The short answer
In Nikkiey's experience, no. She once feared bulky legs too, until she noticed the women with the bodies she admired were squatting heavy. Squats changed her body more than any other exercise, and building that muscle is what reshapes body composition after 40, especially as estrogen drops and muscle gets harder to keep.
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Nikkiey on fearing bulky legs and what she saw women in the weight room doing
Plays from 3:52 · Video: Best Exercises for Menopause Belly Fat After 50
How squats made her knees stronger and changed her body composition
Plays from 4:29 · Video: Best Exercises for Menopause Belly Fat After 50
Step-by-step squat form and how to progress from body weight to a bar
Plays from 4:49 · Video: Best Exercises for Menopause Belly Fat After 50
Why losing muscle as estrogen drops makes your body softer in menopause
Plays from 0:58 · Video: Best Exercises for Menopause Belly Fat After 50
The full answer
Nikkiey explains that squats are the exercise most women are most afraid of, and the one that changed her body more than anything else. For years she told herself she didn't want to get bulky or get big legs. Then she paid attention to the women in the weight room whose bodies she admired. They were squatting, and squatting heavy, loading plates on a bar and going all the way to the ground. She couldn't argue with what she was seeing.
The reason it matters more now: on the show, Nikkiey explains that as estrogen drops, so does your ability to hold onto muscle. As muscle depletes, your body gets softer and fat shifts from your hips and thighs toward your belly. Squats build the muscle that actually changes your body composition. The softness you're worried about is more likely to come from losing muscle than from building it.
How she says to start:
- Begin with body weight squats and nail your form before adding any load.
- Chest tall, chin up, hips back, knees tracking over your toes until your hips go past 90 degrees.
- Drive through your heels to stand and squeeze your glutes at the top.
- Once your form is dialed in, add a bar to your upper back and progressively overload it over time. Don't go light forever, because your body won't adapt.
If your knees worry you, you're in good company. Nikkiey didn't think hers could handle squats, which is why she says to start low and work up. When she began she could barely do 10 body weight squats. Now she squats her full body weight for working sets, does 50 reps as a warm-up, and says her knees function better than before. It isn't that your legs are destined to bulk up. It's that nobody gave you a plan to build up gradually.
From Nikkiey Stott and WarriorBabe's coaching. For education, not medical advice: talk to your doctor about your own health.
Women also ask
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Strength Training for Women
How many days a week should I lift weights?
Three to four days a week is Nikkiey's core recommendation for women over 40: 30 to 45 minutes per session, built on compound lifts and progressive overload, with walking on off days and seven to eight hours of sleep. Lifting six or seven days a week, she says, breaks down muscle faster than you can rebuild it.
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Strength Training for Women
Are classes like F45 or Orangetheory enough to build muscle?
Not on their own. Nikkiey explains that F45, Orangetheory and CrossFit include strength work but don't prioritize muscle growth the way a progressive overload program does, because everyone in the room does the same workout. Keep the classes if you love them, but make them about 20% of your training and progressive lifting the other 80%.
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Strength Training for Women
How do I get over gym anxiety?
Start by remembering that almost nobody is watching you. Nikkiey says most of the judgment lives in your own head. Then make it easier on yourself: learn the exercises on YouTube before you go, wear a hat as blinders, start small in a quiet corner, and walk into the weight room anyway, even scared.
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7 minBest Exercises for Menopause Belly Fat After 50
Video · Apr 1, 2026