Experts › Women 40+ › Stacy Sims

Women 40+Women 40+Evidence: strong

Stacy Sims

Exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist (PhD) · senior research associate at Auckland University of Technology · author of ROAR and Next Level

Women's bodies respond differently to training and food, so midlife women should lift heavy, sprint briefly, jump, and eat enough, especially protein, rather than copy plans built for men.

In short

  • 3–4 heavy lifting sessions a week (6 reps or fewer)
  • Sprints of 30 s or less, 1–2 × a week, plus jumps
  • No fasted training
Build my plan in Sims’ style
Words explained (7)
Zone 2
Steady cardio at a pace where you can still talk in full sentences, but not sing.
Intervals
Short hard efforts with easy recovery in between, such as 30 seconds fast, 90 seconds slow.
Creatine
A well-studied supplement that supports strength and muscle.
Omega-3 (EPA, DHA)
Healthy fats found mostly in oily fish such as salmon, herring and sardines.
Time-restricted eating
Eating all your meals within a set window of the day, for example 8am to 6pm.
Perimenopause
The years of changing hormones before periods stop for good.
Hormone therapy (HRT, MHT)
Medicine that replaces hormones that fall at menopause. Only a doctor can prescribe it.

At a glance

Strength 60%Easy cardio 10%Intervals 25%Mobility & stability 5%

Training split: our estimate from their reported routine.

Heavy lifts + sprints
Signature habit
~2.2 g/kg
Protein
Women 40+
Training style
Strong
Overall evidence

Background

Stacy Sims studied sports science at Purdue University, took a master's in exercise physiology and metabolism at Springfield College, and earned her PhD at the University of Otago in New Zealand in 2006. Her doctoral work looked at plasma volume and sodium loading in endurance exercise.

From 2007 to 2012 she was a research associate at Stanford University, studying sex differences in exercise, performance and health. She also held research posts at the University of Waikato and later at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), where she is a research associate at the SPRINZ sports performance institute.

She became widely known for the message that women are not small men, the title of her 2019 TEDx talk. Her first book, ROAR (2016, with Selene Yeager), covers training and nutrition for female physiology. Next Level (2022, also with Yeager) applies the same approach to perimenopause and menopause.

She co-founded the sports drink company Osmo Nutrition and left it in 2015. Today she runs an online education business on women's training and physiology, supervises PhD students, publishes research, and sits on advisory boards for several fitness and technology companies.

She has a long athletic background herself, including rowing at university, marathons, bike racing, and triathlons including the Ironman World Championship in Kona.

Known for

  • The 'women are not small men' message
  • Heavy lifting, sprints and jumps for midlife women
  • Arguing against fasted training for active women
  • Books ROAR and Next Level
  1. 1995Graduated in sports science from Purdue University
  2. 2006PhD from the University of Otago, New Zealand
  3. 2007Joined Stanford University as a research associate (to 2012)
  4. 2012Co-founded Osmo Nutrition (left in 2015)
  5. 2016Published ROAR (with Selene Yeager)
  6. 2019Gave the TEDxTauranga talk 'Women are not small men'
  7. 2022Published Next Level, on menopause and beyond (with Selene Yeager)
  8. 2023Lead author of the International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand on nutrition for female athletes
  9. 2024Revised edition of ROAR published

Core ideas

  1. Most exercise and nutrition research was done on men, so its findings should not be copied straight across to women.
  2. In perimenopause and after, falling oestrogen means women need a stronger stimulus: heavy weights, very short hard intervals and impact work.
  3. Long moderate-intensity sessions are a poor use of time for midlife women; easy movement is for recovery, hard work should be truly hard.
  4. Active women should train fed and avoid long fasts and big calorie deficits, which she says can disrupt hormones and appetite.
  5. Protein matters more with age, and should be eaten around training as well as across the day.
  6. Each woman should track how she responds and adjust, rather than follow a fixed template.

How Sims lives

Sims has described parts of her own routine on podcasts: she eats before training and still enjoys long endurance sessions. The numbers below are her stated recommendations rather than personal measurements.

3–4
strength sessions a week she recommends
≤30 s
length of an all-out sprint effort
~15 g
protein before a strength session
40–60 g
protein after training from perimenopause on
  1. Before trainingDouble espresso with sweetened almond milk and protein powder; never trains on an empty stomach.
  2. Before ocean swimsAdds more carbohydrate and protein to her pre-session snack.
  3. WeekendsLong gravel bike rides, which she admits are not the most efficient choice for her goals.

The protocol

Training

  • Strength training 3–4 times a week, 45–60 minutes, built on compound liftsStrong evidence
  • From perimenopause, lift heavy: about 3–5 sets of 6 reps or fewer, leaving 2–3 reps in reserve, with 2+ minutes restSome evidence
  • Sprint intervals of 30 seconds or less, all-out, with full recovery; 1–2 sessions a weekSome evidence
  • Jump and impact work (e.g. squat jumps, box jumps) for bone; one studied protocol is 10–20 jumps twice a daySome evidence
  • Keep easy cardio (walking, easy rides) as recovery; she plays down long moderate-intensity sessions and zone 2 for midlife body-composition goalsPersonal habit
  • 'Ten-minute rule': if you still feel flat after a 10-minute warm-up, scale the session downPersonal habit

Go deeper: Strength (Brad Schoenfeld) · Heart & fitness (Benjamin Levine, Martin Gibala) · Mobility & balance (Mike Fitch, Jules Mitchell)

Eating

  • Do not train fasted: about 15 g protein before lifting, plus about 30 g carbohydrate before cardio of up to an hourSome evidence
  • After training: 40–60 g protein (perimenopause on) within about 45 minutes, and carbohydrate within 2 hoursSome evidence
  • Daily protein around 2.2 g/kg body weight, the top of the 1.4–2.2 g/kg range in her ISSN position standSome evidence
  • Protein at meals 30–40 g, snacks 15–20 gSome evidence
  • Avoid long fasts, keto and big calorie cuts if active; a small deficit (about 150–200 kcal) in the evening, away from training, if aiming to lose fatPersonal habit

Go deeper: Eating (Tim Spector, Chris van Tulleken)

Supplements

  • Creatine monohydrate 3–5 g a day (start with 1–2 g if unsure), paired with strength trainingStrong evidence
  • Choose third-party tested products (NSF or Informed Sport)Note
  • Vitamin D3, omega-3, collagen and turmeric mentioned as options; no doses givenPersonal habit
  • Iron only if a blood test shows low ferritinDoctor only

Sleep & recovery

  • Traditional (Finnish-style) sauna at about 60–80 °C after training; she prefers heat to cold for womenSome evidence
  • If using cold water, choose cool (about 16 °C) rather than ice-coldPersonal habit
  • Treat easy days as true recovery between hard sessionsPersonal habit
  • Sees hormone therapy as a valid option for hot flushes and bone risk, but not required for every womanDoctor only

Go deeper: Sleep (Matthew Walker, Colleen Carney)

Stress & mind

  • Keep hard intervals short; she says longer efforts and very long sessions raise cortisol, already a concern in menopauseSome evidence
  • In perimenopause, have caffeine with food before training if it makes you shaky or light-headedPersonal habit
  • Listen to your own body and track responses rather than following a fixed planPersonal habit

Go deeper: Stress & connection (Elissa Epel, Robert Waldinger)

Brain health

  • Creatine for brain fog and mood; she cites a trial where 5 g a day added to an antidepressant helped women with depressionSome evidence
  • Favours truly hard intervals over moderate or zone 2 cardio for midlife cognitive and metabolic benefitsSome evidence

Go deeper: Brain health (Miia Kivipelto, Wendy Suzuki)

Strong evidence = trials or large studies · Some evidence = smaller or observational studies · Personal habit = their own choice, little evidence · Doctor only = prescription or blood-test dosing, never in your plan.

Sims’ style in your plan

Choose “Follow one expert” and we keep this balance of training and the methods above, then fit them to your age, your available time and your health screen.

What we adapt

Session length and number to your week. Loads start from your self-tests, never a one-rep max. Hard sessions never on back-to-back days.

Never in your plan

Anything marked “Doctor only”: prescriptions, and doses set by blood tests. We show these as their choice, not as advice.

You can mix

Prefer someone else’s eating or sleep advice? Pick one expert per area and set your own strength-cardio balance.

Build my plan in Sims’ styleCompare with other experts

The research behind it

Nutrition for female athletes

An expert position stand she led recommends 1.4–2.2 g/kg protein a day (upper end for peri- and postmenopausal women) and 3–5 g creatine daily.

Sims et al., Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2023

Jumping for hip bone density

Premenopausal women who did 10 or 20 jumps twice a day for 16 weeks gained more hip bone density than controls.

Tucker et al., American Journal of Health Promotion, 2015

Creatine with antidepressants in women

Women with major depression who added 5 g creatine a day to escitalopram improved faster than those on placebo over 8 weeks.

Lyoo et al., American Journal of Psychiatry, 2012

Honest about weak spots

  • Some researchers say her sex-specific advice goes beyond the evidence. A 2023 umbrella review co-authored by Stuart Phillips found no clear effect of menstrual-cycle phase on strength or training gains, and Sims publicly debated Lauren Colenso-Semple in 2025 on fasted training and protein timing, framed as mechanisms versus outcomes.
  • Her case against fasted training leans heavily on short-term hormone and appetite responses; critics note that longer studies measuring actual fat loss and muscle gain show little difference when daily calories are adequate.
  • Many of her menopause-specific prescriptions (exact sprint lengths, playing down zone 2, tight post-exercise protein windows) come from extrapolation and her own coaching experience rather than trials in midlife women.
  • Commercial ties, stated neutrally: she co-founded Osmo Nutrition (left in 2015), sells online courses, and lists advisory roles with Tonal, WILD.AI, EXOS and Strength Institute.

Where experts disagree

  • Fasting: Sims advises active women never to train fasted or use long fasting windows; Haver's Galveston Diet originally built in 16:8 intermittent fasting (she has since pulled back).
  • Cardio: Sims plays down zone 2 and moderate cardio for midlife women; Haver's plan includes walking at least 3 days a week alongside lifting.
  • Training around hormones: Sims advises adjusting training and fuelling to hormonal phases; Colenso-Semple and Phillips (2023 review) say current evidence does not support cycle-phase effects on strength training.

Sources

Last reviewed October 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us at hello@lifelongmethod.com and we’ll correct it.

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