Can You Build Muscle After 40 Without Heavy Weights? - Ashley Selman
Lift heavy or lose the fight against aging is the default advice for midlife women, and it leaves too many of them injured or on the sidelines. There is another way to build muscle, and it takes 20 minutes and light dumbbells.
In this episode I sit down with Ashley Selman, a strength coach of more than 30 years and the founder of Seli Strength, to talk about blood flow restriction training. Ashley explains why heavy lifting gets harder as our estrogen declines, and how light weights with BFR bands build muscle in 15 to 20 minutes. We cover the results of her six month study with midlife women, and exactly what week one looks like if you have not been in a gym for years.
The big ideasKey Takeaways
- 01Professional cuffs are an investment at around $500, though they come with a 30 day money back guarantee. Wrapping straps or belts around your limbs is not the same thing and is not safe.
- 02A 2025 meta-analysis of adults over 50 found BFR matched heavy lifting for bone mineral density. Adding gentle impact work builds the bone architecture that density alone does not cover.
- 03You do not need to understand the science to do this. You need to learn what your burn feels like and what band pressure gets you there.
- 04Consistency beats intensity. The women in the study trained two more days a week than before, simply because the workouts were short and did not leave them in pain.
Jump straight inEpisode Chapters
- Why Lift Heavy Advice Fails Midlife Women
- What Is BFR Training And Is It Safe
- How Light Weights Hit Type 2 Fibres
- Fast Results And Why BFR Is Not Mainstream
- What A Full BFR Week Looks Like
- 4.5 Inches Off Her Waist In 6 Months
- Bone Density Results And Your First Week
- How To Mix BFR With Heavy Lifting
- Band Cost And The 30 Day Guarantee
- Free Workout Plan And Why 6 Minutes Works
Tap a chapter to watch from that moment on YouTube
Meet your guestAshley Selman
Ashley Selman, known to her clients as Coach Seli, has spent more than 30 years as a strength coach, working with elite athletes, university programs at Stanford and Oregon, and women in midlife who want to stay strong for life. She is the founder of Evolution Trainers in Mountain View, California, voted the number one health club in Silicon Valley, and holds a master’s degree in sport psychology.
After chronic pain and a hip replacement ended her own heavy lifting, she found blood flow restriction training and built Seli Strength, a virtual BFR program for women in midlife. Around 500 women have now been through her program, and her six month study showed gains in strength and muscle, better heart health and a significant drop in pain.
- Seli Strength — virtual BFR program, free for the first 30 days with the bands, then $99 a month
- Free four page workout plan for women over 45
- BFR bands from B Strong and B3 Sciences — listener discount through Ashley
- Website: selistrength.com
- Instagram: @selistrength
Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia’s leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast, Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle.
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