Doing strength training three times a week for three months helps both healthy postmenopausal women and breast cancer survivors gain muscle and get stronger — and both groups benefit about the same.

Doing strength training for 12 weeks can boost muscle strength by about a quarter to nearly half in women after menopause — whether they're healthy or have survived breast cancer.

Doing strength training for 12 weeks may help postmenopausal women — both healthy ones and breast cancer survivors — move better, walk farther, and get up and go faster.

If postmenopausal women do strength training three times a week for three months, their thigh muscles get about 5 to 8% thicker — whether or not they’ve had breast cancer.

If older women who aren't used to working out do 12 weeks of strength training—using 8 exercises and doing 10 to 15 reps each time—they’ll get noticeably stronger in both arms and legs, gain muscle, and improve key health markers, whether they do one or three sets per exercise.

Doing strength training three times a week for three months can help improve muscle size, strength, belly fat, cholesterol, blood sugar, and overall metabolic health in women around 69 years old who are otherwise healthy.