Episode 349: Why Strength Training in Midlife Isn’t Optional, with Mary Ellen Loranger

A Childhood Nickname She Buried, and Why It’s Back

My guest this week had a childhood nickname: Muscles. She wasn’t the smallest kid on the block. But she could always outrun the boys, and she could knock a softball clean out of the park. Somewhere along the way, she buried that name under what she calls “fat and fluff.” It stayed buried for decades, until strength training in midlife brought it roaring back.

Mary Ellen Loranger is a 56-year-old entrepreneur, author, and wellness leader. Alongside her husband, Wayne, she’s spent the past eight years coaching thousands of women through nutrition, health, and lifestyle transformation. She’s a former endurance athlete and Ironman finisher who now focuses on strength training. Recently, she founded Midlife Strong®, a platform that helps women navigate midlife and menopause. It combines nutrition, strength training, and mindset coaching.

In this episode, Mary Ellen and I get into what the GLP-1 boom — the wave of drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy — has done to an entire industry overnight. We also talk about why she believes strength training in midlife is the piece almost everyone is missing.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why Mary Ellen’s childhood nickname, “Muscles,” stayed buried for decades, and what brought it back to the surface
• The moment Mary Ellen compares to Netflix offering to sell itself to Blockbuster, and what it taught her about pivoting when your industry shifts under you
• The misconception about building muscle after 40 or 50 that the research says just isn’t true
• What a “progressive overload” strength training program actually looks like, and how to start with nothing but a couple of dumbbells
• Why she and her husband just invested in their own gym instead of keeping all their eggs in one basket

Listen to the full episode

Watch the full episode

The GLP-1 Shift Nobody in the Health Industry Saw Coming

Mary Ellen has been a health coach for nine years. She’s blunt about what GLP-1 medications have done to her industry: they’ve changed everything, and pretending otherwise would be foolish. Her clients rattle off their GLP-1 prescription the same way they’d list fish oil or magnesium, like it’s just another supplement.

She compares the moment to something else entirely: the year Netflix offered to sell itself to Blockbuster. Blockbuster said no.

“This is the brilliance of entrepreneurship: pivoting with the market. If you don’t do that, you’ll die out.” — Mary Ellen Loranger

Here’s the part Mary Ellen wants entrepreneurs to sit with, though. GLP-1s can burn through muscle along with fat. That research has pushed strength training and protein into the spotlight in a way diet culture never quite managed. Boutique cardio studios are fading. Strength training is rising, and midlife women are leading that shift.

Why “Muscles” Stayed Buried for So Long

Mary Ellen told me she believes women default to remembering what was wrong with them. She was strong as a kid, strong enough to earn a nickname for it. Still, she spent decades identifying with the “fat” part of her story instead.

“As women, we default to what was wrong. I blocked out that I was strong because, by default, I chose to focus on the flaws.” — Mary Ellen Loranger

She’s also open that she’s a recovering bulimic. Watching the current “skinny is back” trend, fueled by medication, brings some of that back for her. It’s part of why she’s building something in the opposite direction. Her message is about strength instead of shrinking, aimed at women right at the age they’re told to start slowing down.

Why Strength Training in Midlife Is About More Than the Gym

For Mary Ellen, this was never only about the physical. She wants women to be strong in their mental capacity, their faith, their fashion, their fitness, and their confidence, all at once. That matters especially at an age when the culture is telling them to take up less space.

“I want women in a time when they want to shrink back, settle down, be less, to talk about how we can be strong in all these areas. That is my heart’s cry.” — Mary Ellen Loranger

She’s clear that this isn’t about vanity, though. She’ll admit she still wants to look good in a pair of jean shorts. But it’s really about longevity: getting up off the floor, carrying your own groceries in one trip, playing with your grandkids, and staying independent for as long as possible. She watched her own mother lose her mobility and end up in a wheelchair sooner than she should have. That’s the outcome she’s coaching women away from.

“This is about longevity — getting up off the toilet seat, playing on the floor with your grandkids, hiking with your husband, traveling with your spouse. If you’re not lifting, if you’re not prioritizing resistance and strength training, you’re going to be sorry.” — Mary Ellen Loranger

The Misconception About Building Muscle After 40

A lot of women assume strength training in midlife won’t build much real muscle after 40 or 50. Mary Ellen says that’s simply not supported by the research. Studies on women in their 60s and 70s show they can absolutely build muscle. All it takes is progressive overload strength training and enough protein. The bigger point, she says, is that we’re organically losing muscle as we age regardless. Real progress just means holding onto every bit we have.

She explained what a progressive overload program actually looks like in practice. Over time, you increase the weight you’re lifting, adjust your reps, or slow the movement down. Each change asks your muscles to do something new. Without that consistent challenge, your body has no reason to change.

If you’ve never picked up a dumbbell, she suggests a few sessions with a trainer to get your form down, when that’s accessible. Otherwise, one of the many fitness apps built around progressive overload works just as well. You don’t need a gym membership, and three days a week is enough.

“You don’t need a gym membership, and you don’t need to be lifting five to six days a week. Three is all you need.” — Mary Ellen Loranger

The Trifecta for a Thriving Midlife

Mary Ellen’s protocol for her clients comes down to three things, no matter where they’re starting from, whether that’s on a GLP-1, in maintenance, or just getting going. Follow a nutrition plan you’ll actually stick to. Strength train at least three days a week. And walk 10,000 steps a day. She calls daily steps the single most underused fat-loss tool available. Part of the reason, she says, is that it’s free, and nobody profits from telling you to use it.

Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

Mary Ellen and Wayne learned early in their health coaching business that they should have diversified sooner. That lesson is showing up again now. They’re moving into real estate investing, and they’ve bought into an Anytime Fitness franchise opening soon in Pompton Plains, New Jersey.

“If you are an entrepreneur and you are listening, do not put all your eggs in one basket. Leverage that opportunity to create more opportunity, and do it from the get-go.” — Mary Ellen Loranger

It’s a fitting close to her own story. The nickname she buried for decades is about to go on a gym door — hers and her husband’s.

About Mary Ellen Loranger

Mary Ellen Loranger is a 56-year-old entrepreneur, author, and wellness leader dedicated to helping women thrive in midlife. Alongside her husband, Wayne, she has spent the past eight years coaching thousands of people in nutrition, health, and lifestyle transformation while building a nationwide team of health coaches. A former endurance athlete who completed multiple Ironman competitions, she now focuses on strength training and empowering women to build muscle, confidence, and resilience.

She founded Midlife Strong®, a platform that supports women navigating midlife and menopause through nutrition, strength training, and mindset coaching. Mary Ellen is also the bestselling author of Win Today: A Jersey Girl’s Guide to Living Your Best Life and Called to More: Stepping Boldly into God’s Purpose in Midlife – A 30-Day Devotional. Through her work, she encourages women to see midlife not as a slowdown, but as an opportunity to step into strength, purpose, and possibility.

Connect with Mary Ellen Loranger

• Website: Midlife Strong by ME
• Instagram: @m.e._in_midlife

Mary Ellen’s Gift to You

Mary Ellen’s gift to Girlfriends is half of a four-week, customized strength training plan through her Midlife Strong® app. It’s built for home or gym, at any level, for $25. She’s also offering $50 off any nutrition plan, including fat loss, calorie deficit, optimization, or GLP-1 nutrition plans. Visit Midlife Strong by ME to get started.

Related Episodes You’ll Love

Episode 301: From 40 Guitar Students to Two Thriving Businesses: How Rachel Lipson Built Multiple Income Streams Without Burning Out — Rachel’s story of building two profitable businesses without burning out is the entrepreneurial side of what Mary Ellen and Wayne are doing with their new gym. Listen here

Episode 335: When Your Labs Say You’re Fine and Your Body Disagrees, with Katie Hardie — Katie breaks down holistic health for women entrepreneurs and why the numbers on a lab report don’t tell the whole story, the same shift away from a single number that Mary Ellen describes in her own coaching. Listen here

Episode 205: Myth Busting: Fall Prevention and Aging with Joy Fletcher — Joy busts the myth that getting older automatically means getting weaker, the exact argument Mary Ellen makes about strength training and longevity. Listen here

My Free Gift to You — Let’s Talk About Your Business

[H3] My Free Gift to You — Let’s Talk About Your Business

This episode might have you thinking about where you’ve been shrinking back in your own business. Maybe it’s time to step into strength there too. If so, let’s talk about it. As my gift to Girlfriends, I offer a 30-minute discovery call. We’ll talk about where you are right now and what might be getting in the way.

Connect with Sarah

• Instagram: @thesarahwalton
• LinkedIn: Sarah Walton
• Free resources for you
• Join the Game On Girlfriend® community — subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube

 Love This Episode?

If you know a woman who’s been told she should slow down, send this episode her way. She might just need permission to get strong instead. It’s never too late to pick up a weight.

About Sarah Walton

Sarah Walton is a wealth consciousness coach, strategic advisor, and the host of the Game On Girlfriend® podcast. Her mission is simple: to put more money in the hands of more women. She helps women entrepreneurs build profitable, sustainable businesses without burnout — working through both the mindset and the strategy sides of growth. Because when women have more financial power, they don’t just keep it — they use it to take care of their families, support their communities, and build something bigger than themselves. Through her programs — including the Abundance Academy and The Art of Receiving — along with her online courses and one-on-one coaching, Sarah works with women who are ready to build profitable businesses and use that financial power to make a real difference in the world around them.