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Summary
On episode 445 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan sits down with Alana Collins, a certified fitness coach based in Victoria, British Columbia, who works primarily with clients middle age and older and wrote the book Strength Training Over 40.
Alana breaks down why strength training becomes more important, not less, after 40: it directly counters the muscle loss (sarcopenia) that starts around age 35 and helps regulate the hormones, cortisol, growth hormone, testosterone, and estrogen, that drive how we feel day to day.
The conversation also covers the real difference between inspiration and motivation, dynamic versus static stretching, and how to build an effective home gym without breaking the bank.
Links
- https://alanacollinsfitnesscoach.com
- https://www.instagram.com/agingfearless
- https://www.instagram.com/agingstrong
- Fit for Task Muscle and Strength Workshop – https://40plusfitness.com/muscle/
Key Takeaways
- Strength training changes your hormones for the better, not just your muscles. Lifting weights initially raises cortisol, but it also stimulates human growth hormone, which helps lower cortisol back down, improves insulin sensitivity, and increases testosterone in men and estrogen in women, hormones that protect bone density and heart health.
- Sarcopenia, age-related muscle loss, starts around 35 even though most people don't notice it until 50. Because muscle mass drives metabolism, losing it slows your metabolism down long before it becomes obvious, which is why Alana argues the earlier you start strength training, the better, though it's never too late.
- Inspiration and motivation are not the same thing, and mixing them up derails people. Inspiration comes from outside, like Instagram or magazines, while motivation comes from internalizing your own “why,” and when motivation fades, discipline is what carries you the rest of the way.
- Menopause often gets blamed for problems that are really the result of years of small choices. Alana argues that hormone imbalances tied to insulin and cortisol, not menopause itself, drive many of the complaints women attribute to it.
- Dynamic stretching belongs before training, static stretching belongs after. Dynamic movements like leg swings and high knees warm up joints and raise heart rate before lifting, while static stretches (hamstrings, quads) should come afterward and be held for 15 to 30 seconds, not the 3 or 4 seconds most people give them.
- Being very flexible without strength creates unstable, injury-prone joints. Alana pushes back on the old model of stretching well beyond natural range of motion, arguing the goal is to be “as flexible as you need to be,” meaning every joint can do what it was built to do, nothing more.
- Walking alone will not keep your legs strong forever. Alana hears from clients who assume daily walking is enough, but without purposeful strength training, muscle still declines over time regardless of how much low-intensity movement you get.
- A useful home gym does not require much equipment. Resistance bands of varying strength, two or three sets of dumbbells, a stability ball, a mat, and optionally a pull-up bar or TRX straps are enough to run a full strength program without a gym membership.
- Alana's three strategies to get and stay well: guard your state of mind (speak to yourself kindly, stay connected to others, and be of service); keep your brain stimulated by learning new things and stepping outside your comfort zone; and exercise your body out of self-respect, not as punishment, with regular strength training and at least three sessions a week that challenge your heart.
“Muscle knows no age, but the sooner you start, the longer you will have to reap those benefits of a strong body.”
Alana Collins
Another Episode You May Enjoy
Episode 449 – How to improve your wellness and age later – Dr. Nir Barzilai