically weight training because you’re lifting your own body weight. When I started, I could barely manage a couple. Now, I do two or three sets of 50.’
3. Work at your own pace
Stop the doomscrolling. ‘It’s not a competition – it doesn’t matter what everybody else is doing in the gym or at home, what your friends are doing, what I’m doing.’ If you’re working at your own pace, you can focus on form, which as Liz highlighted, is crucial for ensuring you’re getting the most out of an exercise.
And if she had to sum up her strength training advice in one line? ‘Start small, stay consistent and celebrate every bit of progress. Your future self – strong, stable, full of energy – will thank you for it.’
After years living with endometriosis and undergoing seven rounds of IVF, Radio 4 presenter Emma Barnett turned to training with PT Frankie Holah to rebuild strength and a more positive relationship with her body. Download the Women’s Health UK app to access Frankie’s full training plan.
Hannah Bradfield is a Senior Health and Fitness Writer for Women’s Health UK. An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Hannah graduated from Loughborough University with a BA in English and Sport Science and an MA in Media and Cultural Analysis. She has been covering sports, health and fitness for the last five years and has created content for outlets including BBC Sport, BBC Sounds, Runner’s World and Stylist. She especially enjoys interviewing those working within the community to improve access to sport, exercise and wellness. Hannah is a 2024 John Schofield Trust Fellow and was also named a 2022 Rising Star in Journalism by The Printing Charity. A keen runner, Hannah was firmly a sprinter growing up (also dabbling in long jump) but has since transitioned to longer-distance running. While 10K is her favoured race distance, she loves running or volunteering at parkrun every Saturday, followed, of course, by pastries. She’s always looking for fun new runs and races to do and brunch spots to try.
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