50-Year-Old Pro Bodybuilder Navigating Perimenopause

The Journey to Becoming a Female Bodybuilder at 50

In the near future, you’ll be stepping on stage adorned in a sparkling bikini the size of a sandwich bag. You’ll be flexing under bright lights, standing tall in 3-inch heels, after months of rigorous training, careful food prep, endless posing practice, and navigating hormonal fluctuations. You’re embarking on your journey as a 50-year-old bodybuilder, preparing for your debut as a professional.

From Tragedy to Strength through Bodybuilding

Six years ago, this life might have seemed unattainable. You were entangled in the sorrow of loss: the unexpected death of your father, the end of your marriage, and the numbing use of alcohol. Your body felt alien, and you felt trapped. However, a chance encounter in a hotel gym with a woman deadlifting sparked a change in you. She seemed strong, focused, and liberated. This encounter awakened something in you that had been dormant for a long time.

Finding Guidance in the World of Bodybuilding

Eventually, you found a coach: Tina Peratino, a retired bodybuilder from Bowie, Maryland. Tina taught you the importance of eating more, not less—fueling your body instead of punishing it. She debunked the myth that going to the gym equates to becoming a “cardio bunny.” She challenged your beliefs about fitness, food, and femininity.

Overcoming Challenges and Building Resilience through Bodybuilding

The journey wasn’t all smooth sailing. You stumbled more than once. During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, you found yourself stress-eating your kids’ snacks. When the gyms shut down, you felt lethargic and unmotivated, barely managing to complete your home workouts.

But you never gave up on yourself. And slowly, something shifted. Your body transformed—remarkably, at 45, you wore a two-piece swimsuit for the first time in your life. But it wasn’t just your physical form that was transforming. As you built muscle, you also built resilience. You distanced yourself from alcohol. Your posture improved. You took risks, like creating a dating profile—which led you to your current partner. You became more vocal at work. For the first time, you truly felt comfortable in your own skin.

Why Bodybuilding Empowers Women

As a journalist, you felt compelled to understand why. Why did building muscle make you feel so alive? Why had you spent decades trying to disappear? Surprisingly, you discovered that women were never meant to be thin—they were designed to be strong. For most of human history, women were not just slim—they were powerful. Prehistoric women had denser bones and more upper-body strength than previously thought. One study out of Cambridge discovered that Neolithic women’s arm bones were up to 16% stronger than those of elite rowers today.

This strength was not just for show—it was a matter of survival. These women manually ground grain, fetched water, and tilled fields. Their bodies were built for exertion and endurance. On the other hand, our modern obsession with thinness is a recent development. It arose in the late 19th century when food became more readily available and a slim figure began to symbolize wealth, restraint, and moral virtue. This led to the advent of calorie-counting, corsets, and crash diets. The eras of Twiggy, heroin chic, and the current Ozempic era followed.

It’s intriguing to note that each wave of body fixation tends to coincide with women poised to gain power. The flapper look gained popularity after suffrage. The boyish silhouette popularized during the mod era coincided with the rise of second-wave feminism. In the ’90s, just as women began to populate law firms and boardrooms, the waif era emerged. Today, as reproductive rights are under threat and we almost elected our first female president, injectable appetite suppressants are booming. These are not coincidences—they are manifestations of cultural backlash, repackaged as beauty trends.

Perhaps what’s most frustrating is the biological reality that women already possess an advantage. While women may not always possess the most brute force, they tend to be the most resilient. Women are built differently—we are built to last.

Women outlive men across cultures by 5 to 20 percent, according to Steven Austad of the American Federation for Aging Research. Roughly three-quarters of all centenarians are women. Scientists speculate this longevity is due to a variety of factors, including a stronger immune system, hormonal benefits, and the evolutionary resilience derived from caregiving.

Strength is the New Status Symbol

And when it comes to the weight room, women are certainly not lagging. Sandra Hunter, chair of movement science in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Michigan, has found that women fatigue more slowly than men. Her 2016 reviewHealth & Wellness News; US Lifestyle News