Building Strength After 40? Don’t Overlook Recovery

There is a lot of information about the importance of strength training as we get older, and for good reason. Maintaining muscle is incredibly important for strength, metabolic health, blood sugar regulation, bone health, mobility and our ability to continue doing the things we love as we age.

But there is another part of building and maintaining muscle that I don’t think women talk about enough:

Recovery.

Exercise provides the stimulus. Your body still needs the resources to recover and adapt to that exercise.

A 2025 review published in Sports Medicine looked at nutritional strategies for post-exercise recovery and subsequent exercise performance. Among the strategies researchers reviewed, carbohydrates, protein and fluids had some of the strongest evidence supporting their role in recovery.

I like to think about these as three simple steps:

Refuel. Repair. Rehydrate.

1. Refuel: Don’t Be Afraid of Carbohydrates

Your muscles store carbohydrates in the form of glycogen. When you exercise, particularly during longer or more intense workouts, you use some of those stored carbohydrates for energy. Afterward, your body needs to replenish them.

This is particularly important if you exercise frequently or need to perform again within a relatively short period of time, and this is something many active women get wrong.

We have spent decades telling women to exercise more and eat less. Then carbohydrates became something many people believed they needed to restrict even further. But if you’re asking your body to train, build muscle and perform, you also need to give it adequate fuel.

That doesn’t mean everyone needs a giant carbohydrate load immediately after every workout. It means carbohydrates can absolutely be part of a healthy post-workout meal. Pair them with protein and build a real meal.

Some simple examples include:

• Greek yogurt with berries

• Eggs with sourdough toast or potatoes

• A protein smoothie with fruit

• Chicken with rice and vegetables

• Cottage cheese with fruit

• Fish with a sweet potato and vegetables

The amount you need will depend on your workout, body size, goals and how frequently you’re training.

2. Repair: Prioritize Protein

If you’re trying to maintain or build muscle, protein matters. Protein provides essential amino acids your body uses to repair and build muscle tissue following exercise. But I don’t want women thinking only about their post-workout protein shake.

Your total protein intake throughout the day matters.

One of the patterns I frequently see is a relatively low-protein breakfast, a light lunch and then most of the day’s protein consumed at dinner. I would rather see protein distributed throughout the day. For many women, aiming for approximately 25–40 grams of high-quality protein at a meal is a practical place to start, although individual protein needs vary. Think beyond chicken and steak, too. Eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, fish, seafood and quality protein powders can all help you reach your needs. You don't need to be perfect, you need to be consistent.

3. Rehydrate: Water Isn’t Always the Whole Story

Hydration is another part of recovery that is incredibly easy to overlook. When you exercise, you lose fluid. And when you sweat, you’re also losing electrolytes, particularly sodium.

So don’t wait until the end of a hard workout to suddenly realize you haven’t had anything to drink all day. Hydration should start well before your workout. Drink consistently throughout the day and replace fluids afterward.

If you’re exercising intensely, training for longer periods, working out in the heat or you’re someone who sweats heavily, adding electrolytes may also be helpful.

LMNT is the electrolyte I personally use, particularly around workouts, tennis, hot weather and days when I know I’m sweating more.

The goal is to stay ahead of your hydration needs rather than trying to catch up once you’re already depleted. Replacing both fluids and the electrolytes you lose through sweat can help support hydration, recovery and how you feel heading into your next workout.

What About Creatine?

Creatine deserves its own mention. It is one of the most researched sports nutrition supplements available and has extensive research supporting its ability to enhance adaptations to resistance training, including strength and power. Creatine helps increase phosphocreatine availability in muscle. Your body uses this system to rapidly regenerate ATP, the energy your muscles rely on for short, high-intensity efforts.

Creatine is also part of my daily routine. One thing I want women to understand is that you don’t need to worry about taking creatine during some perfect post-workout window.

Consistency is more important than timing.

For most healthy adults, 5 grams of creatine monohydrate daily is a commonly used maintenance amount, and creatine isn’t just for bodybuilders. If maintaining muscle, strength and physical performance as we age is the goal, it is absolutely worth knowing about.

Recovery Is More Than Nutrition

There is one more piece I don’t want to leave out:

Sleep.

You can get your protein, carbohydrates and hydration right, but if you’re consistently sleeping five hours a night and running yourself into the ground, you’re missing an important part of recovery.

Recovery also means allowing your nervous system and your entire body time to recover from the stress you’re putting on it.

More exercise isn’t always better.

Better training paired with adequate nutrition, hydration and sleep is a much better long-term strategy.

The Bigger Picture for Women Over 40

I want women lifting weights.

I want us challenging our muscles.

I want us staying active and doing things that keep us strong, mobile and capable for decades to come.

But I don’t want women responding to midlife body changes by continually eating less and exercising more.

Your body needs resources to adapt to exercise. So the next time you finish a workout, don’t just check the exercise box and move on with your day. Ask yourself:

Did I refuel?

Did I get enough protein to repair?

Am I rehydrating?

Am I giving my body enough recovery to actually benefit from the work I’m doing?

Training matters.

But recovery is part of training too.

Train. Fuel. Recover. Get stronger.

What I Use

If you’re curious about the products I personally use, I’ve linked my creatine and LMNT electrolytes throughout this post. For other supplements and products I use and recommend, you can also visit my Fullscript online store.

These products aren’t substitutes for adequate food, protein, carbohydrates, hydration or sleep. They’re simply tools I use alongside those foundations.

Reference

Naderi A, Rothschild JA, Santos HO, et al. Nutritional Strategies to Improve Post-exercise Recovery and Subsequent Exercise Performance: A Narrative Review. Sports Medicine. 2025;55:1559–1577. PMID: 40221559. View the study on PubMed