Forget Abs, Women Want Arms.

I was going to write about GLP-1s this week, but I still have more to learn before I weigh in. So this week’s topic was inspired by a conversation with Dom. :)

Dom shared with me a Wall Street Journal article about how women, especially younger women, are building beautiful, defined, muscular arms and taking every opportunity to show them off. For those of us who may now be refusing to go sleeveless, are defined arms within our reach?

Absolutely, yes.

And October seems like exactly the right time to talk about this because it is Menopause Awareness Month. Menopause gets blamed for a lot. Some of that blame is deserved. Some of it is probably unfair.

The menopause transition happens at a time in our lives when a lot is going on: estrogen declines; muscle mass and strength become harder to maintain as we age; body fat distribution can change; skin loses collagen and elasticity with both aging and hormonal changes.

Then there is life: disrupted sleep, stress, busy jobs, aging parents, kids, relationships and 47 other things. So when our arms don't look quite the way they used to, it is very easy to think, "Well, that's menopause." But, menopause is not a reason to give up. You can continue to build muscle.

So how do we get those defined arms?

Bad news first,

You cannot spot-lose fat.

Defined arms come from building muscle and, if you want more definition, reducing overall body fat through nutrition and activity. Where your body stores fat is also partly determined by genetics and hormones, so there is no magic formula for exactly where definition will show up first.

But here's the good news,

You can absolutely build muscle in your 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond.

Not to mention, muscle is very useful. Strong arms help you carry those insanely heavy bags of dog food, lift a suitcase into the overhead compartment (if you're still allowed to do that), and catch yourself if you lose your balance.

In life and sport, strong arms come in very handy. Pardon the pun.

So what should you actually do?

Strength training + protein + consistency. That's the recipe.

Train your shoulders, triceps and biceps regularly and progressively. That means gradually increasing the challenge over time, whether through more weight, more repetitions or better control.

A useful guide is an effort of about 7 out of 10: hard enough that the last couple of reps require real focus, but not so hard that your form falls apart.

And no, you don't need a completely different formula during menopause. Your muscles still need a reason to adapt, and they still need enough food and recovery to do it.

The formula doesn't change, but life can make the formula harder to follow. If you're sleeping badly, you are tired. If you are tired, motivation and recovery can be harder. If life is particularly full, finding the time and energy to train can be harder too. Sometimes the culprit is menopause, sometimes it's aging, sometimes it's life. Often it's a combination of all three.

None of them means you can't build muscle.

What muscles are we actually talking about?

Biceps: The cheeseburger in the front of your upper arm. The muscle everyone thinks of first. It is involved in pulling and curling movements.

Triceps: The back of your upper arm. This is your largest arm muscle and very often neglected. It extends your elbow and is involved in pushing movements.

Shoulders: Front, side and rear. Training your shoulders makes your arms look stronger and helps keep your shoulders functioning well.

And don't forget your back. Your arms don't work in isolation. For maximum impact, train the whole upper body.