The Menopausal Meathead

Muscle building for women 40+ who want the truth and not the pep talk.
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Most fitness advice wasn't built for you. The Menopausal Meathead has your back. Weightlifting, muscle building and nutrition for women in midlife from ALL walks of life. Built for perimenopause, menopause, MHT (HRT), GLP-1s, and the realities of training over 40. Grounded in research, delivered without the pink dumbbells. Real science. Real talk. Short episodes you can finish before your coffee gets cold. menopausalmeathead.substack.com

  1. 2h ago

    Why I Stopped Intermittent Fasting After 40

    I used to teach intermittent fasting. I wrote a book around it. A lot of women lost a lot of fat with it. I don’t recommend it anymore as my default for women over 40 who want to build more muscle. In this episode, I explain what changed in my own training and nutrition, what the research actually says about intermittent fasting and muscle loss, and why eating enough protein, calories and carbs became a bigger priority once I got serious about hypertrophy. I also get into protein distribution, fueling harder training, why menopause doesn’t mean your muscles have stopped responding, and the newer problem I’m watching with GLP-1s: women becoming much smaller without ever being taught how to preserve or build muscle. Intermittent fasting can work. I used it successfully myself. I just stopped seeing a good reason to make eating enough food harder when muscle became the thing I wanted most. In this episode: Why I taught intermittent fasting in the first place What changed when I started training for more muscle What current research says about fasting, muscle and strength How I think about protein distribution now Why carbs become more useful as training volume climbs Intermittent fasting and GLP-1 appetite suppression What we actually know about menopause and resistance-training results Who can probably keep fasting without worrying about it Why I don’t use it anymore The Menopausal Meathead with Michelle BurlesonEvidence over hype. We’ve got muscles to make.💪🏽 Join The Menopausal Meathead Community: https://menopausalmeathead.substack.com 💪🏽 Get inside the Training Lab: Training Lab Lifting Tips You Might Have Missed… Seated Hamstring Curl Hack Secret to 3D Shoulders Learn a Proper Lat Pulldown Leave a comment Get full access to Michelle Burleson | The Menopausal Meathead at menopausalmeathead.substack.com/subscribe

    Why I Stopped Intermittent Fasting After 40

  2. Sep 25

    Testosterone Prescriptions Are Up 146%. Why?

    Testosterone is suddenly everywhere in menopause care. It’s being pitched for libido, energy, brain fog, muscle, bone, mood, and that general feeling that your body has stopped cooperating. I wanted to know what testosterone has actually earned. In this episode, I get into the strongest evidence we have for testosterone in postmenopausal women, what HSDD actually means, and why a low testosterone result doesn’t automatically explain how you feel. I also went looking for the muscle claim. Obviously. Then there’s the stranger part of this story: there still isn’t an FDA-approved testosterone product for women in the U.S., some women are using a fraction of medication packaged for men, and the long-term breast and cardiovascular safety questions still aren’t settled. We also get into pellets, dosing, monitoring, and what I’d want to know before anybody put testosterone under my skin.Join The Menopausal Meathead Community: https://menopausalmeathead.substack.com Get inside the Training Lab: Training Lab Lifting Tips You Might Have Missed… Seated Hamstring Curl Hack Secret to 3D Shoulders Learn a Proper Lat Pulldown Leave a comment Get full access to Michelle Burleson | The Menopausal Meathead at menopausalmeathead.substack.com/subscribe

    Testosterone Prescriptions Are Up 146%. Why?

  3. Sep 13

    Before You Buy Creatine...

    Creatine has survived decades of supplement shenanigans for one very good reason: it works. But women still get warned it’ll make them bloated, wreck their kidneys, make their hair fall out or turn them into something resembling a waterlogged linebacker. So I went through the evidence. In this episode of Muscle Over Menopause, I get into what creatine can realistically do for muscle and strength, why five grams a day makes sense, what that early scale bump actually is, and what we know about kidneys and hair loss. Then there’s the brain stuff. The research there is interesting, especially as we age, but interesting and proven are not the same thing. I’ll tell you where I think the evidence earns some excitement and where people have gotten fourteen miles ahead of it. And before I go, something different. A personal coda about midlife, regret, relationships, careers, your body, and the spectacular amount of life we can waste with our foot on the gas while staring into the rearview mirror. When you have effing idea what comes next, there’s one question worth asking: What is the next best step? In this episode What creatine actually does when you lift The new data in postmenopausal women Muscle and strength gains Why the scale may go up Whether creatine causes bloating The emerging brain and cognition research Hair loss and DHT Creatine, creatinine and your kidneys Why I wouldn’t buy it for bone density Why I use creatine monohydrate Why five grams a day is plenty Why you don’t need to load or cycle it On agency, regret and starting from where you are Get inside the Training Lab: Training Lab Lifting Tips You Might Have Missed… Seated Hamstring Curl Hack Secret to 3D Shoulders Learn a Proper Lat Pulldown Leave a comment Studies & sources PubMed Creatine monohydrate for lean mass, strength, and bone density in postmenopausal women PubMed Creatine and Cognition in Aging: A Systematic Review of Evidence in Older Adults PubMed CONCRET-MENOPA randomized controlled trial PubMed Systematic review of creatine supplementation and cognition PubMed Does creatine cause hair loss? A 12-week randomized controlled trial PubMed Creatine supplementation and kidney function: 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis Get full access to Michelle Burleson | The Menopausal Meathead at menopausalmeathead.substack.com/subscribe

    Before You Buy Creatine...

  4. Sep 3

    Red Light Masks: B.S. or Yes?

    Red-light masks are everywhere, and some cost enough to require selling a vital organ. So do they actually work for wrinkles? I dug through the better trials, including a 2025 randomized sham-controlled home-mask study, and the answer is: yes, with a buyer-beware asterisk. In this episode: What changed in the strongest home-mask trial Why the researchers saw an improvement that the people wearing the masks didn’t clearly see themselves What industry funding does and doesn’t tell us Why results from one red-light device don’t automatically apply to another What FDA clearance actually means Four questions to ask before spending several hundred dollars on something that makes you look like a relaxed homicidal maniac Full article, studies and source links at Deep Kimchi. Get inside The Training Lab: https://deepkimchi.substack.com/p/training-lab More at Deep Kimchi: deepkimchi.substack.com Studies & sources Park et al., 2025 randomized sham-controlled home-mask trial Wunsch and Matuschka, 2014 controlled trial with randomized treatment arms and a nonrandomized control Couturaud et al., 2023 uncontrolled mask study Glass, 2021 clinical review FDA explanation of the 510(k) clearance process American Academy of Dermatology consumer guidance WSJ Buy Side shopping guide that prompted the question — market context only, not scientific evidence Get full access to Michelle Burleson | The Menopausal Meathead at menopausalmeathead.substack.com/subscribe

    Red Light Masks: B.S. or Yes?

  5. Aug 31

    When Do I Add Weight?

    How do you know when it’s actually time to add weight? I hit a 65-pound weighted pull-up for my 53rd birthday, but I didn’t get there by making every workout heavier. Sometimes I added weight. Sometimes I added a rep, used less assistance, cleaned up the movement or left the damn thing alone. In this episode, I break down how to decide what to change in your next workout, including what to do when the next dumbbell is too big a jump, why more weight isn’t your only option, how hard a set needs to be, when another set makes sense and when your smartest move is to repeat the workout you already did. The companion article includes the video of my 65-pound pull-up plus the written progression guide. And if you’d rather not make these decisions yourself, Training Lab uses the sets, reps, load and feedback you log to adjust your progression from workout to workout.See the pull up: https://deepkimchi.substack.com Get inside The Training Lab: https://deepkimchi.substack.com/p/training-lab More at Deep Kimchi: deepkimchi.substack.com Studies & sources ACSM: Progression Models in Resistance Training for Healthy Adults. This is the source for the guideline to increase load roughly 2–10% when you can perform one or two reps beyond the target. PubMedRead on PubMed ACSM 2026 Resistance Training Position Stand. An overview of 137 systematic reviews covering more than 30,000 participants. Relevant here for training volume, full range of motion, training to momentary fatigue, time under tension and resistance-training frequency. PubMedRead on PubMed Resistance Training Load Effects on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gain. This meta-analysis found similar hypertrophy across low, moderate and high loads, while heavier loads produced greater strength gains. PubMedRead on PubMed STOP-EM trial. Forty peri- and early postmenopausal women were assigned to nine months of twice-weekly supervised heavy strength and impact training or a wait-list control. The intervention improved strength, lean mass, leg power and lumbar-spine bone density. PubMedRead on PubMed Resistance training in middle-aged women before and after menopause. Women averaging about 52 completed a 10-week resistance-training phase. Both pre- and postmenopausal groups increased squat and bench-press strength, while the muscle-mass response differed by menopausal status. PubMedRead on PubMed Get full access to Michelle Burleson | The Menopausal Meathead at menopausalmeathead.substack.com/subscribe

  6. Aug 17

    Can You Get Off the Toilet When You’re 80?

    Women hear plenty about walking. I’m more interested in whether your legs will still get you off the toilet at 80. This week: one five-rep chair test you can do at home, what to notice, and what to do if it’s harder than expected. Try it: Use a regular chair, cross your arms, stand up and sit down five times. Time it. Use the same chair when you check again later. Pain, dizziness, or feel unsafe doing it? Skip it. Get inside The Training Lab: https://deepkimchi.substack.com/p/training-lab More at Deep Kimchi: deepkimchi.substack.com Sources Goldberg A, Chavis M, Watkins J, Wilson T. The Five Times Sit-to-Stand Test: validity, reliability and detectable change in older females. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2012. PubMed U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd ed. Adults should include muscle-strengthening work at least two days per week. Guidelines American College of Sports Medicine. 2026 Resistance Training Position Stand. ACSM Get full access to Michelle Burleson | The Menopausal Meathead at menopausalmeathead.substack.com/subscribe

    Can You Get Off the Toilet When You’re 80?

  7. Aug 4

    Why the Same Weight Feels Heavier When You're Crying in Your Creatine

    Some days the dumbbells haven’t changed, but your access to strength has. Sleep loss and mental fatigue slow the lifts, raise perceived effort, and make an ordinary session cost more than it should. I’m talking what grief, heartbreak, and four hours of sleep metabolically do inside a workout, and how to adjust the training without turning one bad week into a verdict on your body. Get inside the Training Lab: https://deepkimchi.substack.com/subscribe In this episode: * What happened to ten resistance-trained women held to five hours in bed for nine nights * Why lower-body lifts moved up to 15 percent slower while the logbook still looked normal * Total training distress rose 84 percent on almost identical total work * How mental fatigue cuts training volume, and which lifts take the bigger hit * A scaled warm-up that tells you what kind of mood your muscles are in: 60 percent for ten, 80 for five, 90 for two * When to drop the load, swap to the leg press, and go home after thirty useful minutes * Why “easy, right, or too hard” needs an honest answer the week your life is on fire * Why the mood benefit showed up without notable strength gains * The way to get over somebody is to get under some iron The warm-up is data, not character evidence. Clinical depression deserves clinical care. Resistance training can support treatment. It cannot replace a qualified clinician, medication, therapy, or immediate help when you cannot care for yourself. A training plan is not crisis care. If one woman came to mind while you were listening, send her this episode. She may not need a pep talk. She may need a place to put her body for a while. Training Lab The Lab asks how every set felt: easy, right, or too hard. Your program adjusts from that answer, which matters most on the weeks you can’t trust your own read on things. Six programs, autoregulated, built for bodies with mileage. Get inside the Training Lab: Resources: Knowles O, et al. “Sustained Sleep Restriction Reduces Resistance Exercise Quality and Quantity in Females.” SportRxiv. https://doi.org/10.51224/SRXIV.157 Solon-Júnior LJF, et al. “Mental Fatigue and Resistance Exercise: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Including GRADE Qualification.” European Journal of Sport Science, 2026. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42168782/ Gordon BR, et al. “Association of Efficacy of Resistance Exercise Training With Depressive Symptoms.” JAMA Psychiatry, 2018. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29800984/ Agudelo LZ, et al. “Skeletal Muscle PGC-1α1 Modulates Kynurenine Metabolism and Mediates Resilience to Stress-Induced Depression.” Cell, 2014. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25259918/ Every paid subscription supports Save Our Paws, the Romanian rescue pulling dogs and cats off the street and into warm laps. Strong women, saved animals. That’s the deal. Get full access to Michelle Burleson | The Menopausal Meathead at menopausalmeathead.substack.com/subscribe

    Why the Same Weight Feels Heavier When You're Crying in Your Creatine

  8. Jul 28

    Stop Doing Math Mid-Lift

    Stop Doing Math Mid-Lift Two new programs are live in the Deep Kimchi Training Lab. The Complete Physique for your regular workout weeks, Anywhere Strong for everywhere else. Both adjust to you session by session, so you stop doing your own programming at 5:45 in the morning. Get inside the Training Lab: https://deepkimchi.substack.com/p/training-lab In this episode: The two leaks draining most women's training: guesswork at the rack, and travel weeks written off as a loss Why slow results are a programming problem and not a character flaw Autoregulation in plain English, and how rating a set easy, perfect, or too hard sets your next session's weights Progressive overload as it actually gets applied: 2.5 lb jumps on smaller muscles, 5 lb on the big compound lifts Why the week five deload is built in, and what tends to show up during it The four training blocks, and why rotating them keeps your body from settling into complacency What all of this means if you're on a GLP-1 and want to keep the muscle while you lose the fat Anywhere Strong: bodyweight, bands, and hotel dumbbells that still progress week over week Ask Michelle Anything: the coaching that ran over a thousand dollars a month, now inside a subscription Resources: The Deep Kimchi Training Lab: https://deepkimchi.substack.com/p/training-lab Questions: deepkimchicoach@gmail.com Every paid subscription supports Save Our Paws, the Romanian rescue pulling dogs and cats off the street and into warm laps. Strong women, saved animals. That's the deal. Get full access to Michelle Burleson | The Menopausal Meathead at menopausalmeathead.substack.com/subscribe

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Most fitness advice wasn't built for you. The Menopausal Meathead has your back. Weightlifting, muscle building and nutrition for women in midlife from ALL walks of life. Built for perimenopause, menopause, MHT (HRT), GLP-1s, and the realities of training over 40. Grounded in research, delivered without the pink dumbbells. Real science. Real talk. Short episodes you can finish before your coffee gets cold. menopausalmeathead.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Muscle building for women 40+ who want the truth and not the pep talk.
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    41
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Michelle Burleson | The Menopausal Meathead
  • Show Website
    The Menopausal Meathead