# Home workout for women over 50: no equipment · Menopause Lift > Source: https://menopauselift.com/articles/home-workout-for-women-over-50 Strength training ## Home workout for women over 50 You need a sturdy chair, a wall and about 25 minutes, twice a week. The session below takes six strength moves and four balance moves from the NHS home routines, works every major muscle group with your own body weight, and gets harder as you slow down, add sets and let go of the chair. By Claire Hollis, 2 November 2026 Bodyweight work counts as strength training. The NHS lists it next to weights and resistance bands in its guidelines, and asks adults to work the legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms on at least two days a week, until each set leaves you needing a short rest ([NHS physical activity guidelines for adults](https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/physical-activity-guidelines-for-adults-aged-19-to-64/)). Past 65, the advice adds balance and flexibility on those days too ([NHS guidelines for older adults](https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/physical-activity-guidelines-older-adults/)). This workout covers both, so it suits you at 52 and still suits you at 70. ### Why train at home after 50 The years around menopause are when muscle starts to slip. A US study that scanned more than a thousand women found lean mass falling and fat gain doubling from about two years before the final period to two years after, which our article on [whether menopause causes weight gain](/articles/does-menopause-cause-weight-gain) explains in full. The US National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases says the best exercise for bones mixes weight-bearing activity, resistance training (bodyweight included) and balance training ([NIAMS, Exercise for your bone health](https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/exercise-your-bone-health)). A home session removes the two things that stop most beginners: the cost and the walk into a gym full of strangers. It also means you can do it on the days you would never have got to a class. ### What you need * A stable chair without arms or wheels, which is what the NHS strength routine uses. * A clear stretch of wall you can lean on with both hands. * A bottom stair, or a single sturdy step with a rail or wall beside it. * Loose clothes, flat shoes or bare feet on a non-slip floor, and some water nearby. Two full water bottles make an optional extra for the arm move at the end. Nothing else is needed. ### The full-body session Warm up for three or four minutes first by marching on the spot or walking briskly round the house, swinging your arms. Then work through the strength moves in order, resting for up to a minute between sets, and finish with the balance moves. Every move and repetition count below comes from the NHS [strength exercises](https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/strength-exercises/) and [balance exercises](https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/balance-exercises/) pages. #### Strength: legs, hips and upper body 1. **Sit-to-stand.** Sit near the front of the chair, feet flat, and stand up without using your hands, then sit back down with control. Five times. The NHS says the slower you go, the better. 2. **Mini-squat.** Stand behind the chair holding its back, feet hip-width apart, and bend your knees as far as is comfortable while keeping your back straight. Five times. 3. **Wall press-up.** Hands flat on the wall at shoulder height, feet a step back, lower your chest towards the wall and push away. Three sets of five to ten. 4. **Calf raise.** Holding the chair back, rise onto the balls of your feet and lower slowly. Five times. 5. **Sideways leg lift.** Standing behind the chair, lift one leg out to the side with your toes facing forward, then lower it, five times per side. This one works the outer hip, which a lot of everyday movement leaves out. 6. **Leg extension.** Sit back in the chair, straighten one knee until the leg is level, hold for up to five seconds and lower. Five on each leg. If you have the water bottles, add the NHS biceps curl: three sets of five on each arm, sitting or standing. #### Balance: four short moves 1. **Sideways walking.** Knees slightly bent, step sideways slowly for ten steps each way without letting your hips drop. 2. **Heel-to-toe walk.** Place one heel directly in front of the other foot's toes and walk at least five steps, eyes forward, fingers on the wall if you need them. 3. **One-leg stand.** Facing the wall with your fingertips on it, lift one foot and hold for five to ten seconds. Three times on each side. 4. **Step-up.** On the bottom stair, step up with one leg, bring the other to join it and step down slowly. Up to five with each leg. The whole thing takes 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how long you rest. ### How often to do it Twice a week is the NHS minimum, on days that are not back to back, so a Monday and Thursday pattern works well. Once two sessions feel routine I would add a third, because the guidelines describe a minimum, and the two trials cited on this site asked women after menopause to train three and four times a week. On the days in between, brisk walking counts towards the separate 150 minutes of moderate activity the guidelines ask for. Some muscle soreness a day or two after the first sessions is normal and fades as you repeat them. Pain in a joint during a move is different: stop that move and leave it out until you have asked a GP or physiotherapist about it. ### Making it harder without weights The repetition counts above are where the NHS starts people, and for many women over 50 they will feel easy within a few weeks. The guidelines say each set should take you to the point where you need a short rest. Once it no longer does, change one thing at a time: * **Go slower.** Take three or four seconds to lower into each sit-to-stand, squat and press-up. The NHS makes the same point for the sit-to-stand. * **Add repetitions,** then add a second and third set of the moves that only have one. * **Take away support.** The NHS suggests doing mini-squats and calf raises without holding the chair, and moving away from the wall for the heel-to-toe walk. * **Hold the hard part.** Pause for two seconds at the bottom of a squat or with your chest close to the wall. * **Change the angle.** Do press-ups against a kitchen worktop instead of the wall, so more of your weight goes through your arms. Later, a low sturdy table or the stairs make them harder again. * **Work one side.** Calf raises on one foot, or sit-to-stands with one foot slightly ahead of the other, load each leg on its own. Write down what you did after each session. A line such as "sit-to-stand 3 x 10, slow" is enough to show you, a month later, how far you have come. ### What the research shows for this kind of training A University of Exeter trial put 70 healthy women aged roughly 45 to 60, none of them taking HRT, into either a supervised low-impact resistance programme four days a week for 12 weeks or their usual routine ([Svensen and colleagues, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2025](https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC11801421)). The training group gained hip strength, balance, flexibility and about 2% lean mass, while the comparison group did not. Premenopausal, perimenopausal and postmenopausal women improved by the same amount, and the authors concluded that the hormone changes of menopause do not hold back how the hips and balance respond to training. That trial was supervised and ran four times a week, so it is a guide to what is possible rather than a promise for two sessions at home. I would take from it that a modest, low-impact routine is enough to make a measurable difference at this age, and that starting after menopause is not too late. ### Before you start The NHS suggests checking with a GP if you are unsure whether these exercises suit you, and that matters most if you have not exercised for a long time, have a heart or joint condition, or have fallen recently. NIAMS asks anyone told they have low bone density to talk to their provider about which exercises are safe for them, and our guide to [exercise with osteoporosis](/articles/exercise-for-women-with-osteoporosis) covers which moves to adapt. Keep the chair or wall within reach for every standing move until your balance is steady. ### Where to go next If you want the same moves laid out week by week, our [4-week strength training plan](/articles/your-first-month-of-strength-training-a-4-week-plan) builds a first month for a chair, bodyweight or light weights and prints on one page. For the reasons to start and how to fit lifting around symptoms, read [strength training during menopause: how to start](/articles/strength-training-menopause-how-to-start). If weight is the reason you are here, [how to prevent menopause weight gain](/articles/how-to-prevent-menopause-weight-gain) sets this session alongside walking and food. --- [ ](/) Strength training, muscle, bone and weight in perimenopause and menopause for women aged 35 to 65 and beyond, based on NHS, NIH and other official guidance. 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