Grow Your Glutes During Perimenopause and Menopause: Focus on These Two Things
Who doesn’t want to build a strong, muscley butt? Strong glutes make for strong backs, hips, and knees. And let’s be honest, feeling amazing in your jeans is a perfectly valid life goal. But once you hit your 40s and 50s, building muscle can feel harder than it used to. That’s because of a phenomenon called sarcopenia, also known as age‑related muscle loss. And yes, hormonal shifts during perimenopause and menopause can speed that process up.
But none of this means it’s too late for you to build your dream butt. It’s not a destiny thing; it’s a statistics thing.
Here’s the truth: the stats about muscle loss after 30 are based on factors you can absolutely influence. Women in perimenopause and menopause can build their strongest glutes ever. Your hormones may be shifting, but your ability to get strong is still very much alive.
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Why Butts Get Flat and Weak
Sarcopenia and a flat, weak butt don’t have to be your story. You can delay muscle loss for decades. First, though, it helps to understand why it happens (especially during this stage of life).
Inactivity: Life gets busy. Careers, caregiving, stress, fatigue, busy schedules, partners who don’t step up, and environments that aren’t movement‑friendly (like offices & carpools) pull you away from the active life your body deserves.
Lack of stimulus: Most workout programs don’t include enough glute‑focused work. Muscles grow when they’re challenged, and glutes need more targeted stimulus than most people realize.
Low protein intake: Many women (especially in midlife) aren’t getting enough protein to support muscle growth. A helpful guideline is about 1 gram of protein per pound of goal body weight, but even a small increase can make a big difference.
Lower stomach acidity: As estrogen declines, stomach acid often declines with it. Add stress, medications, and low‑fiber diets, and it means your body isn’t breaking down protein efficiently. If you can’t break it down, you can’t use it to build muscle.
The good news? The solution is simpler than you think. A little more of the right type of movement and a little more protein (or better protein absorption) can change everything. Let’s break it down into two categories: how you move and everything else (don’t worry, it’s not everything).
How You Move
To build bigger, stronger glutes, you’ll want to add more glute‑specific work to your routine. If you already have a workout program you enjoy, tack on 10-15 minutes of dedicated glute time. If you don’t currently follow a gym routine, start with a glute‑centered workout and build from there. The bonus: glute‑focused training also strengthens your core, legs, and hips—exactly the areas that need support while your body goes through hormonal changes.
Butt-Growth Moves
If I wanted to build butt strength fast, I’d focus on these five movement patterns. They’re backed by science and friendly to bodies navigating perimenopause and menopause. Always warm up for a few minutes first.
Glute bridges: A foundational move used everywhere from physical therapy to bodybuilding. Tons of variations, endless progressions, and always effective.
Hip thrusts: A shoulder‑elevated version of the bridge that gives you more range of motion (which can mean more glute growth).
Squats: A classic for a reason. Even though they’re known as a leg exercise, your glutes are major players here.
Lunges: Any movement where the hip does work involves the glutes. Plus, lunges help with balance and stability, two things that become more important as we get older.
Hip hinges: Think Good Mornings, Romanian Deadlifts, Single‑Leg RDLs, and kettlebell swings. Even bodyweight versions can build serious muscle.
There’s no wrong way to get more glute work into your life. If you need a strategy to get started or stay more consistent, try one of these ideas:
Work them in: Hit all five movement patterns at least twice a week. Put them toward the beginning of your workout to ensure you do them consistently.
Take a class: Your local gym may offer a glute-specific class (barre classes are a great way to get glute work).
Get a jumpstart: Try a butt‑building challenge like Badass Backside. Short, structured programs are great for building momentum, and you can pair them with your regular workouts.
Work with a pro: A certified trainer can build a program that supports your goals, your hormones, and any injuries or limitations.
Tempo: A Key Variable Nobody Thinks About (But Should)
Another secret weapon for building your strongest butt in midlife is tempo. Most people rush through reps, but slowing things down (especially the lowering phase) skyrockets your time under tension. That’s where the magic happens. Muscles grow when they’re challenged, and during perimenopause and menopause, your body often needs a louder “signal” to kickstart that growth. A three‑second descent, a one‑second pause, and a powerful drive back up can turn even bodyweight exercises into muscle‑building machines. Think of tempo lifting as your built‑in intensity dial: a way to boost your strength without adding weight, just more intention. The results? Way better (and safer) than throwing weight around mindlessly.
Everything Else
You can train like a champ, but if you’re not getting—or absorbing—enough protein, your results will stall. Here’s how to support muscle growth during perimenopause and menopause:
Manage stress: Chronic stress impacts hormone balance, digestion, recovery, and muscle building. Learning more about chronic stress and creating a proactive stress‑management plan is essential.
Get enough sleep: Less than 7 hours of quality sleep can shift your body toward breaking down muscle instead of building it. Even if you “feel fine,” your physiology disagrees. Read this blog post for a simple four-step method for getting better sleep.
Boost stomach acidity: Support your GI system so you can actually break down the protein you eat. (And no, this isn’t about probiotics.) Check out this blog post for ways to support healthy stomach acid.
Get enough protein: Use a calorie or macro calculator to estimate your needs, then aim to hit that number consistently. You might find it helpful to supplement with whey protein, which is the most bioavailable type of protein supplement (versus collagen peptides and vegan protein, that is).
Supplement with amino acids: A great option for vegetarians, vegans, or anyone who struggles with protein powders. An essential amino acid complex gives your body the building blocks it needs without the milky texture.
Don’t Put It Off
It’s easy to get stuck in research mode, especially when you’re navigating hormonal changes and trying to “do it right.” But every day you delay building your backside is another day you miss out on the benefits of strong glutes: better balance, better posture, better metabolism, better confidence.
The work you do now is worth it. And it pays off in big ways!
If you want a structured, progressive, beginner‑friendly program that takes all the guesswork out of this, my 28‑day glute challenge was built exactly for that. It’s simple, effective, and designed to help you build a stronger, more powerful backside that actually shows up in real life.
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