By Will Duru, BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science, Award-winning Personal Trainer with over 10 years of experience in strength training and optimising recovery.
It’s a thought that so many of the women I train have admitted to having, often in a quiet, almost ashamed whisper. It’s a thought you may have had yourself, looking in the mirror and not quite recognising the person staring back at you. The thought is this: “Did my body just turn to mush?”
It’s a harsh word, “mush,” but it captures a feeling perfectly. It’s the feeling of being softer where you used to feel firm. It’s the feeling of being weaker when you used to feel strong. It’s the feeling of your body changing in ways that feel outside of your control, leaving you feeling less and less like yourself. If you have ever felt this way, I want you to hear me loud and clear: You are not alone, and it is not your fault.
This feeling is a real, physical experience for millions of women, and it’s caused by a perfect storm of biological changes that happen in our 40s and beyond: a natural loss of muscle, a shift in our hormones, and a slowing metabolism. It is not a personal failure. It is a biological reality. But here is the most important part: it is a reality that you have the power to change. This article is not about chasing the body you had when you were 25. That’s a game you can’t win, and it will only lead to frustration. This is about something much more powerful. This is a message of hope and a practical guide to building a new body for this chapter of your life—a body that is strong, capable, resilient, and that you feel proud of. And the key to building that body is strength training.
The "Mush" Explained: What's Really Going On
So, let’s talk about what that “mushy” feeling really is. When you say you feel like your body has gone to mush, what you are actually describing is a change in your body composition. Body composition is simply the ratio of fat mass to lean mass (which includes muscle, bone, and water) in your body. The “mushy” feeling comes from a decrease in your muscle mass and an increase in your body fat.
This process has a scientific name: sarcopenia. It sounds complicated, but it just means age-related muscle loss. After the age of 30, if we are not actively working to prevent it, we can lose as much as 3-8% of our muscle mass every single decade. [1] This process speeds up even more as we go through perimenopause and menopause. The hormonal changes, especially the decline in estrogen, make it harder for our bodies to build and maintain muscle. [2]
Here’s why this matters so much. Muscle is much denser and firmer than fat. Imagine a pound of muscle and a pound of fat side by side. The pound of muscle would be smaller, sleeker, and more compact. The pound of fat would be larger, lumpier, and take up more space. So, when you lose muscle and gain fat, your body can look and feel softer and less toned, even if the number on the scale hasn’t changed very much at all. This is why you can be the same weight you were ten years ago, but your clothes fit differently and you don’t feel as strong.
But this isn’t just about how you look. This loss of muscle has a huge impact on your health and how you feel every day. Muscle is your metabolic engine. The more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns, even when you are just sitting on the sofa. When you lose muscle, your metabolism slows down, which is why it can feel so much easier to gain weight after 40. It also affects your strength, your balance, and your ability to move through life with confidence and ease. But I have good news for you. This is not a one-way street. You can fight back, and you can win.
The Anti-Mush Protocol: Lift, Eat, Repeat
The most direct and effective way to reverse this trend and reclaim your strength is a simple, two-part protocol: you need to build new muscle through strength training, and you need to give your body the right fuel to do it.
Action 1: Lift Progressively Heavier Weights. This is the most important part of the equation. To build muscle, you have to give your muscles a reason to grow. You have to challenge them. This means lifting weights that are heavy enough to be difficult. I’m not talking about the little pink dumbbells. I’m talking about a structured program that focuses on progressive overload. This is another fancy term for a very simple idea: you need to gradually increase the demand on your muscles over time. This could mean lifting a slightly heavier weight, doing one more repetition, or having better form. This is the signal that tells your body, “Hey, we need to build more muscle here!”
Action 2: Eat Enough Protein. If lifting weights is the signal to build muscle, then protein is the raw material. It is the building block that your body uses to create new muscle tissue. You can lift all the weights you want, but if you are not eating enough protein, your body won’t have what it needs to repair and grow. I tell all of my female clients over 40 to make protein a priority at every single meal. Aim for a consistent intake throughout the day to give your body a steady supply of those essential building blocks.
This is where having a clear plan becomes your roadmap out of “mush” and into strength. It can feel overwhelming to know where to start, which is why I am so passionate about tools that make it easier. The 12reps app is designed to do exactly that. It provides guided strength training programs that tell you exactly what exercises to do, how many sets and reps, and how much weight to lift. It takes the guesswork out of it. You can use its workout tracker to make sure you are consistently getting stronger over time. It helps you rebuild your body from the inside out. I encourage you to download the 12reps app and start your transformation today.
Redefining Your Body Image: Strong is the New Pretty
Changing your body composition is a powerful step, but there is another, equally important shift that needs to happen. It’s a shift in your mind. For so many years, women have been taught to judge their bodies based on what they look like and how much they weigh. We have been taught that our value is tied to a number on the scale or the size of our jeans. I am here to tell you that it is time to throw that idea in the bin. The key to long-term confidence and a positive body image is to shift your focus from what your body looks like to what your body can do.
This is the incredible gift of strength training. It teaches you to celebrate performance goals. Instead of obsessing over the scale, you start celebrating the first time you can do a full push-up. You get excited when you can lift a heavier dumbbell than you could last month. You finish a workout feeling energised and proud of what you have just accomplished. These are real, tangible victories. They build a deep, lasting self-esteem in a way that the scale never, ever can. Research has shown that strength training is associated with significant improvements in body image, not just because of the physical changes, but because of this powerful psychological shift. [3]
This is about moving towards a place of body neutrality, or even body positivity. It’s about appreciating your body for its incredible strength and resilience. It’s about being grateful that your body allows you to walk, to run, to play with your kids or grandkids, to carry your groceries, to live your life. Strength training is one of the most powerful ways I know to reconnect with your body in a positive and empowering way. It’s a way of saying, “Thank you, body, for all that you do for me. Let’s get stronger together.”
Conclusion
Let’s bring it all together. That “mushy” feeling you’ve been experiencing is real. It’s not in your head. It’s a physical change caused by the natural loss of muscle that happens as we get older. But it is not your destiny. You have the power to change it. The solution is simple and direct:
- Lift heavy things to send a powerful signal to your body to build new, firm, metabolically active muscle.
- Eat enough protein to give your body the raw materials it needs to get the job done.
Your body has not given up on you. It has not betrayed you. It is simply waiting for a new challenge. It is waiting for you to give it a reason to be strong again. It is time to stop mourning the body you had and start building the strong, capable, and resilient body that you deserve to have right now, in this chapter of your life.
Are you ready to turn “mush” into muscle? Are you ready to discover just how strong you can be? I invite you to start your free trial of the 12reps app today. It’s time to reclaim your strength.
References
- [1] Volpi, E., Nazemi, R., & Fujita, S. (2004). Muscle tissue changes with aging. Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care, 7(4), 405-410. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2804956/
- [2] Geraci, A., et al. (2021). Sarcopenia and Menopause: The Role of Estradiol. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 12. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2021.682012/full
- [3] Seguin, R. A., et al. (2013). Strength training improves body image and physical activity behaviors among midlife and older rural women. Journal of extension, 51(4), 1-11. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4354895/
