It’s Never Too Late for Starting Strength

by Victoria Holt | May 12, 2026

I’m a 53yr old grandmother and I started strength training on the advice of my healthcare provider. That’s the short version.

When I first visited my provider, I had a laundry list of complaints, nearly all of them stemming from perimenopause. Some were obviously related to my age: irregular periods, hair loss, joint paint, fatigue and brain fog. But when I stopped sharing my issues, my healthcare provider who specializes in treating hormone-related symptoms in women proceeded to tell me about underlying conditions I didn’t realize were contributing to my current health state. Once estrogen production starts decreasing, bone and muscle mass start decreasing and tendons start stiffening. Enter joint pain and overall discomfort, not to mention a decreased desire to move – either from exercise or otherwise – to avoid pain.

As a formerly athlete, I had let my love of movement falter by the wayside when I spent my twenties, thirties and forties as a Stay-at-Home-Mom. Playing with the kids and occasional periods of regular aerobic exercise weren’t enough to stave off the impending muscle and bone mass deterioration along with the host of other conditions that fluctuating hormone levels were going to trigger. I’d love to say that my provider’s words spurred me to immediate action, but it took me a year to commit to strength training.

When I learned about Starting Strength, I bought the Blue Book and started devouring it. As a science fiction author, I’m no stranger to research, especially anything with a scientific or physics bent. I appreciated the diagrams and explanations for why bar placement in relation to the body during all of the lifts was crucial for maximum effect and reasonable safety.

I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my forties, and with bone spurs in my vertebrae, I wasn’t confident that lifting was the best option for me. But the physics made sense, and I decided to find a SS coach because I wanted the best possible results for my training.

With excellent consistent communication with my online coach, we took a conservative approach to my SS training. As my strength increased, so did my confidence in my body’s ability to handle lifting. My willingness to share every twinge and creak with my coach, and my coach’s willingness to listen to my concerns has resulted in a transparent and effective process, but that trusting relationship is a topic for another day. Suffice it to say that the Starting Strength program has been effective in helping me on my way to my goal of getting stronger.

Something that surprised me only a few weeks into my programming was the excitement I felt before heading to the gym. I’d done assorted exercise programs in the past: tae bo, HIIT, yoga, and the like. Nothing kept my interest for long, and more importantly, nothing got me past the dread of “leg day” or “arm day.” Exercising felt like a slog, and at least for me the results were unpredictable at best, negligible at worst. It made me hungry, but as my age increased, my body’s ability to put on muscle decreased.

Even before I started getting results from strength training, I noticed that my mental health was improving. Something about being under the bar for squats had me “settling” into my body and my mind. My focus became centered on my technique, the sensation of the heavy weight on my back, and trying to get all my moving parts to behave in sync. The intense focus was a balm to my normally racing thoughts. Leaving the gym after my session had me blissed out and calm, and this inner peace lasted for hours afterward.

I realized that even if I never noticed any body changes, I was going to visit the gym for the rest of my life in order to soak up the incredible sense of well-being that lifting heavy gave me.

But things improved even more. One of the perks of Starting Strength is the Novice Linear Progression. Watching the weight on the bar go up every session was another mental health boost that showed up in the form of increased confidence, often with a side of bemused wonder. (I can lift that much? Wow, I can!) Steady, measurable improvement kept my gym attendance interesting and evidence-based. Showing up with my best effort at each session meant that I was going to be able to perform at my next session. Consistent effort begat consistent effort.

My coach, Bruce Trout, told me at the beginning of my journey that my body would undergo changes. I admit to some skepticism of his unapologetic optimism; I’d tried lots of exercise programs before, so I took his prediction with a grain of salt.

Actually, could you pass that salt? I need it to season the humble pie...

So it turns out, just as my healthcare provider had recommended for my health and my coach had told me would happen, that consistent heavy lifting/strength training does effect significant body changes. You might remember from health class in school that the femur is the largest human bone. Your quadriceps and hamstrings are the biggest muscles in your body; once you start using them to lift heavy weight, you’re setting off a cascade of amazing changes.

The thighs increase in circumference. The glutes get stronger. The calf muscles get stronger. Along with all of the leg muscle attention, the knee joints become more stable. I have arthritis in both knees; I was concerned that I might not be able to lift for very long before my knees gave up on me, but the opposite happened. The more I lift, the better my joints feel – my leg strength is improving my quality of life.

But the beauty of the Starting Strength program is that it’s not something that puts laser-focus on any one body part. I don’t have “leg day” or “arm day”. My programming involves lifts that utilize my whole body every time, and I love it.

My legs aren’t the only place on my body where I’m seeing profound changes. Underarm flab? Gone. It’s all muscle now. I beat my 17yr old son arm-wrestling a few weeks ago...with my non-dominant arm. My grip strengthened; my back and shoulders are stronger.

I mentioned earlier how exercising would make me hungry, but I could never tell if it was doing anything helpful for my body. Now I can see the changes every day, and when I pay attention to my macros and consume enough protein, I don’t gain extra weight.

You might remember that old maxim “muscle burns more calories than fat,” so what’s happening as you employ the Starting Strength program is that you’re creating a super efficient muscle-making machine out of your body, and your bigger muscles require more calories. I started trimming down other places on my body without drastically changing my diet (I do attempt to eat 100 grams of protein a day). But in general, I haven’t had to make major adjustments to the food I eat.

Along with a calmer mind and a stronger body, my emotional health is also improving as I continue with my strength training. I mentioned the confidence I felt from adding more weight to the bar over time. After nine months of training, I can’t adequately describe the quiet inner strength I feel just going about my day. Wandering aisles in the grocery store or dropping my kids off at school, volunteering at the county park, or standing in line at the theater. Knowing what my 53-yr-old body is capable of lends me a sense of private accomplishment that I don’t even feel the need to tell anyone about – unless it’s other older women.

See, I never imagined that I would be able to lift heavy. Even when I started, I figured I would plateau at some weight below my bodyweight. I couldn’t comprehend that my own muscles would strengthen to the extent that they have. I still kinda can’t believe it, but then my coach will add a new higher weight to my programming, and I’ll go to the gym with the mindset of “Coach thinks I can do it, and as a matter of fact, I’ve done hard things before, so I’ll give this a try,” and the next thing I know I’m benching 117 pounds for two sets of three reps. And if this grandma in her fifties can squat 215 pounds and deadlift 285 pounds, I’d love to see other grandmas hit the gym, too!

It really is never too late to get started. That is the main takeaway I’d love for women to think about when they read my story. When I began lifting, I had “bad knees” and a “bad back.” Lifting heavy didn’t magically heal those problem areas, but I’ve actively strengthened all of the muscles surrounding those weaker hinge points. If my osteoarthritis flares up, I’ll tell my coach, and we can back off weights until the flare-up dies down, but in nine months it only happened once. Prior to strength training, I would have had back pain several times a year.

Along with my healthcare provider’s advised hormone replacement therapy, my strength training program is helping to alleviate my other perimenopause symptoms. Stronger muscles and consistent exercise mean I’m no longer losing bone or muscle mass. The insomnia and brain fog are minimal, my mental health has improved, and I have an overall positive outlook on life.

Full-body strength training has given me a new approach to aging. I feel great, and simple things like hefting the dog food bag or maneuvering the lawn mower don’t leave me gasping for breath. My sons look at me and see a very strong mom, and when I look in the mirror, I see a strong and healthy future that can last the rest of my life. Aging doesn’t have to mean slowing down. It can mean adding more weight to the bar and consistently growing stronger. I honestly can’t wait to see where I’ll be in the coming years, because I plan to keep showing up under the bar and lifting heavily ever after.