Why You’re Struggling to Build Muscle in Perimenopause and How to Fix It.

Why You’re Struggling to Build Muscle in Perimenopause and How to Fix It

Building muscle during perimenopause can be a challenge, but it’s absolutely possible with the right strategies. Many women in this phase of life experience slower muscle gains, leading to frustration. If you’ve been putting in the work and not seeing the results you want, here are some reasons why—and how to start making real progress.

1. Hormonal Changes

During perimenopause, levels of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone fluctuate. These hormones play a key role in muscle recovery and building lean muscle mass. As estrogen declines, it affects your ability to recover from workouts, build muscle, and maintain bone density.

How to Fix It: Focus on strength training and resistance exercises, which can help stimulate muscle growth and maintain bone strength. Resistance training will be your best friend in this phase of life, supporting muscle-building efforts and combating age-related muscle loss.

2. Insufficient Protein Intake

Protein is essential for muscle repair and growth, and it becomes even more important during perimenopause as your body’s ability to synthesize protein may decline. If you're on a plant-based diet, you may not be consuming enough high-quality protein to support your muscle goals.

How to Fix It: Ensure you're eating enough protein daily to meet your muscle-building goals. Aim for 1.2-2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. For plant-based eaters, focus on protein sources like lentils, chickpeas, tofu, quinoa, and tempeh. Supplement with a quality plant-based protein powder if needed.

3. Not Challenging Yourself Enough (Progressive Overload)

One of the biggest reasons for slow muscle growth is not pushing your body enough in your workouts. To build muscle, you need to progressively overload your muscles, meaning you gradually increase the weight, reps, or intensity over time. This is often a mistaken area. And what you think is heavy is truly not heavy. When you are truly lifting in progressive overload, you are going to fail. This means, you are moving a weight that is heavy enough that you physically can NOT lift it any longer after 10 reps or so.

How to Fix It: Incorporate progressive overload into your strength training routine. Start by increasing weights, adding more reps, or decreasing rest times. Your muscles need new challenges to grow—so make sure your workouts are getting harder, not easier.

4. Not Enough Overall Calories

Many women unintentionally under-eat, especially if they’re focused on weight loss. However, building muscle requires energy, and if you’re not eating enough total calories, your body won’t have the resources it needs to build muscle.

How to Fix It: Make sure you're eating enough overall calories to fuel your muscle-building efforts. This is especially true on a plant-based diet, which can be lower in calories. A slight calorie surplus can support muscle growth while strength training.

5. Inadequate Recovery

As your body changes, recovery becomes even more crucial. If you’re not allowing enough time between workouts for your muscles to repair and grow, you’ll limit your progress. Placing the focus of your training on things like running and group classes will also contribute to low recovery and high cortisol levels and do not provide the progressive overload needed for increased muscle mass. 

How to Fix It: Make sure you’re getting enough rest, including 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night. Incorporate rest days into your routine and use techniques like foam rolling, stretching, and yoga to enhance muscle recovery. Place the focus of your training on progressive overload, focusing on heavy compound movements.  No, you will not look like a man, no matter how heavy you lift.

6. Declining Metabolism

Metabolism can slow down during perimenopause, which means you may need to adjust your nutrition and exercise strategy to match your current needs.

How to Fix It: Strength training is key to boosting metabolism, as muscle mass increases your resting metabolic rate. Alongside, maintain adequate protein intake and ensure that you’re eating enough calories to support muscle growth.

Supplements to Support Your Goals:

• HER Essentials Protein: A plant-based protein powder to support muscle recovery and growth.

• HER Essentials Liver Support: Helps detoxify the body and optimize overall health, particularly for those on plant-based diets.

• HER Essentials Digestive Enzymes & Probiotics: A healthy gut is crucial for absorbing nutrients and fueling your workouts.

Building muscle in perimenopause is challenging but not impossible. With the right adjustments to your protein intake, progressive overload in your workouts, and paying attention to recovery and caloric intake, you'll start seeing the results you're after.

If you’re ready to take it to the next level, our Restorative Program is designed to help women in perimenopause achieve their body goals with proven strategies. Let's work together to optimize your workouts, nutrition, and recovery so you can feel strong, energized, and in control of your body again!