Strength is self-care (nobody told us this)
Whether you're 25 and running on caffeine and to-do lists, or 45 and wondering why your body suddenly changed the rules, there's a good chance you've been strong for everyone but yourself. You're the one who remembers every appointment, answers the late-night email, and carries all the groceries in one trip because a second trip feels like a luxury.
Somewhere along the way, taking time for yourself started to feel selfish. Or exhausting. Or like one more thing on an already full list.
Here's what we want you to hear: strength training isn't one more chore. It's one of the most researched forms of self-care there is. Not for a smaller body. For stronger bones, a calmer mind, steadier energy, better skin, easier hormone shifts, and a body that shows up for you at 25, 45 and 65.
A quick note before we dive in: when researchers say "resistance training," they mean any training where your muscles work against resistance. That includes lifting weights, and it includes Lagree on the Megaformer, where springs and slow, controlled reps keep your muscles under constant tension. The studies below tested resistance training in general, not Lagree by name. But both count, and as you'll see, they're even better together.
We dug into the actual studies (not just the headlines). Here's what they say.
1. Your bones: build bone, don't just slow the loss
Let's start with a number that should get every woman's attention: one in two women over 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis. (Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation) The good news? Lifting doesn't just slow bone loss. It can actually build bone.
Here's the number that surprises most women: 30. That's roughly when women hit peak bone mass, the strongest and densest your bones will ever be. Weight-bearing exercise, including weight training, is one of the best things you can do to build it. (NIH, NIAMS) Think of your 20s and early 30s as your bone bank. Every deposit you make now is bone you get to keep later.
And if you're past 30? It's absolutely not too late. For years, women losing bone density were told to take calcium, walk, and be careful. The LIFTMOR trial challenged that. Researchers had 101 postmenopausal women with low bone mass do heavy, coached lifts like deadlifts, squats and overhead presses for 30 minutes, twice a week, for 8 months. The comparison group did a gentle home program. (Watson et al., Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 2018)
The lifting group improved bone density at the spine and hip, and their physical function improved too. Compared with the gentle group, that came out to roughly 4% better spine density and 2% better hip density. (MelioGuide breakdown) Across the whole trial, there was just one minor adverse event, a back muscle spasm. (LIFTMOR abstract)
The honest part: every LIFTMOR session was closely supervised, and the women were screened first. If you already know you have low bone density, get cleared by your doctor and learn the lifts with a coach before you go heavy.
2. Your mind: calmer, not just stronger
If you're busy, anxious and running on empty, this one's for you. A meta-analysis in Sports Medicine pulled together 16 randomized trials with 922 people and found that strength training significantly reduced anxiety. Here's the part we love: the effect was actually strongest in healthy adults, people without a diagnosed illness, just living full, busy lives. (Gordon et al., Sports Medicine, 2017; Consultant360)
A second review of 33 trials and nearly 1,900 people found that strength training meaningfully eased symptoms of depression. The benefit showed up regardless of people's health status or how much they trained, and whether or not they got noticeably stronger. (Gordon et al., JAMA Psychiatry, 2018) The biggest improvements were in people with mild to moderate symptoms. (Psychiatric News)
In other words, you don't have to hit a PR to feel the difference. And it doesn't matter whether your resistance comes from dumbbells or the springs on a Megaformer. Showing up is the medicine.
The honest part: strength training can support your mental health, but it isn't a substitute for professional care. If you're struggling, please reach out to your provider too. You deserve both.
3. Your energy: muscle is your energy bank
That 3pm crash where you'd trade almost anything for a nap? Your muscles have more to do with it than you might think. After you eat, your skeletal muscles take in the biggest share of the sugar in your blood, up to 80% of it when insulin is doing its job. (Paquin et al., Frontiers in Physiology, 2021)
Here's where Lagree and lifting make such a good team:
Lagree drains the tank. Your muscles store sugar as glycogen. Those slow, burning Megaformer reps keep muscles working under constant tension until they're spent, using up that stored fuel.
Your muscles refill from your blood. After a workout, your muscles pull sugar out of your bloodstream to restock, and they're more sensitive to insulin while they do it. (Jensen & Richter, Journal of Physiology, 2012)
Lifting builds a bigger bank. Strength training has been shown again and again to improve insulin sensitivity, and the muscle you build gives your body more places to store and use sugar. (Paquin et al., 2021)
This matters at every age. In your 20s and 30s, it's real support for steadier energy through long, busy days. In perimenopause, when muscle loss can speed up, protecting that muscle becomes even more important.
The honest part: researchers agree that resistance training improves how your body handles blood sugar, but they're still working out exactly why, and whether it's the extra muscle itself or other changes. So think of it as one strong tool for steadier energy, alongside sleep, food and stress, not a magic fix.
4. Your skin: the glow is real
The post-workout glow isn't just in your head. In 2023, researchers in Japan put 56 previously inactive, middle-aged women on either a cardio program or a strength training program for 16 weeks, then measured their skin. Both groups saw better skin elasticity and improved structure in the upper layer of the skin. But only the strength training group also saw an increase in dermal thickness, the layer that gives skin its firmness and structure. (Nishikori et al., Scientific Reports, 2023)
The researchers think part of the reason is inflammation. Lifting lowered certain inflammatory markers in the blood and boosted a protein called biglycan, which helps hold the skin's collagen network together. (Lifespan.io summary)
The honest part: this was one small study, and cardio helped too. So the best skin routine might include both. But if you've only been doing cardio, lifting brings something to your skin that cardio doesn't.
5. Your hormones: cooler nights ahead
Whether perimenopause feels far away or it's already here, this one matters. As estrogen declines, women tend to lose muscle, lose bone, and gain fat around the middle. (Maltais et al., 2009) One review found that during the menopausal transition, lean mass dropped about 0.5% a year while fat mass rose about 1.7% a year. (PMC review) The muscle you build now is the muscle your future self gets to keep when estrogen starts to dip. A 2026 review on menopause and muscle calls resistance training the most effective way to fight age-related muscle loss. (Menzies et al., 2026)
And then there are the hot flashes. In a Swedish trial, postmenopausal women with frequent hot flashes started resistance training three times a week for 15 weeks. Their moderate-to-severe hot flashes and night sweats dropped by about 44%, while the group that didn't change their routine saw almost no change. (Berin et al., Maturitas, 2019; Linköping University) Almost all of the women kept lifting after the study ended, even though they found it tough. (AusDoc)
The women in that study trained with weights and gym machines, not Lagree. But Lagree and lifting both count as resistance training, and that's the stimulus the researchers were testing.
The honest part: hormone therapy is still the most effective treatment for hot flashes, and lifting isn't a replacement for a conversation with your doctor. Researchers also say the exact link between menopause and muscle loss still needs better studies. But lifting is a powerful, low-risk tool that works alongside whatever else you choose, and it's one you get to control.
6. Everyday strength: strong for real life
This is the part you feel first. The toddler on your hip. All the groceries in one trip. Hauling the suitcase into the overhead bin. Getting up off the floor without reaching for the couch. That's functional strength, and it's what keeps you independent for decades.
It also starts earlier than most of us think. Muscle mass begins slipping around 30, at roughly 3% to 8% per decade, and that loss speeds up later in life. (PMC review) The strength you build now is the strength you'll be living in later.
And the payoff is real. A major Cochrane review of 108 trials found that exercise cut the rate of falls in adults over 60 by 23%. Programs that combined balance and functional moves with resistance training did even better, cutting falls by about a third. That's exactly the mix of Megaformer stability and real-life lifts. (Sherrington et al., Cochrane, 2019; MDedge summary)
A bonus that should make every woman smile: a 2024 study of more than 400,000 adults found that women get more out of exercise than men do. Regular strength training was tied to a 19% lower risk of death for women, compared with 11% for men, and women reached the same benefit as men with about one strength session a week versus three. (Ji et al., JACC, 2024; Contemporary OB/GYN; ReachMD) Yet only about 1 in 5 women in that study reported strength training regularly.
Why Lagree x Lift? Better together
Notice the theme running through all of this research: strength, stability and real-life movement work best as a team. That's exactly why we built Lagree x Lift. Half of class is on the Megaformer. The other half is floor strength with weights, in Upper and Lower day formats.
On the Megaformer, we:
Build muscular endurance
Use slow, controlled reps under constant tension
Keep it low impact on your joints
With the lift, we:
Focus on functional movements you use in everyday life
Load your bones differently than we do in Lagree, building strength in a different form
Still burn out your muscles, just in a new way
One class. One membership. Both kinds of strength.
Where to start (without burning out)
You don't need a perfect plan. You need a place to begin that fits your real life.
Start with two days a week. That's the official recommendation for adults, and the 2024 study above suggests women see big returns even from less. (NIH)
Lift with intention, not fear. The research on bone and hot flashes used weights that felt genuinely challenging. Build up gradually, with good form first.
Train like life moves. Pair strength with balance and functional movements. That combo had the strongest effect on preventing falls.
Get coached if you have bone loss or an injury. Get cleared by your doctor, then learn the lifts with someone watching your form.
Keep a little cardio too. For your skin and your heart, both kinds of training bring something.
You've spent so long being strong for everyone else. This strength is yours.
Book your first Lagree x Lift class
References
Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation. Osteoporosis Fast Facts. Link
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIH). Osteoporosis: Peak Bone Mass in Women. Link
Watson SL, et al. High-intensity resistance and impact training improves bone mineral density and physical function in postmenopausal women with osteopenia and osteoporosis: the LIFTMOR randomized controlled trial. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 2018. Link
Gordon BR, et al. The effects of resistance exercise training on anxiety: a meta-analysis and meta-regression analysis of randomized controlled trials. Sports Medicine, 2017. Link
Gordon BR, et al. Association of efficacy of resistance exercise training with depressive symptoms. JAMA Psychiatry, 2018. Link
Paquin J, et al. Exercising for insulin sensitivity: is there a mechanistic relationship with quantitative changes in skeletal muscle mass? Frontiers in Physiology, 2021. Link
Jensen TE, Richter EA. Regulation of glucose and glycogen metabolism during and after exercise. Journal of Physiology, 2012. Link
Nishikori S, et al. Resistance training rejuvenates aging skin by reducing circulating inflammatory factors and enhancing dermal extracellular matrices. Scientific Reports, 2023. Link
Maltais ML, Desroches J, Dionne IJ. Changes in muscle mass and strength after menopause. Journal of Musculoskeletal and Neuronal Interactions, 2009. Link
Menzies C, et al. Menopause, female sex hormones, skeletal muscle mass and muscle protein turnover in humans. 2026. Link
Berin E, et al. Resistance training for hot flushes in postmenopausal women: a randomised controlled trial. Maturitas, 2019. Link
Sarcopenia in postmenopausal women: narrative review. Link
Sherrington C, et al. Exercise for preventing falls in older people living in the community. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2019. Link
Ji H, et al. Sex differences in association of physical activity with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2024. Link
This post is for education and inspiration, not medical advice. Talk with your healthcare provider before starting a new exercise program, especially if you have low bone density, an injury, or a health condition.